Earthquake/Fire: Eyewitnesses
Written soon after the 4/18/1906 earthquake/fire, in most cases by eyewitnesses,
these postcards retain their immediacy today.
This page presents the cards in chronological order with message excepts;
click on a card link for a full message transcription.
Dated one day and five days after the earthquake,
these postcards obviously were printed pre-quake, so they show pre-quake images.
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Charlton, written in Stockton on 4/19/1906 (the day after the earthquake) and postmarked the following day:
"One of the thousands of beautiful buildings destroyed. No word from Virgile yet. Frisco is wiped clean from the earth."
The Flood Building survived the earthquake but was gutted by the fire, then rebuilt; it still stands today (in 2022).
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Charlton, dated 4/23/1906 (five days after), probably written/mailed from Sacramento but postmark illegible:
"This was destroyed by the earthquake + fire.
I had come down on a visit so saw all, it was terrible the suffering is awful.
Thank you for thinking of me in the terrible time...".
Like the Flood Building, the Palace Hotel survived the earthquake but was gutted by the fire (see 5/10/1906 Unknown publisher card below);
after some debate the surviving shell was razed and a new Palace Hotel was built on the same site.
Poorly printed b+w postcards with vivid quake-related images became available very soon after the quake.
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Unknown publisher, postmarked Los Angeles 4/26/1906 (eight days after the quake): no message.
Earthquake/Fire: Valencia/18th shows variants from several publishers;
Valencia St. Hotel gives more information about the photo, taken on earthquake day.
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Rieder, postmarked Oakland 5/03/1906 (two weeks after):
"I escaped with my life from the terrible disaster that has visited S.F. Lost nearly everything Got out with slight bruises about the face and limbs...
The scene is heartrending... Beautiful San Francisco is a mass of ruins very little left of it..."
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Unknown publisher, postmarked San Mateo 5/07/1906 (three weeks after):
"[arrow indicating City Hall dome] This is the City Hall all what remains after the shock.
Fire ate it up but shock knocked it to pieces.
This quake has taught S.F. how to build her buildings.".
Rieder-Cardinell below shows the same location with the fire approaching on earthquake day; see Mint Hill 1906.
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Unknown publisher, postmarked Oakland 5/07/1906 (three weeks after):
"Destruction greater than newspapers describe."
The wrecked dome of City Hall remained until its demolition in 1909.
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Unknown publisher, postmarked Evansville Ind. 5/10/1906 (same sender/addressee as next):
"In memory of Apr. 18, 1906 when I lost everything. J.M.G."
Presumably the sender relocated to Indiana after the earthquake/fire.
The image looks up New Montgomery toward Market from Jesse, with the Palace Hotel on the left.
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Rieder, postmarked Evansville Ind. 5/12/1906 (same sender/addressee as previous, two days later):
"S.F. May 11, 1906 From a fire + earthquake sufferer. J.M.G."
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Rieder, postmarked SF 5/13/1906:
"May 13 - 1906 - Santa Rosa This is all their was left of a city that was so grand.
They are busy now cleaning and building. Their are homes away out and people are living in camps."
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Oakland Souvenir, postmarked SF 5/21/1906 (same sender as the 6/19/1906 Rieder card below):
"May 20 1906 I lived about 200 ft. from this corner.
This burned out immediately after the fire....
Been well and hope this will find all the same.".
The image looks up 3rd toward Market, with the Mutual Savings building at center and the Call Building to its left.
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Rieder-Cardinell, postmarked SF 5/26/1906:
"This is only one street that was destroyed of the 4 square miles.
We saw the whole burn from the top of the hill where we live 122 Summit Avenue. Our chimney fell into the roof, no one hurt."
A hill at Summit/Minerva (in the Ingleside) has an unobstructed view NE to downtown, ca. 5 miles away.
Mitchell 103 shows the same image.
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Rieder-Cardinell, postmarked 5/27/1906:
"... This is the neat[?] job done by the Earthquake ...".
Rieder is a variant using the same image, postmarked Sacramento 5/22/1906 (five days earlier).
Valencia St. Hotel gives more information about the hotel.
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Unknown publisher, ca. 5/dd/1906 (undated, not addressed/mailed):
[Front:] "Look hard and you will find us in line waiting for a loaf of bread.
Last week we stood for 2 blocks before getting one. Will be with you soon."
[Back:] "The people in the front of the picture are part of a line three blocks long
of people waiting for a can of corn beef, a few beans & a loaf of bread given by the Government."
Earthquake/Fire: St. Mary's Bread Line shows a later card with a much better rendering of the same image.
Within a couple months, senders wrote messages unrelated to their post-quake circumstances.
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Unknown publisher, postmarked SF 6/01/1906, shows the Drunken Houses.
Six weeks after the earthquake, the writer sends greetings without mentioning the quake.
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Rieder-Cardinell, postmarked Oakland 6/10/1906:
"We arrived in Oakland this P.M. Going over town Sunday to see the ruins."
The photo, taken on earthquake day, is also on badly printed Gannett.
The 5/07/1906 Unknown publisher card above is taken from the same location after the fire; see Mint Hill 1906.
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Rieder-Cardinell, postmarked SF 6/19/1906 (same sender as 5/21/1906 Oakland Souvenir card above):
"816 Turk St. S.F. Cal June 19-06 Your very welcome missive Recd. + it found me in the best of health."
The St. Francis Hotel survived the quake but suffered major damage from the fire.
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Kropp 2230, postmarked SF 7/23/1906, is the earliest of a set of cards written over several months (see Set: Streicher).
The sender urges his friend to join him to help rebuild the city.
Six months after the quake, better quality color postcards showing earthquake/fire scenes were widely avaiable.
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Weidner 223, printed in Germany, postmarked SF 11/05/1906:
"Afuly [?; presumably 'Awful'] ruins here now".
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Weidner 157 shows a pre-quake image with an added caption referencing the quake.
This example, written more than a year after the quake and postmarked SF 8/19/1907,
documents the sender's experience:
"My room for 1 night, April 19-06. Under the 5th tree is where I slept the night of the big fire wild old times may never come again."
Steve's SF postcard pages: