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 475

Sixth Plate Daguerreotype, Young Man, William Stroud, Norristown

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 young man is portrayed in this sixth plate daguerreotype, produced in the early-to-mid 1850s at the Norristown, Pennsylvania gallery of William Stroud, whose embossed imprint appears in two corners of the gilt mat. Stroud opened his daguerreian gallery at 201 Egypt (Main) Street in mid-1850, and this portrait's styling is consistent with that first decade of his practice.

The subject is a clean-shaven young man with dark, side-parted hair, wearing a dark frock coat over a layered waistcoat, with a loosely knotted cravat at the collar and a white shirt visible beneath. His right arm is folded across his lower body, and his gaze meets the lens directly with a composed, slightly upward tilt of the chin. The oval brass mat frames the composition tightly at the bust.

William Stroud (1812–1889) was raised in Norristown and worked as a bookkeeper and dry goods merchant before mastering the daguerreian process. He became a significant local figure in early Pennsylvania photography, and original street scenes of Norristown taken by Stroud survive in the collections of the Historical Society of Montgomery County.

The embossed text reads "STROUD" at the lower left corner of the mat and "NORRISTOWN" at the lower right. The image is housed in a leather case with a red velvet interior and a decorative gilt brass mat.

Property of a Palmer, Massachusetts gentleman.

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