In the 1960s and 1970s, changes in printing technology reduced production costs and made photographic reproduction more accessible to small publishers. As a result, photographs circulated with increasing frequency through little magazines, underground newspapers and independently produced journals.
Across the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond, locally produced publications incorporated photography into emerging print networks. The underground press placed photographs alongside unfolding political and cultural events, while other titles positioned photography within broader literary and intellectual contexts. Tabloid-format pages, newsprint production and independent distribution shaped how photographs were seen and handled.
Explore an array of photographs ranging from artistic to journalistic in this exhibition sourced from our Book Arts and Special Collections and the San Francisco History Center.
This exhibit is a satellite to The Continuing Story of Life on Earth: 25 Years of Hamburger Eyes exhibition on view in the Jewett Gallery on the Lower Level from April 23–Sept. 24, 2026.
Photograph by Ingeborg Gerdes, San Francisco Camera, Collection of photographs from San Francisco State College No. 1, Jan. 1969.
LOCATION:Main Library - Book Arts & Special Collections exhibit space – 6th Fl CLASS:PUBLIC TRANSP:TRANSPARENT END:VEVENT BEGIN:VALARM TRIGGER:-PT1440M ACTION:DISPLAY DESCRIPTION:Event Reminder - This Must Be the Place: Photography in Print Media END:VALARM END:VCALENDAR