Capturing the Moment: Photographer Arnold Genthe, 1906.

Anyone who has spent time around me knows I have a passion for both history and photography. When those interests collide, I’m on cloud 9. During my research for the Golden Gate Chronicles, I collected a large number of historic images of San Francisco, especially any of those dealing with the 1906 earthquake. When my publisher began the process of designing a cover for Out of the Ruins, I sent in a wide selection of photographs to give them ideas. I was surprised when they came back with the image that finally graced the lower half of the cover. I didn’t know the picture’s history, but thanks to the knowledgeable members of a Facebook group called San Francisco History, now I do.

The photo was taken by well-known San Francisco photographer, Arnold Genthe. He is perhaps best remembered for his pre-earthquake photos of Chinatown, collected into the book, Genthe’s Photographs of San Francisco’s Old Chinatown, but he was also a much-sought-after portrait photographer.Genthe, like everyone else in San Francisco, was awakened early the morning of April 18, 1906. Discovering his equipment had been destroyed by falling chimney bricks, he visited his favorite photography shop and asked to borrow a hand-camera to record the events of the day. The owner, aware that the approaching flames would soon lay waste to his merchandise, told Genthe to take whatever he wanted. The photographer claimed a small portable camera and filled his pockets with film. He proceeded to wander the city, capturing images that would eventually be seen as icons of the epic disaster.

In his words:

I have often wondered, thinking back, what it is in the mind of the individual that so often makes him feel himself immune to the disaster that may be going on all around him. So many whom I met during the day seemed completely unconscious that the fire which was spreading through the city was bound to overtake their own homes and possessions. I know that this was so with me. All morning and through the early afternoon I wandered from one end of the city to the other, taking pictures without a thought that my studio was in danger.

The image which graces the cover of Out of the Ruins was probably taken in the days which followed. It shows two men working on Howard Street (now South Van Ness, between 18th and 19th streets). These homes were photographed many times, both because of their obvious earthquake damage and because they were on the final edge of the fire line. If Genthe had turned around, the image might have shown smoking rubble. The SFMTA has some other angles on the shot which include both sides of the street. Click here to take a peek.

It’s astounding to think of a photographer wandering through the chaos, recording the scene for the historical record. It makes me wonder what I would have done in his shoes. Would I have gathered up my belongings and dragged them to safety? Or would I have grabbed a camera and captured the moment? It’s difficult to say.

If you had found yourself in San Francisco during these frightening days, what would you have done?

You can see more of Genthe’s work in the Library of Congress Genthe Collection.