The San Francisco Earthquake – In Colour (1906)

Original photographs document the aftermath of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, restored and colourised to bring one of the deadliest natural disasters in U.S. history into sharper focus.

In the early hours of April 18, 1906, a powerful earthquake and the fires that followed devastated San Francisco. Over several days, large parts of the city were destroyed, leaving hundreds of thousands homeless and forever altering its history. This film presents an image-led account of the destruction and its human impact, using real archival photographs from the period.

Narration Credit:

“The Story of An Eyewitness” by Jack London
Read by Elaine Hamby for LibriVox – Short Nonfiction Collection Vol. 006 (2007)

Originally published in Collier’s Weekly, May 5, 1906

Republished in A Treasury of Great Reporting (1949), edited by Louis L. Snyder

Audio recorded December 10, 2007

Narration by Elaine Hamby

Author: Jack London
Narrator: Elaine Hamby

This recording is released under a Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication and is provided courtesy of LibriVox.

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Audio tracks for some languages were automatically generated.