For a while in the early decades of the postcard, publishers would dispatch their camera crews to record the aftermath of any manmade or natural disaster. Copies were printed overnight and dispatched to street vendors and kiosks the next day. Editorial selection showed little regard for the sensibilities of victims or their friends and families. Images of the dead struck a morbid note but were not uncommon. A catastrophic earthquake struck the Sicilian port city of Messina in December 1908 - the epicentre was in the centre of the Strait of Messina and the mainland city of Reggio Calabria was equally devastated, first by the quake, then by a series of tsunamis. In Messina there were 75,000 fatalities (almost half the population), in Reggio 25,000 lives were lost. Some 90% of Messina’s buildings were destroyed or seriously damaged despite which the postcard photographers got to work. The event is unsurpassed as the most powerful earthquake ever recorded in Europe. As recently as 2021 it was reported that some citizens of Messina were still housed in some of the temporary barrack-like buildings that went up in the early phase of rebuilding. Restoration work went on for decades but no postcard photographers were on hand to record the process. The last two images offer a moving reflection on the toll of human life.
