Jim Marshall returned to his hometown of San Francisco in 1964 after a couple years in New York, where he succeeded as a professional photographer. He was 24. At that time San Francisco was not at the center of any musical or cultural revolution, but Marshall must have sensed that something unprecedented was about to happen. Known to never leave home without a Leica camera around his neck, he captured the Haight-Ashbury and Bay Area music scene like no other. When Jim died of natural causes in 2010 it was discovered that he had over a hundred thousand pictures—most of them unseen—from this short, pivotal era.
Common Ground is proud to showcase a sampling of Jim’s superb images from 50 years ago depicting 1967’s Summer of Love. We thank the publishers at Insight Editions for giving us access to The Haight: Love, Rock, and Revolution—The Photography of Jim Marshall.
“When we stand back and take the perspective offered by Jim’s pictures, we can see how far we have come, and how fast, and how difficult it would be to turn back to the way we were before the Haight-Ashbury burst upon us in 1967.”
—John Popper
All photos are from 1967 and provided by Insight Editions from The Haight © Jim Marshall Photography LLC. All rights reserved.