View some examples of the published pictures and accounts of the tornado.
The front cover of Harper's Weekly magazine's issue of June 13, 1896 depicts the churning Mississippi, rivercraft being tossed like toys, and flying debris. The caption claims that artist G. W. Peters saw this catastrophe happen.
Harper's Weekly magazine published pictures and accounts of the devastating tornado in its June 13, 1896 issue. This two-page spread includes an enhanced photograph of Lafayette Park showing the complete destruction of its trees. The picturesque small Police Station still stood. The other images are artists' depictions of a Military Patrol keeping the peace and scenes of destruction in various locations.
Harper's Weekly magazine published pictures and accounts of the devastating tornado in its June 13, 1896 issue. These photographs show scenes of destruction at various locations, many in the Lafayette Square neighborhood.
This drawing by Victor Perard depicts his idea of what the riverfront might have looked like just after the tornado struck. The dark funnel is still striking East St. Louis as a man pulls another out of the river, a steamboat founders on its side, and debris flies everywhere.
Using the headline 'The Recent Appalling Calamity at St. Louis....', the national newspaper Frank Leslie's Illustrated Weekly showed the world the serious damage caused by the 1896 tornado. The issue, dated June 11, 1896, used photographs and artists renditions of the tornado and its aftermath. This double-page spread of drawings by staff artist Frank H. Schell shows the artist's idea of the chaos at the moment the tornado struck. Dramatic images of the riverfront, Eads Bridge, Jockey Club, and a fire wagon fighting downed power lines convey the horror of the event.
Frank Leslie's Illustrated Weekly magazine showed the world the destruction caused by the tornado that struck St. Louis and East St. Louis on May 27, 1896. Just two weeks later, in the issue dated June 11, photographs and artist's renderings of the disaster were featured. This page highlights the destruction that occured in the Lafayette Square neighborhood. The photographs were taken by Rosch Photography, a local St. Louis firm.
This pamphlet was published by the German language newspaper Anzeiger des Westens shortly after the tornado of 1896 wreaked havoc in St. Louis. Translated from German, it reads: The Great Tornado; a collection of views of its devastation. The pamphlet contains text, photographs and drawings.
