A Rare Photograph of Susan B. Anthony is going up for Auction with 199 other lots
- by Bruce E. McKinney
Susan B. Anthony, large photograph
One Source Auctions of Canandaigua, New York is in the news because they are going to sell a rare photograph of Susan B. Anthony, the early and important American suffragette. Stories about it have been posted online and in newspapers reflecting heightened interest in the American female experience.
This sale is of the rediscovered contents of the long forgotten photography studio of J. E. Hale of Geneva, New York. At some point the shop was walled up, later forgotten and recently rediscovered.
Here is the description of the sale provided by the auction house:
Significant attic find of the skylight photography studio of James Ellery Hale. Mr. Hale was a photographer in Geneva, NY 1892-1920 and his studio sealed away for over 100 years. He took photos of Susan B. Anthony and other NY Women Suffragists of that era including Elizabeth “Libby” Smith Miller, Anne Fitzhugh Miller, etc. The collection includes hand painted backdrops, background scenery, hundreds of photographs including some framed, new old stock frames, including Mr. Hale’s 2 cameras, plus more. In total 200 lots relating to this appealing discovery will be sold online.
Articles written about this sale have recently appeared in the Smithsonian Magazine, on CNN, NBC News and ABC. As well as photos, and audio are on Facebook.
Over the past 130 years at auction we have identified 607 auction lots and bibliographic references in Transactions+ related to Susan B. Anthony. Ms. Anthony has consistently appeared at auction over the years but an increasing proportion, some 50% of all the lots found, have appeared over the past 13 years.
It suggests increasing collector and institutional interest.
Here’s a link to One Source Auctions. Their sale is listed as Significant Skylight Studio of J. E. Hale
Sotheby’s Fine Manuscript and Printed Americana 27 January 2026
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Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: An extraordinary letter marking the conjunction of George Washington, the Marquis de Lafayette, and Benjamin Franklin. $1,000,000 to $1,500,000.
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: Virginia House of Delegates. The genesis of the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. $350,000 to $500,000.
Sotheby’s Fine Manuscript and Printed Americana 27 January 2026
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: (Gettysburg). “Genl. Doubleday has taken charge of the battle”: Autograph witness to the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg, illustrated by fourteen maps and plans. $200,000 to $300,000.
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: President Lincoln thanks a schoolboy on behalf of "all the children of the nation for his efforts to ensure "that this war shall be successful, and the Union be maintained and perpetuated." $200,000 to $300,000.
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: [World War II]. An archive of maps and files documenting the allied campaign in Europe, from the early stages of planning for D-Day and Operation Overlord, to Germany’s surrender. $200,000 to $300,000.
![<b>Sotheby’s, Jan. 27:</b> [World War II]. An archive of maps and files documenting the allied campaign in Europe, from the early stages of planning for D-Day and Operation Overlord, to Germany’s surrender. $200,000 to $300,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/9d2762bc-9f26-47ef-96de-1c28070e19f6.png "<b>Sotheby’s, Jan. 27:</b> [World War II]. An archive of maps and files documenting the allied campaign in Europe, from the early stages of planning for D-Day and Operation Overlord, to Germany’s surrender. $200,000 to $300,000.")