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 139

Locket Portrait of Unidentified Civil War Soldier

Estimate: $300 - $500
Starting Bid
$150

Bid Increments

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Small oval locket measuring 1 1/8 x 1 3/4 inches, containing a tintype portrait of an unidentified Civil War soldier. The subject is shown from the chest up, wearing a military coat with a high, stand-up collar and a row of brass buttons, possibly indicating infantry service. His hair is neatly parted, and he sports a trimmed mustache, gazing directly at the camera with a composed, steady expression.

The portrait is framed within an ornate gilt mat featuring a raised foliate design, the locket case providing both protection and an elegant presentation. Lockets such as this were personal keepsakes, often worn or carried by loved ones during the war as a tangible connection to the soldier while he was away in service.

This piece embodies the intimate scale and personal significance of Civil War-era photographic jewelry, blending the utilitarian nature of early portrait photography with the sentimental traditions of the mid-19th century. It remains an evocative artifact of both military history and private remembrance.

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