Large Format Camera from Mathew Brady’s Studio. New York, c. 1850s

A major relic of photographic history, this camera was owned by Mathew Brady during his years as the leading figure in American photography. Brady was the preeminent American portrait photographer of his day. He gained his greatest fame with his studio’s documentation of the events and figures of the Civil War. This camera’s association with Brady and his studio, which produced hundreds of iconic portraits and thousands of Civil War photographs, makes it an important historical artifact.

$250,000

Ambrotype Portrait of John D. Rockefeller. Cleveland, Ohio: Wiliam C. North, c. 1857-1858

This famous portrait of John D. Rockefeller at age 18 is the earliest known photograph of the greatest titan of American business and industry.

$150,000

Ulysses S. Grant. Washington, c. 1865

$52,000

Collection of Photographs of Abraham Lincoln’s Cabinet: a “Team of Rivals”. New York and Washington: Brady Studio, c. 1860

This is a splendid collection of Brady Imperial portraits of Lincoln’s most important cabinet members, the famed “Team of Rivals.”

Four photographs as a collection: $45,000

Original Brady Photograph Maquette “President and Cabinet.”. Washington: Brady, 1864

$42,000

Dog Woman – Cheyenne (plate no. 668, Vol. 19). Curtis, c. 1930

This stunning glass photograph, Dog Woman – Cheyenne (plate no. 668), was prepared for the printing of Curtis’s The North American Indian. The glass interpositive is a rare survival used for publication of Curtis’s monumental work.

$35,000

A Superb Collection of Photographs of Italy. Italy: Alinari, 1867

Magnificent photographs from masters of the genre. Fratelli Alinari, founded in Florence in 1852, is the world’s oldest photography firm. The three Alinari brothers pioneered the use of the camera for reproducing artwork and architecture from the great Italian galleries for public consumption. They are also known for their advocacy of the photographic portrait and for their photographs of Italian buildings and monuments.

$34,200

Armstrong and Aldrin raising the U.S. flag on the Moon’s surface. NASA, [1969]

Signed by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, the first two men on the Moon. This image was taken by the Maurer Data Acquisition Camera (DAC, pronounced “dak”). The DAC made films through the Lunar Module Pilot’s window during the approach and landing of the LM and took stop motion photographs during the EVA at the rate of one frame per second.

$32,000

Abraham Lincoln. Washington, November 8, 1863

This famous “Gettysburg portrait,” with Lincoln looking directly into the camera, was made just days before he delivered the Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863.

$28,000

Important Pair of Daguerreotypes: Black Nurse with White Baby and the Child’s Parents. Talbot County, Maryland or Texas, c. 1853

This striking pair of daguerreotypes evokes the complex relationships between slaves and slave owners in the American South, especially between white families and the trusted slaves who cared for their children.

the pair: $25,000