Michael Lehr Antiques
Live Auction

June 2026 Vernacular Photo History Auction

Wed, Jun 24, 2026 11:00AM EDT
  2026-06-24 11:00:00 2026-06-24 11:00:00 America/New_York Michael Lehr Michael Lehr : June 2026 Vernacular Photo History Auction https://auction.michaellehrantiques.com/auctions/michael-lehr-antiques/june-2026-vernacular-photo-history-auction-23574
Our June 2026 auction presents a focused and exceptional selection of historical photographs spanning the 1840s through the early twentieth century, with unusual depth in named subjects, rare formats, and documented provenance anchored by strong vernacular material that rewards close looking.
Michael Lehr Antiques info@michaellehrantiques.com
Lot 467

CDV, Waino & Plutanor, W. W. Mitchell, St. Joseph, Missouri

Estimate: $200 - $300
Starting Bid
$100

Bid Increments

Price Bid Increment
$0 $5
$100 $10
$200 $25
$500 $50
$1,000 $100
$2,000 $250
$5,000 $5,000
$10,000 $1,000
$20,000 $2,000
$50,000 $5,000
Waino and Plutanor, two of the most widely exhibited sideshow performers of the nineteenth century, are portrayed alongside their unidentified male manager in this CDV by W. W. Mitchell's National Photographic Gallery, No. 77 Felix Street, St. Joseph, Missouri, with the reverse identifying the subjects by name and noting their age and weight. The albumen print dates to the 1860s or 1870s and was produced as a promotional card sold at exhibitions, a standard practice among touring curiosity acts of the period.

The two performers sit together on a single chair, both wearing matching embroidered tunics with decorative cross and crown motifs over patterned short skirts, white stockings, and flat shoes, with long straight hair falling past their shoulders. Their facial features, including pronounced brow ridges and full beards, are clearly visible in the detail image. The standing man behind them wears a dark frock coat, waistcoat, and bow tie, his hand resting at his side, his gaze directed away from the camera. A checkered tile floor and arched vignette background complete the studio setting.

Waino and Plutanor were promoted as "Wild Men of Borneo," a fictional origin story attached to two brothers, Hiram and Barney Davis of Ohio, who were exhibited under various names by successive managers beginning in the 1850s. Despite their billing as exotic savages, they were American-born men with intellectual disabilities who became among the most recognized and longest-exhibited performers in the history of American sideshow entertainment.

The reverse bears the printed imprint of W. W. Mitchell's National Photographic Gallery, No. 77 Felix Street, St. Joseph, Missouri, identifying the subjects as "Waino & Plutanor, aged about 50 years, weigh 45 pounds each," with penciled catalog notations reading "5p1726," "125," and "odd210."

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