But I also hunt for images online. Here are my favorite sources of digital ephemera. Some are copyright free, but others are restricted to personal use.
LIFE magazine (Google Books)
https://books.google.com/books?id=TUAEAAAAMBAJ&source=gbs_all_issues_r&cad=1Thanks to Google, you can view every page from every Life Magazine published from the 1930s-1970s. Simply choose a decade and issue, then click "Preview this magazine."
To save an image, you have to do a screen capture -- right-clicking won't work. (On a Mac, press Command-Control-Shift-4, then select an area to save it to the Clipboard; on an iPad, press the Home button and the power button at the same time.)
Wellcome Images (Science & History)
http://wellcomeimages.orgIf you're looking for historical or medical images, head for the Wellcome collection. On the home page, you can search for a topic or click the Explore tab along the bottom of the page to browse images.
You can refine your search using the boxes on the right. Once you find an image you want, you can add it to your own "lightbox" (you have to register first). Or you can simply download it. In some cases, you can download a high-resolution version.
You can also look for similar images by selecting one of the related keywords listed below the image.
Library of Congress
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/This site isn't as easy to use as it should be, but if you can figure out how to navigate the huge collection, you'll find amazing images, especially posters and advertising from the early 20th century.
I clicked "Daguerreotypes" on the home page, which displayed a grid of early portraits.
Internet Archive Book Images (Flickr)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/internetarchivebookimages/This amazing collection contains over 2.5 million copyright-free images, taken from old books. (Here's a story about how the collection came to be.)
To search for a particular type of image, click the tiny magnifying glass on the home page and enter your Search terms in the box at the top of the page.
Each image page includes a detailed description. You can download the images in several different sizes, and you can click a link to see all the other images from the same source.
The British Library
https://www.flickr.com/photos/britishlibraryThe British Library also uses Flikr to display its huge collection of public-domain images. To see subcategories, click "Albums" on the home page.
More collections
- Advertising: http://advertisingcliche.blogspot.com/search/label/1960
- Immigrant Portraits: http://www.retronaut.com/2013/12/immigrant-portraits-ellis-island/
- History: http://ebookfriendly.com/flickr-photostreams-historic-images/
What online image sources do you use?
Thanks for all the sources for clip art. That one old photo the woman is holding a weaving shuttle. I might have to go capture that one for future use.
ReplyDeleteYes, and there was even a description of who she was. I thought of you when I grabbed it!
DeleteThanks for posting these sources. Really great! :-)
ReplyDelete