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 212

CDV, Washington and Lincoln, The Father and The Preserver

Estimate: $50 - $100
Starting Bid
$25

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
A patriotic CDV pairing George Washington and Abraham Lincoln within an elaborate allegorical composition, published by C. Harris at the Union Photographic Gallery, 391 Canal Street, New York, and copyrighted in 1865 by E. J. Posr in the Clerk's office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York. The format reproduces an engraved or lithographic design photographically rather than presenting a direct portrait sitting, placing both men as symbolic figures in a unified national statement issued in the immediate aftermath of the Civil War.

Each portrait appears within an oval vignette beneath a spread-winged American eagle, with the banners reading "The Father" above Washington and "The Preserver" above Lincoln. Allegorical figures flank the central design at lower left and right, an American flag rises between the portraits, and faint landscape or battle references fill the background field.

The pairing of Washington and Lincoln as twin pillars of the republic was a widespread motif in 1865 memorial imagery, produced rapidly following Lincoln's assassination in April of that year. This Harris imprint represents one of the commercially circulated CDV variants distributed through New York publishers in that commemorative wave. The reverse of the mount is blank with no additional printer's imprint on that side.

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