Destruction of San Francisco by earthquake & fire

The 1906 San Francisco earthquake struck the coast of Northern California at 5:12 a.m. on April 18 with an estimated "moment magnitude" of 7.8 and a maximum "Mercalli intensity" of "XI" ("Extreme"). Severe shaking was felt from Eureka on the North Coast to the Salinas Valley, an agricultural region to the south of the San Francisco Bay Area of the long vast Central Valley. Devastating fires fueled by broken and twisted underground natural gas supply pipes sparked by downed poles with tangles of overloaded new electric lines, soon broke out in the city that lasted for several days. As a result, about 3,000 people died and over 80% of the city of San Francisco was destroyed. The earthquake and resulting fire are remembered as one of the worst and deadliest natural disasters in the history of the United States. The death toll remains the greatest loss of life from a natural disaster in California's history and high in the lists of American urban disasters.

Kurz and Allison was a prominent American lithographic firm that operated from 1885 to 1893. The firm specialised in producing large prints of historical events, particularly Civil War battles. The company was founded by Louis Kurz and Alexander Allison, both of whom had extensive experience in the printing industry. Their prints were very popular in the late 19th century, and many are now considered valuable collectors' items. The company went out of business in 1893 due to financial difficulties, but its legacy lives on through the many prints it produced.