[CALIFORNIA]. FICKE, Francis, artist. Destruction of San Francisco by Earthquake and Fire, April 18th, 1906: Every building shown in the above picture was destroyed by the Great Fire. San Francisco: Louis Roesch Co., Lith., 1906.
Color offset lithograph (image, 343 x 914 mm) after a painting by Ficke taken from the nearby hills overlooking the city, showing a panoramic bird’s–eye view of the city in flames after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake struck, with 13 places identified. (Marginal marring, some faint creases, view areas professionally touched up, laid down on japan paper). Framed and matted using archival methods.
On the morning of 18 April 1906, the earthquake struck with a magnitude of 7.9, ravaging the city for several days with subsequent fires, mostly caused by ruptured gas lines. To this day, the earthquake and fires of 1906 rank as the deadliest natural disaster in California’s history. It is estimated that over 3,000 people were killed and over 80% of the city destroyed (some 25,000 buildings on 490 city blocks). OCLC records one example, at Stanford University. Ficke also issued a black and white version that is also scarce but less desirable.