Michael Lehr Antiques
Live Auction

June 2026 Vernacular Photo History Auction

Wed, Jun 24, 2026 11:00AM EDT
  2026-06-24 11:00:00 2026-06-24 11:00:00 America/New_York Michael Lehr Michael Lehr : June 2026 Vernacular Photo History Auction https://auction.michaellehrantiques.com/auctions/michael-lehr-antiques/june-2026-vernacular-photo-history-auction-23574
Our June 2026 auction presents a focused and exceptional selection of historical photographs spanning the 1840s through the early twentieth century, with unusual depth in named subjects, rare formats, and documented provenance anchored by strong vernacular material that rewards close looking.
Michael Lehr Antiques info@michaellehrantiques.com
Lot 492

Stereoviews, Street Musicians and Organ Grinders, Four Views

Estimate: $100 - $200
Starting Bid
$50

Bid Increments

Price Bid Increment
$0 $5
$100 $10
$200 $25
$500 $50
$1,000 $100
$2,000 $250
$5,000 $5,000
$10,000 $1,000
$20,000 $2,000
$50,000 $5,000
Four stereoviews document street musicians and organ grinders across multiple settings and production styles. Two of the views are hand-colored tissue or albumen prints mounted on tan cards and depict close-up studio subjects: a woman playing a hurdy-gurdy with a feathered and flower-trimmed hat and red neckerchief, and a bearded man in a black coat and bow tie posed behind a barrel organ with a small monkey perched beside him. The remaining two are uncolored albumen prints, one numbered 226 on the mount and captioned "Paris: Joueur d'orgue sur les quais," showing a man standing beside a wheeled street organ along an iron-fenced Parisian boulevard, and one captioned "A Wayside Scene" depicting a group of men seated outdoors near wooden crates and long-handled tools.

The Paris view shows a tree-lined urban quayside with a classical building visible beyond the fence, while the Wayside Scene card is numbered in sequence and shows a racially mixed group of figures posed against a plank wall backdrop. The hand-colored hurdy-gurdy view carries a partially legible publisher's imprint along the left edge of the mount, and arched window frames are used as compositional borders on two of the four cards.

The reverse of the Paris view reads "226 Paris: Joueur d'orgue sur les quais," confirming a French-language series. The Wayside Scene mount reads "No. 182" followed by partial text. Two cards carry no photographer's imprint visible on the reverse.

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