Michael Lehr Antiques
Live Auction

September 2026 Vernacular Photo History Auction

Sat, Sep 19, 2026 11:00AM EDT
  2026-09-19 11:00:00 2026-09-19 11:00:00 America/New_York Michael Lehr Michael Lehr : September 2026 Vernacular Photo History Auction https://auction.michaellehrantiques.com/auctions/michael-lehr-antiques/september-2026-vernacular-photo-history-auction-24380
Our September 2026 auction is anchored by two remarkable private collections, together making up about half the sale, alongside a broader selection of consignments spanning early photography, Civil War material, and vernacular imagery. The Soffer Collection, built with an eye for rarity and historical significance, is particularly strong in vernacular portraiture, Native American photographs, and Iowa Civil War imagery. The Palmer, Massachusetts collection, much of it found at Brimfield, centers on maker-marked daguerreotypes from the golden age of the American daguerreian studio.
Michael Lehr Antiques info@michaellehrantiques.com
Lot 123

CDV, Three Painters and Wallpaper Hangers, Orla Bock, Halmstad

Estimate: $100 - $200
Starting Bid
$50

Bid Increments

Price Bid Increment
$0 $5
$100 $10
$200 $25
$500 $50
$1,000 $100
$2,000 $250
$5,000 $500
$10,000 $1,000
$20,000 $2,000
$50,000 $5,000
Three tradesmen posed in their work clothes form the subject of this CDV, produced by Orla Bock, successor to Steen-Möllers, operating in Halmstad, Sweden. The studio imprint on the mount face reads "Orla Bock, Steen Möllers Eft., Halmstad," and the reverse confirms the same attribution along with branch locations in Veinge and Laholm, a telephone number of 250, and a first-prize medallion from Ringsted, 1895, establishing a terminus post quem for the image.

All three men wear splattered work jackets and trousers consistent with painters or wallpaper hangers, their trade clothing heavily marked with pigment or paste residue. The man at left holds what appear to be brushes or scrapers, the central figure is seated and faces the camera directly beneath a wide-brimmed hat with a full mustache, and the man at right leans against a studio railing wearing a narrow-brimmed hat and necktie.

Occupational portraits of tradespeople photographed in work dress are comparatively uncommon in the CDV format, as most sitters opted for their best attire; this group's decision to pose in full working clothes gives the image particular documentary value for labor and trade history in late nineteenth-century Sweden.

The reverse bears a handwritten notation reading "146" in the order field, with "#100" penciled at the top margin.

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