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 611

RPPC, Mexican Banditti Executed, W.H. Horne Co, El Paso, Texas

Estimate: $50 - $100
Starting Bid
$25

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 close-range real photo postcard documents an executed figure lying on a bare floor, captioned "Mexican Banditti Executed" in typed lettering affixed to the reverse and "Executed" lettered in white ink directly on the image. The photograph was produced by the W.H. Horne Co. of El Paso, Texas, one of the most prolific commercial publishers of Mexican Revolution-era documentary postcards. Catalog number 838 is printed in white ink in the lower right of the image face, placing this card within Horne's numbered series issued during the Revolution years of the 1910s.

The subject is shown in a heavy wool overcoat, the garment torn and heavily stained, with a white undergarment exposed at the midsection. The wrists appear bound with red cord at the upper portion of the frame. Scattered papers and debris surround the figure on the floor, and a small printed card or matchbox lies at lower left.

Walter H. Horne (1883-1921) was an American entrepreneur who arrived in El Paso in 1910 and, recognizing the financial potential of the photographic postcard, opened a studio and began covering the Revolution in northern Mexico. By 1916, he was paying Mexican military members for the right to photograph executions, and his numbered series of RPPCs became among the most widely circulated visual records of the conflict.

The reverse carries a standard divided-back postcard format with "POST CARD," "CORRESPONDENCE HERE," and "NAME AND ADDRESS HERE" printed in outlined lettering, unused. The face bears the imprint "838. W.H. Horne Co. El Paso, Tex." Typed label affixed to the reverse reads "Mexican Banditti Executed."

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