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 543

Stereoview, Devils Gate, Savage & Ottinger, Salt Lake City

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
Towering sheer granite walls frame a rushing river at Devils Gate in this albumen stereoview published by Savage & Ottinger's Pioneer Fine Art Gallery of Salt Lake City, Utah, almost certainly dating to the late 1860s or early 1870s when the partnership was most active along the Union Pacific corridor. The camera is positioned at river level looking upstream through the narrow gorge, compressing the walls dramatically against a pale sky and distant snow-dusted peaks. Charles Roscoe Savage and George Martin Ottinger operated their Pioneer Fine Art Gallery beginning around 1867, producing some of the most celebrated landscape views of the American West, including extensive documentation of the transcontinental railroad and the dramatic scenery of Utah and Wyoming.

The foreground shows rough-edged boulders lining both banks, with fast-moving water rendered as a soft blur against the dark fractured rock faces that rise steeply on either side. Conifer-covered ridgelines and a jagged rock outcropping at the upper left silhouette against an open sky, while layered stratification in the canyon walls is rendered with sharp tonal contrast.

The mount is the characteristic pale green card associated with this publisher's stereoview series. The reverse bears the printed imprint of Savage & Ottinger's Pioneer Fine Art Gallery, Salt Lake City, Utah, with the notation "Views in Utah, Idaho, Wyoming and Montana, all sizes" and "Scenes on the U.P.R.R., Salt Lake City, Etc., Etc." A manuscript notation in ink reads "Devils Gate" at lower left and "F. P. Spalding" vertically along the right edge.

Available payment options

  • Visa
  • Mastercard
  • Amex
  • Diners
  • Discover
  • JCB
  • Union Pay
PayPal

All SHIPPING of photographs with total purchases above $500 is FREE, buyers to pay insurance at $2 per $100.