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1906 San Francisco earthquake, Arnold Genthe, autochrome, Greta Garbo, Library of Congress Collection, photography early 1900, Portrait, San Francisco
- Arnold Genthe (1869–1942) American photographer, was born in Berlin. Best known for his photos of San Francisco’s Chinatown, the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and his portraits of noted people, from politicians and socialites to literary figures and entertainment celebrities like Nance O’Neil, Sarah Bernhardt, Jack London, Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, John D. Rockefeller and Greta Garbo. Impassioned by photography and intrigued by the Chinese section of the city and photographed its inhabitants. About 200 of his Chinatown pictures survive, and these comprise the only known photographic depictions of the area before the 1906 earthquake. Genthe was an early adopter of the autochrome color photography process. He began experimenting with the autochromes in 1905 in Carmel, California. His subjects included portraits, artistic nudes, and landscapes.