Nature of Source
Photographs and other visual records offer an insight into family members, their surroundings and the times they lived in. They provide a valuable visual archive of the events in which our ancestors were involved with. Before the age of photography our visual record of people, places and events consisted of engravings, illustrations, and portraits.
Key Stages of Photography
Daguerreotypes (1840s-early 1860s)
The daguerreotype, invented by Louis Daguerre, was the first practical and successful photographic process. Introduced in 1840, it remained in use until the early 1860s. Daguerreotypes are unique one-of-a-kind and highly detailed images on polished silvered copper plates. They were expensive and only affordable for wealthier families and are therefore a fairly rare find.
Ambrotypes (1850s-1890s)
Invented by the English photographer Frederick Scott Archer, the ambrotype process came into use in the 1850s and remained popular until about 1890. Made on glass rather than metal, this method offered a more affordable alternative to daguerreotypes which broadened the appeal of photography.
Tintypes or Ferrotypes (1870s-1940s)
Tintypes (or Ferrotypes) appeared in the 1870s and remained popular through to the 1940s. Made on thin sheets of metal, tintypes were a durable and inexpensive option making them accessible to a wide range of people. Tintypes photographs are commonly found in family archives and belongings.
Postcards (1894-early 1900s)
In the 1850s, a new form of photography emerged called Carte de visite. This affordable process revolutionised photography and quickly became a popular option especially for the middle classes and eventually for the working classes. Some continued to be produced as late as 1919. Measuring approximately 4 x 2½ inches, these photographs were mounted on thin cards about 4½ x 6½ inches in size. Typically, the photographer’s name and address were printed on the back of the card.
A larger format, known as Cabinet Portraits, was introduced around 1866. These offered greater detail than their carte de visite counterparts. Measuring approximately 4.25 x 6.5 inches, these photographs were mounted on stiff card and often featured elaborate backgrounds and props and proved hugely popular. Again the photographer’s name and address often appeared on the mount. However, both formats began to decline with the advent of roll film in 1889 and the introduction of the first Box Brownie camera in 1900.
Postcards or ‘correspondence cards’ were first introduced in Britain in 1894 but were confined to an address on one side and a message on the other with no picture. The regulations were relaxed in 1902 allowing the use of a picture. This change led to a surge in their popularity, which peaked in the years leading up to World War I. The onset of war led to the demise of the postcard as a cultural phenomenon.
Where Found
County Record Offices
Local archives hold a wide array of photos, images and postcards of the local area from various periods. Types of photos include families or individuals, buildings and landmarks, businesses, streets, events and landscapes.
The National Archives
The National Archives holds one of the largest and most significant collections of photographs in the United Kingdom. Running into millions of individual items, these photographs have been amassed during the working lives of central government departments. Collections include the Dixon Scott Collection consisting of 14,288 photographs held in series INF 9 at The National Archives depicting the countryside, towns and villages in the British Isles covering the 1930s and 1940s. The series can be searched or browsed at the catalogue entry.
British Library
Collections include over 250,000 India Office Records photographs, thousands of photographs of places in Britain and around the world, dating back to the 19th century, portraits of notable figures as well as ordinary people from the 19th and 20th centuries and prints and drawings depicting people, places and events.
Historic England Archive
The Archive is the public archive of the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission and holds research material on buildings and places, social and local history and archaeological sites including many historical photographs.
National Science and Media Museum
The museum is home to more than 3 million items of historical and cultural significance. The collection is devoted to the science and culture of image and sound and includes the National Photography Collection (including the Daily Herald Archive), National Cinematography Collection and National Television Collection.
British Museum
The museum holds an extensive collection of historic photographs and images dating back to the 19th century. The British Museum Images offers over 37,000 digitised images. The Collection online offers access to the library’s digital archive covering nearly four and a half million objects.
National Library of Scotland
The Library offers a comprehensive collection of over 300,000 historic photographs and images dating from the 1840s to the present day. Collections include the MacKinnon Collection of around 14,000 photographs capturing various aspects of Scottish life from the mid-19th century to the early 20th century and First World War Photographs.
Local Family History Societies
Local societies may hold collections of historic images including local landmarks and buildings, family photographs and images from local events.
Period Covered
1839 – Onwards
Genealogical Value
- Photographs provide a visual representation of a place or person, providing direct evidence of names, dates and places.
Further References
- Clark, Gary W. 19th Century Card Photos KwikGuide: A Step-by-Step Guide to Identifying and Dating Cartes de Visite and Cabinet Cards Paperback: PhotoTree, 2013
- Falconer, John & Hide, Louise. Capturing the 19th Century in Photographs: British Library Publishing, 2009
- Gernsheim, Alison. Victorian and Edwardian Fashion: A Photographic Survey: Dover Publications, 1981 (Limited preview available from Google Books)
- Gill, Stephen. Dating By Design 1840-1915: A New Way of Dating Old Photographs: Family History Federation, 2022
- Godden, Geoffrey. Collecting Picture Postcards: Phillimore, 1996
- Jones, Gillian. Lancashire Professional Photographers 1840-1940: PhotoResearch, 2004
- Kinealy, Christine & Sexton, Sean. The Irish: A Photohistory: Thames & Hudson, 2013
- Levenick, Denise May. How to Archive Family Photos: A Step-by-Step Guide to Organize and Share Your Photos Digitally: Family Tree Books, 2015
- Linkman, Audrey. The Victorians: Photographic Portraits: Tauris Parke, 1993
- MacKinnon, Murray & Oram, Richard. The Scots: A Photohistory: Thames & Hudson, 2013
- O’Brien, Terry. Bromsgrove’s Victorian Photographic Treasury: The Hughes Collection: The History Press, 2008
- Pols, Robert. Dating Old Photographs: Federation of Family History Societies, 1995
- Pols, Robert. Understanding Old Photographs: Robert Boyd Publications, 1995
- Pols, Robert. Dating 19th Century Photographs: Federation of Family History Societies, 1998
- Pols, Robert. Looking at Old Photographs: Federation of Family History Societies, 1998
- Pols, Robert. Photography for Family Historians: Federation of Family History Societies, 1998
- Pols, Robert. Family Photographs, 1860-1945: Public Record Office, 2002
- Pols, Robert. Dating Twentieth Century Photographs: Federation of Family History Societies, 2005
- Pols, Robert. Dating Nineteenth Century Photographs: Federation of Family History Societies, 2005
- Pols, Robert. My Ancestor was a Studio Photographer: Society of Genealogists, 2011
- Pols, Robert. Dating Old Army Photographs: Family History Partnership, 2011
- Pritchard, Michael. A Directory of London Photographers 1841-1908: PhotoResearch, 1994
- Shrimpton, Jayne. How to Get the Most from Family Pictures: Society of Genealogists, 2011
- Shrimpton, Jayne. Family Photographs and How to Date Them: Countryside Books, 2008
- Shrimpton, Jayne. Tracing Your Ancestors through Family Photographs: A Complete Guide for Family and Local Historians: Pen & Sword Books, 2014
- Smith, Philip & Smith, David. Picture Postcard Values: IPM Promotions (annual)
- Storey, Neil. Military Photographs and how to Date Them: Countryside Books, 2009
- Wichard, Richard and Carol. Victorian Cartes-de-Visite: Shire, 1999
Websites
History and Photographic Types
ThoughtCo
The History of Photography: Pinholes and Polaroids to Digital Images.
All About Photo
The Evolution of Photography.
FuturaPhoto
Evolution of Photography from Its Beginnings to The Present.
That Wild Idea
The Complete Guide To The History of Photography.
Historic England
A Century of Historic Photographic Types.
Philip Greenspun
History of Photography Timeline. The timeline offers a chronological overview of significant events, inventions, and developments in the field of photography from ancient times to the modern era.
Spruce Crafts
A Brief History of Photography and the Camera.
Science and Media Museum
The History of Photography in Pictures. The site explores the development and history of photography through these special selections from our collection providing an overview of key figures and developments.
British Photographic History
Information and discussion on all aspects of British photographic history. The blog serves as a forum for sharing news and information related to British photographic history.
Tamino Autographs
Old Photographs. The Evolution of Photographic Formats. The site provides an overview of the different formats and their characteristics.
Dating Old Photos
Everpresent
How Old Are My Photos? Identifying the age of the old photographs.
University of Birmingham
Libraries and Learning Services. How to date old photographs.
Family Wise
How to Date Old Photographs. The blog outlines what clues to look for to put a date on your old photographs.
Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine
How to date Victorian and Edwardian photographs. National Trust curator Catherine Troiano reveals some of her tips on how to date Victorian and Edwardian photographs.
Victorian Image Collection
Photographers of Great Britain and Ireland 1840 to 1940. Dating Old Photographs.
Family History Daily
19th Century Photo Types: A Breakdown to Help You Date Old Family Pictures.
The Photo Managers
Dating and Identifying Your Old Family Photographs.
Roger Vaughan Picture Library
Marion – Victorian Photograph Card Printers, by Roger Vaughan. Guide to the codes on some Victorian photos printed by the Marion Company.
Hawk Hill
Using Google Photo’s Facial Recognition to Identify Old Family Photos, by Lindsayanne Brenner.
Maureen Taylor
The Photo Detective. Read articles from the renowned expert in historic photo identification, preservation and genealogical research The blog offers insights into various aspects of photo analysis, genealogy and family history.
The National Archives Blog
How to date family photographs. The blog entry details key tips to help determine when a photograph was taken.
Victorian Image Collection
Photographers of Great Britain and Ireland 1840 to 1940. The site offers guidance on researching and dating old photographs. The site hosts the world’s largest collection of British and Irish carte de visite photographs.
Findmypast Blog
Family photos: what’s the history? By Jayne Shrimpton. How to understand and interpret your old family photos and help date and analyse different types of photographs.
Jayne Shrimpton
The 1921 Census & Family Photographs. The article examines the form and content of family photographs and explains how to date and identify 1921 census-era photographs.
Jayne Shrimpton
How To Date Old Photographs From Fashion: Victorian Studio Photographs. An introduction to understanding Victorian photographs and images through clothing and fashion.
Other Resources
Findmypast Blog
30 pro tips for making the most of old family photos, by Jayne Shrimpton. How to use old family photos to learn more about your ancestors.
EdinPhoto
Photos of Edinburgh. The site explores the history of photography in Edinburgh and the various photographic processes as well as Edinburgh photographers and studios.
Jayne Shrimpton
Jayne is a professional dress historian, portrait specialist and ‘photo detective’ since the 1980s. She also provides a unique picture dating/analysis service for family historians, local groups and commercial clients. Read her blog for useful tips and articles on photo dating
Postcard Pages
The site serves as a hub for postcard collectors featuring resources and information related to the hobby.
Postcard Pages
Postcard History. A century and more of postcards.
BAPLA
British Association of Picture Libraries and Agencies. The Association is the UK trade association for picture libraries and agencies. The site features a directory of image suppliers and categories.
The Daguerreian Society
The Society is the leading organization dedicated to the history, technology, art, and preservation of 19th-century photography.
Daguerreobase
The site is an online application designed to contain detailed information about daguerreotypes. Members can view, edit and store records of individual daguerreotypes and establish relations to other records based on a wide range of characteristics.
The National Archives
How to look for records of Photographs. This guide will help you to find individual photographs among our vast holdings.
Early Photographers
Portrait & studio photographers in the UK: 19th & early 20th Century. The site is dedicated to Victorian and Edwardian photographers, photographs, and studios. The site has a section on dating cartes-de-visite and postcards and a database of names and addresses of portrait photographers and studios, c1840-1950.
PhotoTree
The site offers a comprehensive resource to genealogists, collectors, historians and all those interested in 19th century photography.
Open University
OpenLearn Free Course. Picturing the family. This free course looks at some of the ways photographs can reveal, and sometimes conceal, important information about the past. It teaches the skills and provides some of the knowledge needed to interpret such pictorial sources.
Online Databases
British Resources
British Listed Buildings
Search an online database of buildings and structures that are listed as being of special architectural and historic interest in England, Scotland and Wales.
National Library of Scotland
Ordnance Survey Air Photo Mosaics, 1944-1950. These air photo mosaics provide detailed information on the landscape of England, Scotland and Wales in the 1940s. They cover 20% of the British landscape at 1:10,560 scale, and 16 towns/cities in England and Wales at 1:1,250 scale.
British Library Images Online
The online digital platform provides access to thousands of high-quality images from the British Library’s vast collections.
The British Library
Flickr Photostream. Explore highlights from more than one million public domain images from the digitised collection of over 65,000 books from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries.
British Museum
Collection online allows access to almost four and a half million objects in more than two million records including high definition images, prints, drawings and maps covering early modern and 19th century Britain.
Findmypast
Francis Frith Collection. The collection features over 300,000 photos spanning the years from 1860 to the 1970s. The collection covers over 9,000 cities, towns and villages across Great Britain and Ireland as well as special collections featuring the military, artistic pieces, royalty and more.
Francis Frith Collection
Search the UK’s premier source of vintage photographs, maps, books and memories for over 9,000 UK cities, towns and villages. The photos provide an unrivalled record of the changes in Britain between 1860 and 1970.
Ancestry
UK, City, Town and Village Photos, 1857-2015. The collection contains photographs of almost every city, town and village in Great Britain, with some coverage of other countries including Ireland. The collection is part of the Francis Frith Collection.
Ancestry
UK, Historical Photographs and Prints, 1704-1989. Search or browse by category images from the Fox and Hulton Collections the former archive of the British photojournalistic magazine Picture Post and Getty Images International.
The Genealogist
Image Archive: Search free to use and download historic photos dating back to 1850 covering the UK and the rest of the world. Photos can be searched for by title keyword or browsed by category.
ITN Archive
The archive offers a unique repository of British cultural history, featuring news footage from ITN’s first broadcasts in 1955 to the present day. With more than a million video clips available, the archive covers a wide range of genres.
Getty Images
Search a vast collection of archival news photos, royalty-free photos and images and creative stock photos from the world’s most prominent photo library.
Roger Vaughan Photograph Collection
Victorian and Edwardian Photographs. The site showcases a collection of Victorian-era photographs including Carte-de-Visite Cabinet Cards portraits and scenes.
British Pathe
View and buy historic films and still photographs from the entire archive of 220,000 videos covering newsreel, sports footage, social history documentaries, entertainment and music stories from 1896 to 1984. British Pathé also represents the Reuters historical collection, which includes more than 136,000 items from the news agencies Gaumont Graphic (1910-1932), Empire News Bulletin (1926-1930), British Paramount (1931-1957), and Gaumont British (1934-1959), as well as Visnews content from 1957 to the end of 1984. Users can also view content on the British Pathe YouTube channel.
AP Archive
AP Archive is the film and video archive of The Associated Press. The collection includes over 2 million global news and entertainment video stories dating back to 1895, sourced both from AP’s own coverage and from content partners including British Movietone. Also available to search are 60 million editorial and creative images. Users can also view content on the AP Archives YouTube channel and the British Movietone YouTube channel.
British Film Institute
Your Britain on Film. Discover 1,000s of preserved films capturing 120 years of Britain on film. The collection of preserved films includes amateur home movies, documentaries and news footage dating back more than 100 years.
Google Cultural Institute
The online institute provides a platform for museums, galleries and other institutions to showcase digital copies of their items using documents, photos, videos and personal accounts of events. The collection includes images from the LIFE Photo Collection.
Geograph
The project aims to create a comprehensive archive of geographically located photographs of Great Britain and Ireland. The site provides photographs and information for every square kilometre of Great Britain and Ireland. Users are encouraged to upload their own images.
Victorian Image Collection
The Collection is an archive of over 100,000 portraits presented in the carte de visite format, the cabinet card format and to a lesser extent, as postcard portraits
Science Museum
Science & Society Picture Library. The collection, from Science Museum Group, offers over 60,000 stock images covering various aspects of society from the 19th and 20th centuries. The picture library represents visual content from London’s Science Museum, the National Railway Museum, York, Locomotion- the National Railway Museum at Shildon, the Museum of Science and Media, Bradford and the Museum of Science and Industry, Manchester.
Past to Present
Vintage Photo Gallery. Past to Present is an online photo gallery offering for sale a large range of vintage photographs from about 1850 to 2000, with a large selection of carte de visite CDV, press photos and aviation related photographs.
Mary Evans Picture Library
Search historic images from Britain and the rest of the world from collections such as the Illustrated London News Picture Library. The archive also consists of eight other titles: The Graphic, The Sphere, The Sketch, The Bystander, The Tatler, The Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News, The Illustrated War News and Britannia and Eve. Other collections include The British Pathé Time To Remember Stills Collection.
Alamy
The site is a comprehensive creative and editorial stock imagery and video platform offering a wide range of visual content. The Alamy’s Archives is a deep chronicle of archive imagery spanning prominent figures through the ages, historical events and inventions sourced from iconic archives and specialist collectors.
The National Archives
Image Library. Explore and license images from collections at The National Archives, spanning 1000 years of history. The Library houses over 80,000 unique images, including written documents, maps, manuscripts, and photographs.
The Advertising Archives
Explore historic advertisements and related materials. The archives offer a varied range of materials, including British and American press advertisements from 1850 as well as various ephemera such as posters, postcards, menus and theatre programmes.
Heritage Images
The site offers a vast collection of high-quality images sourced from leading museums, galleries, and private collections worldwide.
Ancestor Photos
Find images of your ancestors from the Victorian era. The site provides an opportunity to purchase scanned copies of named and identified photos from the Victorian era covering 1860 to 1910). The collection consists mainly of Cartes de Visite photos and Cabinet Cards photos.
European Film Gateway
The online platform provides access to hundreds of thousands of film, newsreels, images, periodicals and posters from selected collections of 38 film archives across Europe. The site hosts a substantial collection of 612,064 images encompassing film stills, posters, promotional materials, and other visual artifacts.
Europeana
The digital platform offers access to millions of digitised items from European cultural heritage institutions. The site provides access to millions of photos, books, music, artworks and more from thousands of European archives, libraries and museums. Users can explore various themes, collections and educational resources.
England & Wales Resources
Historic England
Find Photos. Online descriptions of over 12 million historical photographs, documents, plans and drawings of historic buildings, scenes and archaeological sites dating from the 1850s. The archive, held by the Historic England Archive, contains images relating to England’s industrial heritage, social history and architecture including towns, villages, scenes. Specialist collections include the Nigel Temple Postcards collection. The Historic England Guide provides an overview to one of the largest photographic archives in the country with over nine million photographs documenting the historic environment of England over the last 150 years.
Historic England
Aerial Photograph Explorer. Explore over 400,000 digitised photos taken from the aerial photo collections of over 6 million photographs preserved in the Historic England Archive. This archive dates from 1919 to the present day.
Historic England
Britain from Above. Search over 95,000 oblique aerial photographs consisting of the oldest and most valuable photographic negatives in the Aerofilms collection, dating from 1919 to 1953. The collection itself holds over 4 million aerial photographs covering the whole of England and dating from the early 20th century to the present day and is available to view in the Search Room in Swindon.
Historic England
Heritage Gateway. Search for information on England’s historic sites and buildings, including images of listed buildings. The website allows you to cross-search over 60 resources, offering local and national information relating to England’s heritage.
Historic England
The National Heritage List for England. Search the official, up to date, register of all nationally protected historic buildings and sites in England including listed buildings, battlefields, monuments, parks, gardens and shipwrecks.
British Listed Buildings
Search an online database of buildings and structures that are listed as being of special architectural and historic interest in England, Scotland and Wales.
Picture the Past
The online archive library hosts thousands of historical photos documenting the people, places, and landscape of Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.
The Courtland
Conway Library. Search almost one million photographs of world architecture, architectural drawings, sculpture, decorative arts and manuscripts. The collection is arranged by time period and then alphabetically by nationality and location
Findmypast
Historic Photos Of England and Wales. Search photos compiled from both the Library of Congress and the National Archives and Records Administration in the US. Find photos of historic architecture, working labourers, the armed forces, and landscapes of both rural and the more urban areas of England and Wales.
Findmypast
This collection was created in partnership with the Mirrorpix/Reach PLC and feature pictures captured by the newspaper group’s photographers. The collection brings together original images capturing the events of the Second World War, the daily lives of ordinary people in the 1950s as well as views of the British Isles, Scotland and Wales from as early as 1890.
Ancestry
United Kingdom & Ireland Historical Postcards, 1893-1963. This database contains over 19,000 historical postcards with photos of places in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
National Archives Image Library
Explore over 80,000 unique images spanning 1000 years of history from The National Archives’ collections. The collection includes written documents, maps, manuscripts, and photographs covering various historical periods and subjects.
National Science & Media Museum
Objects and Stories. The museum is home to more than 3 million items of historical and cultural significance devoted to the science and culture of image and sound. Explore highlights of the collection of photographs including selections from the Daily Herald, Photographic Advertising and Zoltan Glass archives.
The Victoria and Albert Museum
Explore the Collections. Search more than 1.25 million objects from the collection the V&A including photographic collections, theatre & performance collections and posters. Further collection can be searched at V&A Images.
British Film Institute
Britain on Film. Thousands of beautifully preserved films capturing 120 years of Britain on Film. The project is a collaboration between the BFI and 13 UK national and regional archives.
Cambridge University
Cambridge Air Photos. The Collection of Aerial Photography is the result of airborne survey campaigns which were started in 1947 by the pioneering JK St Joseph. Since then the collection has grown to almost 500,000 images of obliques and verticals in black and white, colour and infra-red. Virtually the whole of Britain has been covered.
Fading Images
The site provides information for those wishing to find out more about their family photographs which originated in Cambridgeshire and those wanting to find out more about Cambridgeshire photographs and photographers.
The Library of Birmingham
Birmingham Images. Search historic images, documents and views from the past. The site also hosts images from the local history projects of Digital Handsworth, Digital Ladywood and Digital Balsall Heath.
The Library of Birmingham
The Warwickshire Survey. Find out more about the works of the photographers who have captured Birmingham and its suburbs since 1890 with galleries including many Birmingham suburbs.
Pickard’s Pink Pages for Warwickshire
List of Photographers Studios in and around Birmingham and Warwickshire in the 19th century.
Windows on Warwickshire
The site aims to promote access to historic collections representing Warwickshire’s heritage and culture. Includes a range of resources, including old photographs and maps.
Herefordshire History
Herefordshire Image Collection. Explore photographs, prints and postcards on a variety of subjects across the county of Herefordshire.
Manchester Archives
Flickr Photostream. Explore a selection of images from the Documentary Photography Archive which includes over 100,000 images from family albums and views from across Greater Manchester which capture all aspects of the people and places of the city region.
Manchester Local Image Collection
Search over 80,000 images of Manchester and the surrounding area including its people, streets and buildings are available to view online. All images are available to purchase as A4 sized quality prints.
Timepix
Browse or search images of street scenes, landscapes and portraits from the earliest days of photography until 50 years ago covering Greater Manchester, postcards from English counties plus India and Ireland, Victorian and Edwardian photos and Attercliffe, Sheffield, 1948.
Lancaster University
Edwardian Postcard Project. The site features a searchable resource of 1,000 cards together with their transcriptions from 1901 to 1910 in the United Kingdom.
West Sussex Record Office
West Sussex Past Pictures. Search a database of over 13,000 images provided by local museums and the County Library Service.
Oxfordshire History Centre
Historic images of Oxfordshire and the Thames Valley from the 1850s to the present, including 380,000 catalogue records of images and 145,000 digital images.
Lancashire Archives
Red Rose Collections. Explore images of Lancashire people, places and events. Most of the photographs and images come from the extensive collections held in libraries across the county.
Leeds Library
Leodis Archive of Leeds. Explore a photographic archive of Leeds containing over 62,000 images of Leeds, old and new. The collection includes images from Leeds Libraries, along with images from local libraries and local history partners.
Hampshire Archives
Photographs Collection. The archives hold around 50,000 photographs dating from 1850s to the present day. Over 10,000 of our photographs, including all Hampshire Photographic Project photographs are available to view through the online catalogue.
Staffordshire Archives
Staffordshire Past Track. Search an archive of images, documents, maps, audio and video content relating to the heritage, community history and culture of Staffordshire.
Liverpool Photographers
Lists of photographers from the Liverpool & Wirral areas from the 19th and 20th centuries.
Brett Payne
Photographers & Photographic Studios in Derbyshire. Search an index of early to mid-20th Century Derbyshire studio photographers with their known dates of operation, as well as profiles of selected studios.
Sussex PhotoHistory
The site is devoted to photographers active in the English counties of East Sussex and West Sussex during Victorian and Edwardian times.
GENUKI
Victorian Professional Photographers in Wales, 1850-1925. Search an index compiled from various indexes.
Roger Vaughan
Bristol Photographers 1852-1972. Search a list of names extracted from Annual Trade Directories.
London Resources
London Picture Archive
Search over 250,000 photographs, prints and drawings as well as over 1,000 maps of London from the collections at The London Archives and Guildhall Art Gallery. The collections can be searched by street and by using key words. The collection can also be browsed by subject.
The London Picture Map
Browse The London Archives and Guildhall Art Gallery collections geographically and discover images of a particular street or building with many images of buildings that no longer exist.
Lambeth Landmark
The site showcases over 15,000 of the best images from Lambeth Archives’ collections of photographs, drawings, prints, watercolours, maps and documents. You can find historic and contemporary pictures of Lambeth’s streets, buildings, people, communities and personalities.
Southwark Archives Film Collection
The collection has over 250 tiles dating from 1899 to the present day. It includes titles that originated in film, video and digital formats. The collection is hosted on London’s Screen Archives website.
Borough Photos
Browse a unique collection of images from across 12 London’s Borough Archives. Search by theme, key word or postcode. All images are available to purchase as museum quality prints.
London’s Screen Archives
The archive is a network of over 70 organisations with a shared vision to preserve and share London’s history on film. The network is managed by Film London and encompasses organisations that hold heritage film collections across London, including local and borough archives, museums, galleries, public sector bodies, community groups, and national charities.
Scotland Resources
ScotlandsPlaces
The site is a free resource that lets you explore thousands of records about Scotland simply by searching for a place name, clicking on a map or typing in your postcode. Search results bring together three national collections so that you can easily find maps, photographs and written records about your chosen place.
National Library of Scotland
Flickr Photostream. Explore images from the National Library of Scotland photo collections.
National Library of Scotland
Digital Gallery. The Gallery provides access to thousands of digitised photographs along with other materials such as maps, music, books, and manuscripts. The National Library of Scotland has an extensive collection of photographs documenting Scottish life over a century, from the 1840s to the 1940s.
The National Collection of Aerial Photography
The extensive collection managed by Historic Environment Scotland includes over 30 million aerial photographs covering historic events and places worldwide. This includes aerial reconnaissance photos from World War II and other periods, covering locations across Europe, the Mediterranean and beyond. The collection provides access to themed galleries, a searchable map interface and curated selections.
Findmypast
Scotland, Occupations & Professions. Explore this index of more than 10,000 occupational and trade records from across Scotland. Within the collection, you will find veterinary surgeons, photographers, police officers, watchmakers and more.
Virtual Mitchell
Images of Glasgow. The photographs feature Glasgow’s buildings and streets as well as people going about their daily lives. Most of the photographs are from Archives and Special Collections housed in the Mitchell Library.
TheGlasgowStory
tells the story of Glasgow in words and pictures. You can search for images from a specific neighbourhood from a wide choice of Glasgow placenames or search for images of famous Glasgow personalities taken from the collections of Glasgow’s libraries, museums and universities.
Edinburgh Collected
The site is a community archive that invites users to explore and share memories of Edinburgh. Curated by Edinburgh Libraries and The City of Edinburgh Council, the platform offers a rich tapestry of the city’s history through images, documents, and objects. Users can join the online community to upload their own pictures and stories.
Dundee City Archives
Flickr Photostream. Explore images by Council departments and from collections where the copyright was donated to the Archives, Dundee City Council and its predecessors including the Town Council.
Glasgow Victorian Photographer
Explore lists of names, addresses and dates when Glasgow’s first professional photographers were known to be operating. Examples of their work are shown where available.
Scottish Indexes
Flickr Photostream. Explore photosets including Scottish photos and postcards; Photographs of People; Scottish Ephemera.
University of Edinburgh Collections
The collection contains images showing people, buildings and activities from the past and present of University life.
EdinPhoto
The site is dedicated to sharing knowledge about Edinburgh’s early photographers and the history of photography in Edinburgh.
Scran
Scran is a digital archive service provided by Historic Environment Scotland. The site hosts over 400,000 fully-captioned images, sounds and film from over 300 museums, galleries, and archives including the V&A, National Galleries of Scotland, Glasgow Museums and The Scotsman to name a few.
University of St Andrews
Photographic collection. Search an extensive photographic collection that has been growing since 1844. The collection contains approximately one million photographs in various formats and from different sources. Specialist collections include the Alan Reiach Collection of Architectural Photography.
University of St Andrews
The site provides an extensive biographical resource featuring over 1400 photographers who contributed to the first thirty years of photographic practice in Scotland from 1839 to 1870.
Canmore
Search the online catalogue of the National Record of the Historic Environment. It holds detailed information and archive images for more than 340,000 images covering Scotland’s archaeology, buildings, industrial and maritime heritage.
Trove.scot
The site, managed by Historic Environment Scotland, brings together millions of records covering over 5,000 years of Scotland’s history and cultural heritage. The site includes records of listed buildings, over a million historic photographs, information on protected places like castles, battlefields and gardens. Search by place or keyword to uncover images, records or artifacts tied to ancestral locations or events. The site combines information from a number of sources, including: Historic Environment Portal, Canmore, SCRAN (Scottish Cultural Resources Access Network) and Property in Care Collections.
Findmypast
Scotland, Dundee & Forfarshire (Angus) Photographic Collection. Explore over 5,000 comprehensively indexed original photographs of Dundee & Angus dating 1844-2010.
National Library of Scotland
Moving Image Archive. Watch over 3,000 clips and full-length films online from the archive representing 100 years of Scotland’s history captured by amateur and professional film-makers.
Ireland Resources
National Library of Ireland
Digital Collections. The Library houses over five million photographs, which are an invaluable visual record of the history and culture of Ireland from the 1840s to the present day. Many photographs in the collection have been digitised and are accessible via the online catalogue including the Lawrence Collection and the Poole Collection.
Google Arts & Culture.
National Library of Ireland. The Library offers virtual access to its extensive collections including many historic photographs. The site has a special online exhibition called ‘Dubliners: The Photographs of JJ Clarke’ which offers a glimpse of James Joyce’s Dublin.
Public Record Office of Northern Ireland
Flickr Photostream. The site offers access to over 1500 images from the Allison Photographic Collection and around 900 images from the Cooper Photographic Collection.
Waterford County Museum
Explore an archive of over 5,500 photos available for free. The Museum is located in Dungarvan, Co. Waterford and is dedicated to preserving and promoting the history of the locality.
The Lawrence Collection
Browsable collection of 40,000 historic glass plates showing Irish towns and villages as they were in bygone days covering all the counties in Ireland
University College Dublin
Digital Library. G. & T. Crampton Photograph Archive. Explore a collection of photographs from the albums of G. & T. Crampton one of Dublin’s best-known construction companies. The photographs were intended as a record of the building projects which the firm undertook rather than a formal archive. They cover a wide range of buildings.
Findmypast
Views Of Ireland. The images included in this collection span several typical scenes of life in historic Ireland in the late 1800s.
Ancestry
Ireland, Lawrence Collection of photographs, 1870-1910. This database features more than 21,000 photographs from the Lawrence Collection, indexed so they can be searched by subject, location, and county.
Ancestry
United Kingdom & Ireland Historical Postcards, 1893-1963. This database contains over 19,000 historical postcards with photos of places in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
My Ireland Tour
Cork Then and Now. The site hosts historical and modern images of Cork, showing the city’s rich history and its evolution through the years.
County Wexford Libraries
Digital Local Collection. A digital collection of 19th century texts, local history journals, photographs and other historical material relating to County Wexford and its people.
University of Galway
Digital Collections and Archives. The digital repository provides access to University of Galway research, archives, special collections, and other content. The collections include a variety of historic photos and postcards.
