Famed author Jack London was many things in his 40 years of life: a war correspondent, an oyster pirate, a sailor, and a photographer. It is that last bit which the New York Times focuses on as it looks back at a rarely seen collection of his photographs recently published in a book titled "Jack London: The Paths Men Take."

The pictures cover his days in London, Hawaii, Japan, China, Korea, and San Francisco immediately after the 1906 earthquake. It is the SF batch that will likely resonate most with residents of the Bay Area, as they depict a city devastated by the earthquake and resulting fires. London was born in San Francisco, but lived by Lake Merritt at the time of the quake. He was hired by Collier’s to take pictures of the wreckage, and his photographs and descriptions of the scenes he encountered are enough to send chills down the spine of anyone anxiously awaiting the next big one.

“Not in history has a modern imperial city been so completely destroyed,” London wrote of the quake. “San Francisco is gone. Nothing remains of it but memories and a fringe of dwelling-houses on its outskirts.”

He even traveled to Santa Rosa, and captured on film the destruction he found.

His great-granddaughter, Tarnel Abbott, told the Times that the harsh reality shown in London's pics reminds her of the present day. “It’s so reminiscent of what we see today," she observed. "There are so many homeless people sleeping on our streets.”

London later moved to Sonoma County's Glen Ellen, where he lived until his death — 100 years ago today in 1916.

Related: San Francisco's 1906 Earthquake, Now In Color

Photo of San Francisco, 1906, by Jack London. Courtesy of California State Parks via New York Times.