Reports from Antigua, Martinique, and Barbados note that the sea first rose more than a meter, followed by large waves. The pictorial material related to the 1755 Lisbon earthquake is extensive and broadly distributed. It includes factual renderings of the actual events, as well as fanciful interpretations. The latter, which tend to exaggerate the disaster, are most often found in rural regions. In general, it can be said that the degree of accuracy in these materials decreases in proportion to increases in distance from Lisbon and the time elapsed after the earthquake.
Some examples contain both accurate and fanciful material.
Among the best of these are a series of six excellent engravings by Le Bas . These were based on drawings made by Paris and Pedegache, who were in Lisbon at the time of the earthquake. The final compositions, which appear in several printed series, are characterized by a photographic-like accuracy. The size of the vegetation growing on top of the ruins in these pictures indicates that they were probably created late in 1757. Four of these original drawings survived and are on display in the City Museum of Lisbon.