Design by Stephen Hettenbach and Robert Yagura

[police brutality, anti-war organizing] October 16, Stop the Draft Week, Oakland Induction Center

Palo Alto: Midpeninsula Observer, 1967. 20 duotone prints in portfolio folder. 17 prints measure 11 x 14 in.; 3 measure 22 x 14 in., folded to 11 x 14 in. Prints mainly near fine; portfolio with closed tear on spine, though still attached. Item #10622

A beautifully produced, and remarkably rare, portfolio of prints from photographs taken during October 1967 protests in Oakland, California and produced shortly thereafter - documenting anti-war organizing and the police brutality that swiftly followed. 

The striking portfolio was produced as a fundraiser for the Oakland Seven, who organized the “Stop the Draft” Week demonstration documented herein. Following the protest, the Oakland Seven were indicted on felony conspiracy charges in a high-profile trial centered on whether a political demonstration constituted a criminal conspiracy. The activists—who included Bob Mandel, Reese Erlich, and Terry Cannon—had been accused of conspiring to commit misdemeanors such as trespassing, resisting arrest, and creating a public nuisance. They were eventually acquitted of all charges, in 1969.

The portfolio lists nine photographers: David Anderson, Beth Bagby, Marlene Charyn, Stephen Hettenbach, John McChesney, Tina Ruffa, Maitland Sharpe, Chris Springman and William Warren); the initials of each artist is printed at the edge of their respective images.

Each photograph is printed in a brightly colored duotone effect that contrasts the content of the image: militant confrontations between protestors and police. Almost every image in the portfolio displays the force Oakland police brought to the demonstrations. 

At a time in which anti-ICE protestors in Texas are handed 50-to-70-year sentences in prison, and phony RICO charges were brought to protesters who sought to Defend the Atlanta Forest, this portfolio serves as a remarkable document for comparing the juridical landscapes faced by radical activists in the United States over the last sixty years.

OCLC locates only three holdings of the portfolio as of November 2026.

Price: $2,500.00