[Album of the Aftermath of the San Francisco Earthquake]

Although this album begins innocuously enough with a Christmas card and photographs of Victorian houses, the rest is filled with images of the aftermath of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. The quake occured at 5:12 am on April 18, 1906 and subsequent fires ravaged the city for three days. Over 3,000 people died, 225,00 were made homeless, and over 28,000 buildings--over 80 percent of the city--were destroyed. The straightforward photographs document the destruction of city blocks and buildings. The album, however, ends on a postive note; the final image shows the beginnings of what would be San Francisco's rapid reconstruction.