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 575

Stereoview, Georgetown Colorado, C. Duhem & Bro., 1870

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
An early elevated overview of Georgetown, Colorado is captured in this albumen stereoview by C. Duhem & Bro., photographers based on Larimer Street in Denver. The view dates to 1870, as inscribed on the mount, placing it among the earliest photographic records of the town during its silver mining boom years. The yellow card mount and paired images are characteristic of the period's commercial stereoview production.

The panoramic composition sweeps across a densely clustered frontier townscape of wood-frame commercial and residential buildings filling a mountain valley, with unpaved roads cutting between structures and scattered conifers punctuating the rooflines. Snow-capped Rocky Mountain peaks rise prominently in the background, and scrub-covered hillsides frame the foreground. A large gabled building anchors the lower center of the frame, with what appears to be a small church steeple visible nearby.

Georgetown was founded in 1859 and grew rapidly through the 1860s and 1870s as one of Colorado's most productive silver mining centers, earning the nickname "Silver Queen of the Rockies." This view documents the town at an early stage of that expansion.

The mount verso bears a stamped imprint reading "C. Duhem & Bro. Photographers, Over P.O., Larimer St., Denver, Col." The recto is inscribed in manuscript: "Rocky Mountains, Col., 1870, Georgetown." The left panel also bears the handwritten catalog notation "No. 194."

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