Michael Lehr Antiques
Live Auction

Spring Photographic History Auction

Sat, May 3, 2025 01:00PM EDT
  2025-05-03 13:00:00 2025-05-03 13:00:00 America/New_York Michael Lehr Michael Lehr : Spring Photographic History Auction https://auction.michaellehrantiques.com/auctions/michael-lehr-antiques/spring-photographic-history-auction-19217
Raw, rare, and unforgettable—this is 19th- and early 20th-century photography at its best. Vernacular portraits, Native American warriors, African American resilience, Mormon pioneers, Western frontier families, and stark post-mortem scenes. Daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, tintypes, CDVs, and cabinet cards that capture real life without filters. Every image tells a story of survival, pride, and change. A museum-worthy collection for those who know real American history when they see it.
Michael Lehr Antiques info@michaellehrantiques.com
Lot 202

Charming Tintype of Young Girl Viewing Stereoviews

Estimate: $200 - $300
Starting Bid
$100

Bid Increments

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Uncommonly delightful 19th-century tintype showing a young girl seated outdoors beneath a tree, joyfully immersed in the pleasures of photography and visual novelty. She smiles broadly as she holds a handheld stereoscope to her face, a stereoview card slipped into its frame. Spread across her lap and the blanket before her are a scatter of additional stereo cards and photographic cases, suggesting a picnic-like celebration of the medium.

The girl's dark dress, white lace collar, and straw hat adorned with bold ribbons create a crisp contrast to the organic setting, while the gleam of the cards and cased images anchors the composition with visual richness. Her animated pose and genuine expression of amusement are highly unusual for tintypes of the period, which typically show rigid or stoic subjects. The image captures a rare moment of leisure and personality, emphasizing the cultural impact of photography on domestic and youthful life.

An outstanding genre image, filled with warmth and humanity—one that speaks to the early magic of seeing the world in stereo.

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