Jack and Charmian left San Francisco for a 10-day journey on horseback through the debris of earthquake country.
They visited Fort Bragg (pictured) which was destroyed by the quake.
Historian Philip Fradkin, who is guest curator of the exhibition, says London's words and images focus attention away from San Francisco to the outlying areas that were also devastated.
Image: The Huntington Library, San Marino, CA
"Jack and Charmian were like children - they thought the trip was a bit of a lark," says Mr Fradkin, who is also the author of the recent book The Great Earthquake and Firestorm of 1906.
He says the couple embarked on the adventure to prove how hardy and tough they were.
"They boxed and called each other 'Mate'. Jack was proud of his wife - it was a very gruelling journey," says Mr Fradkin.
Image of San Francisco - California State Parks
Mr Fradkin says the 1906 quake provides important insights for modern times.
"Such disasters spawn wartime conditions for civilian populations - fear, trauma, chaos, lack of food, refugees.
"This country has not experienced the devastating effects of war on its soil since the Civil War," he says.
Image: California State Parks
In a new preface to The Great Earthquake, Mr Fradkin draws parallels between San Francisco and New Orleans, which was battered by Hurricane Katrina.
"Both cities had been forewarned of disaster: San Francisco by previous earthquakes and fires and New Orleans by earlier floods and hurricanes," he writes.
In both cases, he says the warnings were ignored. "They were, in other words, ripe for major catastrophes."
California Historical Society
