William Peter Tester, known as the Hermit of Palm Springs, is depicted shirtless and barefoot before a palm-thatched adobe structure in Palm Canyon, California, in this real photo postcard published by S. H. Willard Photo of Corona, California. The image dates to the early twentieth century and presents a striking document of deliberate desert solitude in the years surrounding World War One.

Tester sits on a flat rock, holding an acoustic guitar flat across his lap in lap-steel fashion, his eyes cast downward toward the instrument. His long reddish hair falls past his shoulders, a full beard covers his face, and his lean, muscular torso is entirely bare. Behind him, the thatched structure features round log columns supporting the overhang, a stovepipe chimney rising from the roofline, and a bundle of long bamboo or cane poles stacked against the interior wall. Arid canyon terrain and scrub vegetation extend into the background.

Tester was a German immigrant who settled in Palm Canyon and became a local legend, reportedly receiving visits from prominent 1920s celebrities including Charlie Chaplin and Rudolph Valentino. His presence in the desert outside Palm Springs attracted considerable curiosity from travelers and photographers of the era.

The reverse bears the printed imprint of S. H. Willard Photo, Corona, Cal., with handwritten inscriptions reading "William Peter Tester, Hermit of Palm Springs, Ca. He met with celebrities of the 1920's: Chaplin, Valentino, etc." and "German immigrant, shack in Palm Canyon." Catalog notations "7/11/11" and "L0ABCx" also appear in pencil.