AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHS OF SAN FRANCISCO, GEORGE R. LAWRENCE, 1906 EARTHQUAKE
ABOUT
Comparison aerial photographs of San Francisco printed on glossy fine art paper. The first image is an aerial shot of the city taken in 1981 by an unknown photographer. It depicts the harbor and downtown all the way out to Ocean Beach and the Golden Gate Bridge. The second image is taken from the same vantage point. It is stamped, ‘Photograph of San Francisco is ruins from Lawrence Captive Airship 2000 feet above San Francisco Bay. Overlooking waterfront, sunset over Golden Gate.’ There is also a copyright stamp for George R Lawrence. Lawrence used an aerial kite to photograph San Francisco after the devastating 1906 earthquake. His photographs appeared in newspapers around the world and generated more than $15,000 for the photographer.
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CREATOR Unknown and George R. Lawrence and Co.
- DATE OF MANUFACTURE 1906 and 1981.
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MATERIALS AND TECHNIQUES Photograph on glossy fine art paper.
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CONDITION Good. Wear consistent with age and use.
- DIMENSIONS Sheet: H 21.5 in. x W 23.5 in., Image: H 16 in. W 18.5 in.
HISTORY
George R. Lawrence (1868-1938)
After working briefly at a Chicago wagon factory in 1889, George Lawrence opened a studio for the production of crayon enlargements — large photographs, usually portraits, that have been enhanced by pastels or charcoal. Crayon enlargements were popular wall decorations in the late 1800s. In 1893, Lawrence's studio partner left Chicago permanently. Lawrence inherited the equipment and learned to develop negatives from a local photographer's apprentice. He formed the Geo. R. Lawrence Company and quickly became an innovator in the field, using the slogan "The Hitherto Impossible in Photography is Our Specialty."
Lawrence designed his own large-format cameras and specialized in aerial views. He began by using ladders or high towers to photograph from above. In 1901 he shot aerial photographs from a flimsy cage attached to a captive balloon. Once, while flying more than 200 feet above Chicago, the cage tore from the balloon, hurling Lawrence and his camera to the ground. Fortunately his fall was broken by telephone and telegraph wires; he landed unharmed. Lawrence continued to use balloons until he developed a method of taking aerial views with cameras suspended from unmanned kites.
