Dressed in a Union Civil War junior officer’s frock coat with epaulets and a purple-felt top hat displaying an array of long feathers in red, green, yellow and blue, Joseph Amster leads a group of eight – men, women and teenagers – across Powell Street near San Francisco’s Union Square.
With his grey hair and circle beard, Amster already draws attention for his unique look, though it’s the confident way he struts – puffing out his chest with his chin held high and waving a walking stick at arm’s length like a baton – that really attracts onlookers.
Some people seem fascinated by his presence; others look bewildered. But it’s the many passers-by who don’t even give Amster a second glance that truly encapsulate the city’s reputed tolerance for the outlandish and absurd.