Color Photos of 1906 San Francisco Earthquake Discovered

Discovered in 2009 by a National Museum of American History volunteer, these color photos taken by photography pioneer Frederick Eugene Ives are the only known color photographs of the earthquake's devastation. The following photos are also examples of a color photo technique that Ives invented, in which three separate slides of the primary colors were taken and combined. This process did not prove to be commercially viable due to long exposure time. Ives is best know for his contributions to halftone printing. He was also a founding member of the Photographic Society of Philadelphia.