Digital image collections guide

Images of the most important documents of American history.

This site provides a collection of images related to American slave trade and slave societies. The images were compiled from a variety of sources and are comprised primarily of visual documents dating to the period of slavery. The exhibit is sponsored by the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities and by the Digital Media Lab at the University of Virginia.

A searchable online catalog with millions of digitized items to browse, including photos, maps and books, from libraries, archives, museums, and cultural institutions around the United States.

Digital images from the George Eastman collection spanning the decades from 1839 to today.

The RAAI is a collection of rich historical photographs which provide insight into early European and American views - literal and figurative - of Africa's art. Texts are presented in the original - often erroneous and sometimes racist - language. Foreign texts appear in English translation followed by the original language.

Photograph holdings of the Labadie Collection on social protest and radical politics, housed in the Univ. of Michigan Special Collections Library.

Prints and photographs from the Library of Congress.

Searchable collection of photos from LIFE and Getty Images, two of the most recognized names in photography.

Digitizations of federal records created during the Lincoln presidential administration. Includes documents, photographs, maps, podcasts, and newspaper illustrations (e.g., political cartoons).

Over 3,000 images from the Lincoln Highway Association (1910-1927).

Several thousand images from the collections of the NPS, including park architecture, Native American heritage, roads and transportation, CCC, etc.

Photos and graphics from the New York Times.

Links to a range of exhibits relating to moments in US history, such as elections, work, etc.

Two collections from the Smithsonian American Art Museum comprising over 5,500 images featuring the Ashcan School Artists and American artists of the early 20th century.

Online Resource for Teaching with Visual Evidence, maintained by the American Social History Project.

From the National Archives. This page links to presidential libraries and provides information on how they are structured and operate.

Search over 6.4 million records with 536,000 images, video and sound files, electronic journals and other resources from the Smithsonian's museums, archives & libraries.

Features images of maps, letters, diaries, newspapers, portraits, etc. from the Civil War in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.

View and download images from the entire USGS image collection.

Created by UNESCO and the Library of Congress, the World Digital Library provides free online access to world cultural treasures. Includes manuscripts, maps, rare books, musical scores, recordings, films, prints, photographs, and architectural drawings from a variety of countries.

The Photographic Archive of the American Academy in Rome consists of several valuable and specialized collections of photographs on archaeology, architecture and art, as well as landscape architecture and gardens. It also includes special collections important to the history of the Academy.

Online gallery of virtual books and online exhibitions with objects from the British Library Collections.

Includes thousands of digital images of Medieval and Renaissance manuscripts in the Pierpont Morgan Library and Museum (NYC).

A collection of 29 million digital images of paintings, music, films and books from Europe's galleries, libraries, archives and museums. Included are images, texts, sounds and videos.

The BnF's digital archive features high-resolution digital images of manuscripts, documents, books, art works and other graphics, photos of physical objects from antiquity to the early 20th century, and audio-visual files.

Provides access to over 275,000 images digitized from primary sources and printed rarities in the collections of The New York Public Library, including illuminated manuscripts, historical maps, vintage posters, rare prints and photographs, illustrated books, printed ephemera, and more.

Items can circulate to UMN faculty, students, staff as well as the general public.

Provides access to the California State University IMAGE Project. It contains over 65,000 images, is global in coverage and includes all areas of visual imagery.

The Met’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History pairs essays and works of art with chronologies, telling the story of art and global culture through the Museum’s collection.

Created by UNESCO and the Library of Congress, the World Digital Library provides free online access to world cultural treasures. Includes manuscripts, maps, rare books, musical scores, recordings, films, prints, photographs, and architectural drawings from a variety of countries.

Holds the archives of the Australian Government since Federation in 1901. PhotoSearch allows you to search a collection of more 220,000 digitized photographs from the NAA's collection.

Search the image collections of more than 50 Australian libraries, museums, galleries and other cultural institutions, as well as the National Library of New Zealand. PictureAustralia searches the digitised image collections of Australia's major cultural institutions (e.g. National Library of Australia, Australian War Memorial) as well as many smaller collections.

Created by UNESCO and the Library of Congress, the World Digital Library provides free online access to world cultural treasures. Includes manuscripts, maps, rare books, musical scores, recordings, films, prints, photographs, and architectural drawings from a variety of countries.

Search collection includes photographs, 3D models, GIS data, site plans, aerial and satellite photography, images of rock art, excavation reports, manuscripts, traveler's accounts, historical and antiquarian maps, books, articles, and other scholarly research about Africa.

Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ) Images collection | Images, from Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec, contains about 53,000 images of posters, postcards, photographs, prints and documentary iconography, primarily relating to Quebec province.

Online gallery of virtual books and online exhibitions with objects from the British Library Collections.

Includes thousands of digital images of Medieval and Renaissance manuscripts in the Pierpont Morgan Library and Museum (NYC).

The BnF's digital archive features high-resolution digital images of manuscripts, documents, books, art works and other graphics, photos of physical objects from antiquity to the early 20th century, and audio-visual files.

The Met’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History pairs essays and works of art with chronologies, telling the story of art and global culture through the Museum’s collection.

Created by UNESCO and the Library of Congress, the World Digital Library provides free online access to world cultural treasures. Includes manuscripts, maps, rare books, musical scores, recordings, films, prints, photographs, and architectural drawings from a variety of countries.

Provides access to the California State University IMAGE Project. It contains over 65,000 images, is global in coverage and includes all areas of visual imagery.

Historical archive which documents the work of many women who have made original and important contributions to physics this century. Biographical information is also included.

Over 1,000 illustrations from Darwin's publications.

30,000 historical lithographs, photographs, engravings, slides and other illustrative resources of 20th century physicists and astronomers available online from the Niels Bohr Library and Archives.

This project, all about Galileo, includes portraits of Galileo and other scientists.

Images from the thirteenth through the early twentieth century in the fields of astronomy, chemistry, geology, mathematics, medicine, and physics, as represented in manuscript illuminations, engravings, lithographs, and photographs from the New York Public Library.

This National Library of Medicine project presents online archival collections of prominent 20th century scientists, physicians, and others.

The art of ancient Greece and Rome, and its collection and reception since antiquity.

Includes descriptions and digital images of some of the over 100,000 vases cataloged by the Beazley Archive (Oxford University) as part of a Getty Grant program.

Nearly 500 outstanding objects from the collection of the Department of Greek and Roman Art in the Metropolitan Museum are assembled in this generously illustrated publication, published to coincide with the opening of the Museum's new galleries of Hellenistic, Etruscan, and Roman art, and comprehensive Study Center.

Includes digital images of buildings, coins, gems, sculptures, sites and vases from ancient Greece and Rome.

Created by UNESCO and the Library of Congress, the World Digital Library provides free online access to world cultural treasures. Includes manuscripts, maps, rare books, musical scores, recordings, films, prints, photographs, and architectural drawings from a variety of countries.

Selections of such biblical art from notable artists, including many highlights from the history of art.

Vanderbilt University's collection of historic and contemporary religious art and symbolism. A sophisticated tool employing the ICONCLASS hierarchy.

Over 2000 images from the Jewish Museum's collection of art and Jewish culture of different media, including fine arts, Judaica, and broadcast media.

The portfolios in this section bring together materials from specific sites, including ancient archaeological sites and modern cities.

The artwork on this website represents a variety of artistic responses to the Holocaust. There is work done as a direct response, created by the victims. Much of this art was created in the camps and ghettos, or recreated immediately after the war in displaced persons camps due to the loss of the originals.

Highlights of the Archaeology, Fine Arts, Jewish Art and Life collections.

The Judaica Division Images Collections offer insight into virtually all facets of Jewish life in Israel.

The Upper Midwest Jewish Archives has materials illustrating the American Jewish experience from a Midwestern perspective, chronicling the activities of the local Jewish population in creating and supporting ethnic/religious communities and advocacy organizations, as well as their efforts to promote social welfare and social justice.

Portal to search through USHMM collections of artifacts, documents, photos, films, books, personal stories, and more covering the Holocaust. Note: some materials are only available on site at the museum.