Kaloma (1914)
Photograph by Pastime Novelty Co. of New York
A sepia-toned photograph of a woman, posed in the soft-focus style of early 20th century pictorialist photography — the kind of image that circulated as a novelty postcard, passed between hands, tucked into wallets and pinned to walls in an era before the word "pin-up" existed.
Kaloma became one of the most widely reproduced photographs in American popular culture. For decades it circulated with the claim that the subject was Josie Earp — wife of Wyatt Earp, the legendary lawman of the American West. The attribution was almost certainly false, but it gave the image a mythology that outlasted the truth. In the 1960s, Kaloma was rediscovered by the counterculture: the image appeared in underground publications, concert posters, and the visual language of the psychedelic era, where its sepia nostalgia read as both risqué and romantic.
The subject's name was never recorded. The photograph has outlasted everyone who knew it.
Rectangle Canvas Wrap
Gallery-quality canvas with fade-resistant inks and a 1.25" deep pine frame sourced from renewable forests. Arrives wrapped and ready to hang.
- Materials: cotton and polyester composite canvas, pine wood frame
- Inner frame: radiata pine from renewable forests
- Leveling bumpers included for wall protection
- Ready to hang — mounting hardware pre-attached
Care: Dust gently with a clean, damp cloth as needed.