• Color stereo photographs of San Francisco after '06 quake found

    Frederick Eugene Ives / AP

    This Oct. 6, 1906 stereo photograph provided by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History shows view of earthquake-damaged San Francisco. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the six images were snapped by color photography pioneer Frederick Eugene Ives several months after the April 1906 "Great Quake." National Museum of American History volunteer Anthony Brooks found the glass plate photos while cataloguing a collection donated by Ives' son, Herbert.

    Frederick Eugene Ives / AP

    This Oct. 6, 1906 stereo photograph provided by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History shows view of earthquake-damaged San Francisco.

    Frederick Eugene Ives / AP

    This Oct. 6, 1906 stereo photograph provided by the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History shows view of earthquake-damaged San Francisco.

    By James Cheng

     

    I didn’t even know color stereo photographs existed in the early 1900’s. I'd love to see these with the stereo-optic viewer.

    AP: A museum volunteer has unearthed what the Smithsonian Institution believes to be the first — and perhaps only — color photographs of San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake and fire that nearly leveled the city.

    The six never-published images were snapped by photography innovator Frederick Eugene Ives several months after the April 1906 "Great Quake," the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Most were taken from the roof of the hotel where Ives stayed during an October 1906 visit. Read the full story here.