Michael Lehr Antiques
Live Auction

September 2026 Vernacular Photo History Auction

Sat, Sep 19, 2026 11:00AM EDT
  2026-09-19 11:00:00 2026-09-19 11:00:00 America/New_York Michael Lehr Michael Lehr : September 2026 Vernacular Photo History Auction https://auction.michaellehrantiques.com/auctions/michael-lehr-antiques/september-2026-vernacular-photo-history-auction-24380
Our September 2026 auction is anchored by two remarkable private collections, together making up about half the sale, alongside a broader selection of consignments spanning early photography, Civil War material, and vernacular imagery. The Soffer Collection, built with an eye for rarity and historical significance, is particularly strong in vernacular portraiture, Native American photographs, and Iowa Civil War imagery. The Palmer, Massachusetts collection, much of it found at Brimfield, centers on maker-marked daguerreotypes from the golden age of the American daguerreian studio.
Michael Lehr Antiques info@michaellehrantiques.com
Lot 596

Real Photo Postcard, Suffrage Parade, Champaign Illinois

Estimate: $200 - $300
Starting Bid
$100

Bid Increments

Price Bid Increment
$0 $5
$100 $10
$200 $25
$500 $50
$1,000 $100
$2,000 $250
$5,000 $500
$10,000 $1,000
$20,000 $2,000
$50,000 $5,000
A real photo postcard captures a suffrage parade moving down a cobblestone commercial street in Champaign, Illinois, photographed by Sabin of Champaign and printed on Velox paper stock, placing its production in the early twentieth century. The reverse identifies the scene in a handwritten message signed by S. Belle Goodman, noting that Lawrence Hitch leads the parade on his little pony, followed immediately by the Juvenile Band. The writer also references a second photograph to be sent, depicting the boy who carried a banner reading "I wish Mother Could Vote," a detail that firmly situates this image within the women's suffrage movement.

Marching participants fill the street mid-block, with children and adults carrying small American flags visible among the procession. Storefront signage along the right side of the street includes The People's Outfitters, a furniture dealer identified as Percival and Morehead, a plumbing business, and a Second Hand Store, while an electric streetlight globe hangs prominently above the intersection in the foreground. Several men in dark suits and bowler hats stand in the cobblestone street watching, and horse-drawn vehicles are visible at the left edge of the crowd.

The banner inscription "I wish Mother Could Vote" connects this parade directly to the women's suffrage campaign active in Illinois in the years before the Nineteenth Amendment was ratified in 1920. Illinois granted women partial suffrage in 1913, and community parades of this type were a common organizing and visibility strategy during that period.

The reverse bears the Velox paper imprint, a photographer's imprint reading "Photo by Sabin Champaign Ills.," a handwritten message from S. Belle Goodman describing the scene, and a catalog notation along the right margin.

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