San Francisco Stories

Agoston Haraszthy, a man of weak health and diverse talents

Agoston Haraszthy, man of diverse talents

Formal 19th-century studio portrait of Emperor Norton in dark frock coat and vest, head turned slightly left with a composed, dignified expression.

His Royal Majesty, Emperor Joshua Abraham Norton I of the United States

Studio portrait of author Bret Harte in dark jacket with neatly trimmed beard and wavy hair, gazing slightly to the right in three-quarter view.

Bret Harte

Formal portrait of Mark Twain in a light suit with unruly white hair and thick mustache, facing forward with a slightly quizzical look.

Mark Twain

Studio portrait of David Terry in jacket and bow tie, head turned left, with combed-over hair, a bushy beard, and a firm, unsmiling expression.

The dangerous duelist Judge Terry and unfortunate Sarah Hill

There are no surviving images of Belle Cora, but everyone agreed that she was beautiful and her house sumptuous

The tragic love of Charles and Belle Cora

There are no authenticated images of Ah Toy, but she was said to be very tall and remarkably beautiful

The unfortunate success of Ah Toy

Undated black-and-white photo of a rescue in a narrow Chinatown alley. A police officer on a fire escape cradles a young girl; below, a man steadies a ladder. At ground level, Donaldina Cameron stands at bottom left beside an unidentified woman, both looking up.

Donaldina Cameron

Early aviation portrait of Lincoln Beachey in a flight cap and heavy jacket, looking slightly left with a faint smile.

The brief and glorious life of Lincoln Beachey

Black and white photo. Young woman Tien Fuh Wu stands in a high-collared white blouse behind and to the left of a mature woman (Donaldina Cameron) seated in a parlor at the Presbyterian Mission House, circa 1910s.

Tien Fuh Wu's fight to rescue enslaved girls

We don't have any contemporary images of Conchita. This is based on von Langsdorff's description.

Conchita Arguello and her long wait for love

Count Rezanov, the Russian, envoy of the mighty Tsar

Count Nikolai Rezanov and his visit to Presidio

Senator David C. Broderick

Senator Broderick, who lived for graft and died for freedom

Mansion that Mary Ellen Pleasant built for herself, her partner, Thomas Hill, and his family at 1661 Octavia St.

Mary Ellen Pleasant, friend of John Brown

William A. Leidesdorff

William Leidesdorff, first in everything

Charles Warren Stoddard

Charles Warren Stoddard

Charles de Young, from the collection of Charles Warren Stoddard, from a story, "In Old Bohemia", by Stoddard printed in the Pacific Monthly in 1907

Charles and Michael de Young, violent publishers

Alma de Bretteville Spreckels on the throne of her friend, Queen Marie of Romania. By Richard Hall

Alma de Bretteville Spreckels, beauty and beautifier

Ina Coolbrith, California's first Poet Laureate

Dante Benedetti Diamond at University of San Francisco

Dante Benedetti and how he kept baseball alive in SF

Postage stamp featuring Amadeo Peter Giannini, the people's banker

Amadeo Giannini, the people's banker

Statue of Thomas Starr King located in Sacramento Civil War Memorial Grove in Capitol Park

Thomas Starr King, the orator who saved the nation

Look Tin Eli (left) and Look Poong-San, largest stockholder of Canton Bank

Look Tin Eli

George Sterling

George Sterling

Alice Marble

The Vigilance Committee of 1851

Chee Kung Tong

Filipino community in San Francisco

The Vigilance Committee of 1856

Mrs Cool and decorative dentistry

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle