Saloonatics: The Photography of Scott Palmer

Description

Late in the California Gold Rush and only six months after the first shots of the Civil War, the Saloon first opened its doors on the corner of Grant Avenue and Fresno Alley. With very few exceptions this place has been serving alcohol and camaraderie every day. Instead of housing miners, gamblers, drunks, and drifters, it is home mostly to musicians, unknown poets, under-employed philosophers, and other socially invisible characters. The Saloon stands unique and alone as the oldest drinking establishment in San Francisco. Seven nights and four afternoons a  week they host music—live, Loud blues and rock music.

On a Sunday afternoon, sitting on a bar stool, photographer Scott Palmer was thinking of what Kerouac said in On the Road, “I wrote the book because we’re all gonna die.” And that was the moment that spurred him into taking hundreds of photos of people that crossed the threshold into the Saloon. This volume is a collection of 85 raw beautiful moments captured in black and white of some of the many Saloonatics.