Remarkable full plate tintype depicting the storefronts of F.X. Kerker's Drugstore and N. Raths' Grocery at 1309 and 1307 Washington Avenue North, respectively. Captured with crisp architectural clarity, the image shows five figures posed along the sidewalk, including a well-dressed man and a boy near a fire hydrant. Kerker’s storefront signage clearly reads “F.X. Kerker, Drugstore” above the second-story windows, while the adjacent building is labeled with “1307” and “1309 PAINTS OILS AND BRUSHES” across the awnings. Displays of crockery or containers are visible through the windows and along the sidewalk, adding vivid period detail.

Supporting documentation from the consignor includes careful research on the building’s occupants derived from city directories. F.X. Kerker is first listed as a druggist at this address in 1882–83, with continued listings through the early 1890s, before his move to Rose Creek, Minnesota. N. Raths is first listed as a grocer in 1880–81 and later as a saloon owner and real estate agent, all at the same Washington Avenue address. The photo likely dates to circa 1883–85, during a period when both Kerker and Raths were concurrently active at these addresses.

Images of this scale and specificity, particularly with legible signage, individualized storefront displays, and contextual research tying the image to known business owners, are highly uncommon. An outstanding example of late 19th-century vernacular street photography, providing both visual and archival insight into a midwestern commercial block during the Gilded Age.