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Tombstone Western Heritage Museum Auction: The Earp Brothers & Cowboys

Sat, Jul 26, 2025 11:00AM EDT
  2025-07-26 11:00:00 2025-07-26 11:00:00 America/New_York North American Auction Company North American Auction Company : Tombstone Western Heritage Museum Auction: The Earp Brothers & Cowboys https://live.naabid.com/auctions/north-american-auction/tombstone-western-heritage-museum-auction-the-earp-brothers-cowboys-20021
Join North American Auction Company on July 26th for a once-in-a-lifetime auction of the Tombstone Western Heritage Museum Collection. This extraordinary sale features the largest private collection of Tombstone history, including rare and historic pieces tied to Wyatt Earp, the Earp Brothers, and the infamous Cochise Cowboys. From original artifacts, outlaw relics, and the largest collection of C.S. Fly photographs, this is a can’t-miss event for collectors of the Old West’s most legendary chapter.
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Lot 101

1914 Kaloma "Josephine Earp" Photogravure

Estimate: $2,500 - $5,000
Starting Bid
$400

Bid Increments

Price Bid Increment
$0 $5
$50 $10
$100 $25
$500 $50
$1,000 $100
$2,000 $250
$5,000 $500
$10,000 $1,000
$25,000 $2,500
$100,000 $5,000
For your consideration is a Photogravure of "Kaloma", purported to be famous Old West lawman Wyatt Earp's wife, Josephine, circa 1914, framed. Provenance: Tombstone Western Heritage Museum, Tombstone. The brunette beauty was long rumoured to be Josephine Earp (1861-1944) as decades after it was created, the image appeared on the cover of Glenn Boyer's book entitled, "I Married Wyatt Earp" published by University of Arizona Press in 1976. Boyer identified the woman as Wyatt Earp's third wife Josephine Sarah Marcus Earp in the credits. Ms. Earp was the alluring actress, dancer, and wife of famous Old West gunslinger, gambler, and lawman Wyatt Earp. She met Wyatt in 1881 in the frontier boom town of Tombstone in Arizona Territory, when she was living with Jonny Behan, sheriff of Cochise County, Arizona Territory. From 1882 she was Wyatt's life companion for 46 years until his death. The legendary image features the beautiful "Kaloma" standing in a three-quarter frontal pose, donning a sheer gauze peignoir, and boldly gazing at the photographer. According to legend, Earp's third wife posed for the risqué shot while inebriated. A novelty company in New York City published the picture as a postcard, and "Kaloma" became a popular pinup during World War I. Some have also suggested that the subject was actually Evelyn Nesbitt (1884-1967), taken when she began her early vaudeville career in the 1910s. Ms. Nesbit was America's adored "Gibson Girl" model and of course Stanford White's famous "Girl in the Red Velvet Swing" whose beauty inspired a illicit affair, the end result being that her husband, millionaire Harry Kendall Thaw, shot and murdered White in a duel on the rooftop theatre of Madison Square Garden in 1906, leading to "The Trial of the Century"! This photogravure bears an embossed 1914 copyright stamp, the earliest known version of the photograph. It is embossed "Kaloma" at the bottom centre, and at the bottom right is embossed, "COPYRIGHT 1914-P N CO." - the copyright of the Pastime Novelty Company located at 1313 Broadway, New York. A Sotheby's April 8, 1998 sale of a comparable photogravure print, was described in the Sotheby's catalogue as a hand-tinted photograph of Josephine Marcus Earp, the one-time wife of lawman Wyatt Earp, the photo was estimated at $3,000 to $4,000 and sold for $2,875. The Sotheby’s catalogue was distributed widely and often cited as the source used to "identify" Kaloma images as Josie Earp in numerous subsequent auction sales. A wonderful vintage photograph and illustrious piece of American visual culture, framed under glass. The attached Tombstone Western Heritage Museum label, "This photo is often mistaken for Wyatt Earp's third wife, Josephine Sarah Marcus It is not and remains unidentified." The photogravure is in good overall condition, black coloured wood frame is in good condition, slight scuffing noted on edges. Visible art measures 4"W x 11"L, frame is 5.25"W x 12"L x .5"D. Combine weight is 10oz.

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