Compelling suite of images by the photographer and new journalist Lawrence Schiller documenting the early days of the American acid scene, including possibly unpublished variants of photos that appeared in his seminal 1966 Life magazine publication and later in his book LSD.

Present in this collection are moody, intimate views of trippers in the throes of ecstasy and introspection. There are a handful of shots depicting a young man floating around his apartment dressed in a kimono, as well as shots of other cosmic travelers holding each other tightly, tuning into the record player, or simply staring off into the deep recesses of the abyss. There are also depictions of experiences decidedly less chill, including one photo of dealers arrested in San Francisco and another of a young woman writhing in abject terror during an acid party near the Sunset Strip. According to the Life story, which contains variant photos of her very bad trip, she was “pushing herself about the floor as if trying to escape something that was biting her from within.”

The 1966 issue of Life magazine dedicated to LSD was a turning point in terms of the American public’s exposure to LSD and its proponents, and Tom Wolfe has stated that reading it, and seeing Schiller’s work, was the impetus to begin his own reportage, what would become The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test.

One of the 20th century’s foremost photojournalists, Lawrence Schiller, a Brooklyn native, began work as a freelance photojournalist after graduating from Pepperdine College in Los Angeles. His early editorial stories featured spreads in the likes of Life Magazine, Time, and Newsweek ,among many others. He published his first book entitled LSD in 1966, and has since published 17 others, including collaborations with W. Eugene Smith, Norman Mailer, Tom Wolfe, and OJ Simpson. Schiller’s penchant for incorporating images with a narrative also led him to the film industry. He has produced and directed a number of movies, including collaborations on Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid and Lady Sings The Blues.