Michael Lehr Antiques
Live Auction

Fall Photographic History Auction, 2025

Sat, Sep 6, 2025 01:00PM EDT
  2025-09-06 13:00:00 2025-09-06 13:00:00 America/New_York Michael Lehr Michael Lehr : Fall Photographic History Auction, 2025 https://auction.michaellehrantiques.com/auctions/michael-lehr-antiques/fall-photographic-history-auction-2025-20189
We are pleased to announce our next auction, featuring approximately 200 individual lots drawn from a diverse and compelling range of 19th- and early 20th-century photography. This sale focuses on vernacular images, photographs created not as formal studio portraits or elite commissions, but as direct, unscripted records of lived experience. These are objects made by and for everyday people, preserving moments of intimacy, labor, travel, performance, identity, and loss.
Michael Lehr Antiques info@michaellehrantiques.com
Lot 273

Half Plate Tintype of Gregg & Elliott and Briscoe & Briscoe General Stores

Estimate: $200 - $300
Starting Bid
$100

Bid Increments

Price Bid Increment
$0 $10
$200 $20
$320 $30
$380 $20
$420 $30
$480 $20
$500 $50
$1,000 $100
$2,000 $200
$3,200 $300
$3,800 $200
$4,200 $300
$4,800 $200
$5,000 $500
$10,000 $1,000
$20,000 $2,000
$32,000 $3,000
$38,000 $2,000
$42,000 $3,000
$48,000 $2,000
$50,000 $5,000
$100,000 $10,000
$200,000 $20,000
$320,000 $30,000
$380,000 $20,000
$420,000 $30,000
$480,000 $20,000
$500,000 $50,000
Uncommonly detailed half plate tintype depicting a bustling commercial scene outside two adjoining frontier-era general stores: Gregg & Elliott and Briscoe & Briscoe. The storefront signage is clearly legible, advertising “Dry Goods, Clothing, Hats, Caps, Boots, Shoes, Milnry” and “Ladies & Gents’ Goods,” while the neighboring sign simply reads “Gregg & Elliott.” Roughly twenty figures, men, women, and children, are seen gathered on the boardwalk and steps, several posed with character and intent, capturing a vital slice of small-town American commerce in the post-Civil War or Reconstruction period. Bolts of fabric, barrels, stacked crates, and a prominent “Ague Cure” sign enhance the visual richness, anchoring this as more than just a portrait of people, it is a document of trade, health remedies, and the role of the general store as a social nucleus. The image is professionally composed and richly toned, with great depth and clarity. A rare and vibrant example of occupational and architectural photography on tintype, rich with signage, posed figures, and period merchandising.

Available payment options

PayPal

Spend $500 or more at our auction and all of your SHIPPING IS FREE, buyers to pay insurance if they want it.