Michael Lehr Antiques
Live Auction

June 2026 Vernacular Photo History Auction

Wed, Jun 24, 2026 11:00AM EDT
  2026-06-24 11:00:00 2026-06-24 11:00:00 America/New_York Michael Lehr Michael Lehr : June 2026 Vernacular Photo History Auction https://auction.michaellehrantiques.com/auctions/michael-lehr-antiques/june-2026-vernacular-photo-history-auction-23574
Our June 2026 auction presents a focused and exceptional selection of historical photographs spanning the 1840s through the early twentieth century, with unusual depth in named subjects, rare formats, and documented provenance anchored by strong vernacular material that rewards close looking.
Michael Lehr Antiques info@michaellehrantiques.com
Lot 159

Mounted Photograph, Little Bear, Cheyenne, by Hillers, Okmulgee

Estimate: $500 - $700
Starting Bid
$250

Bid Increments

Price Bid Increment
$0 $5
$100 $10
$200 $25
$500 $50
$1,000 $100
$2,000 $250
$5,000 $5,000
$10,000 $1,000
$20,000 $2,000
$50,000 $5,000
Little Bear, a Cheyenne man, is depicted in this large 7.5 X 9.5 inch albumen photograph on 11 X 13" mount taken in 1875 by John K. Hillers in Okmulgee, Oklahoma. Hillers, who served as the official photographer for John Wesley Powell's surveys and later the Bureau of American Ethnology, produced numerous portraits of Native American subjects during the 1870s, and this image reflects the outdoor documentary approach characteristic of his field work. The photograph is mounted on a gray board with a printed geometric border framing the image on the recto.

Little Bear is seated on layered flat rock outcroppings amid a natural outdoor setting with leafy vegetation and tree branches visible behind him. He wears a heavily layered bone hairpipe breastplate, dark trousers with a light stripe along the leg, and moccasins, with one hand resting on his knee. A fringed and decorated hide quiver rests at his side, and a bow is held loosely in his other hand. His expression is composed and direct.

Little Bear was among the Southern Cheyenne leaders documented during the period of agency negotiations and federal oversight in Indian Territory, and his portrait is among the ethnographic records associated with government-sponsored survey photography of the era.

A hand-inscribed title appears in cursive script below the image on the front mount, reading approximately "A-no-va-ka-nid-e-hevl," with no photographer's imprint visible on the reverse.

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