Michael Lehr Antiques
Live Auction

Fall Photographic History Auction, 2025

Sat, Sep 6, 2025 01:00PM EDT
  2025-09-06 13:00:00 2025-09-06 13:00:00 America/New_York Michael Lehr Michael Lehr : Fall Photographic History Auction, 2025 https://auction.michaellehrantiques.com/auctions/michael-lehr-antiques/fall-photographic-history-auction-2025-20189
We are pleased to announce our next auction, featuring approximately 200 individual lots drawn from a diverse and compelling range of 19th- and early 20th-century photography. This sale focuses on vernacular images, photographs created not as formal studio portraits or elite commissions, but as direct, unscripted records of lived experience. These are objects made by and for everyday people, preserving moments of intimacy, labor, travel, performance, identity, and loss.
Michael Lehr Antiques info@michaellehrantiques.com
Lot 280

CDV of Wa-Kan-O-Zhan-Zhan (Medicine Bottle), Photographed by Upton

Estimate: $300 - $500
Starting Bid
$150

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Carte de visite portrait of the Dakota spiritual leader Wa-Kan-O-Zhan-Zhan, also known as Medicine Bottle, photographed by Upton of St. Anthony, Minnesota. The image shows Medicine Bottle seated with a solemn expression, wrapped in a wool blanket, his hands clasped and resting beneath his chin. The photograph was taken shortly before his execution on November 11, 1865, at Fort Snelling, following his conviction for involvement in the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862. The CDV is captioned with the sitter’s name, tribal name, and execution date, serving as both a photographic likeness and a historical artifact from one of the most turbulent periods in U.S.-Native American relations. Medicine Bottle was a respected leader who fled to Canada after the war but was later captured and extradited. His trial and execution, along with that of fellow leader Shakopee, were deeply controversial and symbolized the harsh federal reprisals that followed the conflict. CDVs of Native American figures associated with the U.S.-Dakota War are extremely scarce, especially those that document individuals directly tied to wartime events and their aftermath. A powerful image that intersects Native American history, 19th-century photography, and the fraught legacy of westward expansion and military justice.

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