Before, After and the writing quill

Being a graphic designer I take a keen interest in typography. I came across a book explaining the origins of roman, serif and cursive letterforms: http://www.archive.org/details/freehandletterin00wils

I noticed it was copyright 1906. So, being from San Francisco it got me thinking about the 1906 earthquake and I came across two amazing films.

The first traveling by trolley down the length of Market Street to the Ferry Building in 1905, the year before the quake: http://www.archive.org/details/TripDown1905. The second is the same route in 1906 after the earthquake: http://www.archive.org/details/tmp_50168

By the style I assume it is the same photographer. Before…After.

Here’s one more :http://www.archive.org/details/SanFranc1906_3.  I really enjoyed see this moment in time when there was the transition from Horse and Carriage to Auto. In this film they share the  road with bicycles, horses and the occasional rifle carrying citizen.

-Jeff Kaplan