Michael Lehr Antiques
Live Auction

Fall Photographic History Auction, 2025

Sat, Sep 6, 2025 01:00PM EDT
  2025-09-06 13:00:00 2025-09-06 13:00:00 America/New_York Michael Lehr Michael Lehr : Fall Photographic History Auction, 2025 https://auction.michaellehrantiques.com/auctions/michael-lehr-antiques/fall-photographic-history-auction-2025-20189
We are pleased to announce our next auction, featuring approximately 200 individual lots drawn from a diverse and compelling range of 19th- and early 20th-century photography. This sale focuses on vernacular images, photographs created not as formal studio portraits or elite commissions, but as direct, unscripted records of lived experience. These are objects made by and for everyday people, preserving moments of intimacy, labor, travel, performance, identity, and loss.
Michael Lehr Antiques info@michaellehrantiques.com
Lot 384

"Kaloma," 1914 P.N. Co. Hand-Tinted Print

Estimate: $200 - $300
Current Bid
$100

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Iconic and widely circulated early 20th-century romantic portrait titled Kaloma, published in 1914 by the P.N. Company. The image features a young woman draped in a translucent black veil, posed frontally with her hands modestly crossed before her. Her partially revealed figure, direct gaze, and softly hand-tinted cheeks and lips create a blend of innocence and sensuality that captivated audiences of the period.

Often misidentified in folklore as a portrait of Geronimo's daughter or linked to various Wild West legends, Kaloma was, in fact, a commercially produced art photograph with no direct Native American connection. Its stylistic elements reflect the popular aesthetic of the Edwardian era, combining photographic realism with the airbrush-like softness of hand-coloring.

Framed examples like this one were mass-produced for parlor display and remain enduring artifacts of early American popular visual culture. Despite its fictional backstory, Kaloma continues to resonate as a symbol of early 20th-century ideals of feminine mystique and beauty.

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