Bohemian San Francisco

A vivid portrait of early 20th-century San Francisco's artistic underworld, this book ventures into the cafés, clubs, and gathering places where the city's bohemians congregated. Edwords chronicles a world of painters, writers, and dreamers who gathered in North Beach and beyond, documenting a city in transformation where creative rebellion flourished alongside Victorian respectability. The prose captures the particular magic of an era when artists could still afford to live poorly and create richly, when the fog rolling in off the bay seemed to carry possibility with it. Though the specific establishments and personalities have largely faded, the book endures as a time capsule of San Francisco's golden bohemian age, capturing a spirit of artistic freedom that continues to draw creatives to the city today. For readers who love literary history, San Francisco nostalgia, or the romance of the artist colony, this offers an intimate look at how the city became what it was.
Editions
X-Ray
“Something About Cooking Cooking is sometimes a pleasure, sometimes a duty, sometimes a burden and sometimes a martyrdom, all according to the point of view. The extremes are rarities, and sometimes duty and burden are synonymous. In ordinary understanding we have American cooking and Foreign cooking, and to one accustomed to plain American cooking, all variants, and all additions of spices, herbs, or unusual condiments is classed under the head of Foreign. In the average American family cooking is a duty usually considered as one of the necessary evils of existence, and food is prepared as it is usually eaten”
— Clarence E. Edwords