Rare Color photos of 1906 after SF earthquake found

[n2doc]

Carl Nolte, Chronicle Staff Writer

Monday, March 7, 2011


The Smithsonian Institution has discovered rare color photographs of the ruins of San Francisco from the 1906 earthquake. The images, taken by photography pioneer Frederick Ives, appear to be the earliest color photographs of San Francisco ever taken.

They were part of a set of six taken in the months after the earthquake and show some of the ruins along Market Street and scenes taken from the roof of the Hotel Majestic, on Sutter Street near Gough Street.

Everything is in color - buildings and billboards, a green streetcar on Market Street and a rust-colored church on Sutter Street damaged by the earthquake. A close examination of the billboards shows one advertising women's shoes on sale for 25 cents and another for chewing tobacco.

The pictures also show temporary wood buildings that are unpainted. The effects of the huge fire that followed the quake are also visible, especially on the scarred walls of the Flood Building, which still stands at Powell and Market streets.



Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/03/06/MN6K1I4BU4.DTL

[Shagbark Hickory]

1. incredible!

[xchrom]

2. that is awesome! nt

[razorman]

3. Amazing. I was unaware that color photographs existed that early.

Does anyone here happen to know anything about the history of color photography?

[Ian David]

4. Here you go...

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=the+history+of+color+photography

[Sirveri]

5. I've seen some from Russia using the same technique.

I think the Library of Congress has them. Basically they took a camera and put a red lens in front, then a blue lens, then a green lens, then they merged the film together somehow. Though its been a while so I might be off.

[Recursion]

6. Here are some World War One color photos

What's odd is that some techniques like this from less than a century ago are now lost (at least according to the site).

EDIT: it helps to actually put in the link: http://www.worldwaronecolorphotos.com/

[truebrit71]

7. Those are some awesome pictures...

...what a find!

[snagglepuss]

11. Thnk you for posting. The color makes the past seem so much closer.

Very powerful.

[Raschel]

8. It's amazing to me that the Smithsonian has items they are unaware of.

[Recursion]

9. Not to me: they're understaffed

There's something like a 3-year backlog in processing acquisitions, to say nothing of the unrecorded archives from prior to the 60s.

[AsahinaKimi]

10. That first photo looks like Powel and Market Street

In fact in the larger version you can see the Ferry Building at the end of Market Street.
Simply Amazing shots!

I do know that every building on the right side of Van Ness Avenue on the City Hall side was completely demolished. Most of the buildings were blown up to prevent the spread of fire.

Its funny, EVERY TIME I go down Van Ness Avenue I think about that.. I love this City!!

[Hell Hath No Fury]

12. Even cooler -- they were stereographs!

Two images viewed together to create a 3-D effect! These are really beautiful and -- as a San Franciscan -- terrifying to look at.

[Geoff R. Casavant]

14. Very odd stereographs, though

The parallax shift between the left and right images is significant -- usually the cameras are only 3 or so inches apart, but these look like they were a couple of feet apart. I would bet that anyone looking at them through the viewer got a wicked headache.

[Blue_Tires]

13. I have a strange urge to go buy some VITA OIL...