Most of us are probably well aware of the catastrophic earthquake that struck in San Francisco on April 18, 1906. and the fire that followed. I have always been particularly fascinated with it, and have countless books and dvd’s about the incident. So I was especially excited when I opened an issue of the Burr McIntosh-Monthly magazine that I had purchased, from June 1906, and totally unexpectedly found a contemporary photographic report of that day.
On the “Publishers Page” of this issue, the publishers boast that “we are the first monthly magazine to show actual photographs of the terrible catastrophe at San Francisco.” In these pages, we are seeing what for many people were the first images of the tragedy that we have come to know so well.
In the picture below, the caption explains that everything in sight was destroyed, except for the Ferry Building.
This is another photo of a residential area that was completely destroyed in the fire.
And here is a poignant photo of the stream of refugees:
The Burr McIntosh-Monthly was well known for its photography, and in fact they sold special frames that the public could use to hold pages they tore from the magazine. So I am very grateful to have found its excellent images of a tragic day so long ago.
Post a Comment