San Francisco's
1906 Earthquake
A Book of Postcards

Just before dawn on April 18, 1906, San Francisco awoke to terror. A massive earthquake destroyed most of downtown and the South of Market neighborhood, as well as much of the rest of the city. A cataclysmic fore followed. The earthquake trapped thousands in or under imploded tenements; the fire was virtually impossible to quench, since all but one water main had burst.

Photojournalists and citizens captured the devastation on film. From the archives of the California Historical Society, the images in this book of postcards are souvenirs from a city in ruins.