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 567

Stereoview, Pah Utes Chief, C. W. Carter, Salt Lake City

Estimate: $300 - $500
Starting Bid
$150

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 Pah Utes chief is portrayed in a studio albumen stereoview published by Charles William Carter of Salt Lake City, dated 1870 on the mount recto. Carter operated his View Emporium on East Temple Street and documented Native American leaders and Western subjects throughout the territorial period, making his portraits among the most historically significant photographs produced in Utah during the era.

The subject sits in a wooden chair wearing a fringed hide garment and a beaded or shell necklace, holding a decorated fan with striped and geometric patterning. A geometric-patterned blanket drapes across his lap, and soft-soled moccasins rest on the floor before him. Long dark hair falls to each side of his face, and his expression is composed and direct. A draped studio backdrop fills the space behind him.

Carter's stereoviews of Native American subjects circulated widely through mail order, as the reverse imprint notes "Orders by Mail promptly attended to," reflecting the national commercial market for ethnographic Western imagery in the Reconstruction era.

The orange mount recto bears the handwritten notations "No. 190 190" and "1826 1870," and the printed label reads "PAH UTES CHIEF." The pink reverse carries the full imprint of Carter's View Emporium, East Temple St., Salt Lake City.

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