Catalog Archive
Auction 184, Lot 261

"San Francisco Burned District"

Subject: San Francisco, California

Period: 1906 (dated)

Publication:

Color: Printed Color

Size:
13.1 x 10.1 inches
33.3 x 25.7 cm
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This fascinating and dramatic map was produced by William H. Lee and published by Laird & Lee in Chicago. It vividly depicts large red flames consuming a huge swath of San Francisco - a devastating fire that burned for three days and consuming buildings in more than 500 blocks in today's financial district. An inset at bottom left underscores the magnitude of the fire, comparing it to the smaller fires in Baltimore and Chicago. Despite the alarming map and inset, the "Plain Facts" intended to reassure the audience: "The public must not conclude, from the graphic descriptions and many scenes of the burned district, that the beautiful Golden Gate city has been entirely destroyed…The new San Francisco will be grander and more beautiful.” Only one past sales record (Old World Auctions) in the last 40 years.

References:

Condition: B+

Issued folding on a clean sheet. There is a small remnant of cardstock along the top sheet edge on verso.

Estimate: $250 - $325

Sold for: $200

Closed on 9/15/2021

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