Past image sites

17 image sites from the past to remember history

mariana bonfim avatar
Among museum collections in Brazil and abroad, also check out newspapers and institutions that preserve the memory of humanity through photography on 17 sites of images from the past

In this list with several sites of images from the past, you will be able to travel through the recent history of Brazil and the world, through the pages of institutions that digitized their archives of historical images and made them available online so that anyone could view them for free.

calisphere

Portrait of the Hirahara Family, held in Washington in 1926 - Japanese-American Museum Collection
Portrait of the Hirahara family, made in Washington in 1926 – collection Japanese American Museum

O calisphere brings together digital collections from libraries, archives and museums in the US state of California. There are 1.975.000 texts, recordings and images to be explored on your website. The person responsible for the service is University of California, but some of the institutions that contribute to the collection are: Los Angeles Public Library, Huntington Library, San Francisco Public Library, Japanese American National Museum, National Museum of Performance, Design, Performing Arts and Library, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Historical Society.

1977 gay parade - glbt historical society collection
1977 gay parade – collection LGBT Historical Society

The content of the collection depends on the source to be consulted. O Japanese American National Museum, for example, brings together 130 years of the Japanese colony in the US, with a mission to make Japanese-American history accessible through the contribution of 8.000 researchers, writers, students, historians and filmmakers. Another collection worth mentioning is that of the LGBT Historical Society. Founded in 1985, it collects, preserves, exhibits and seeks to make accessible to all audiences, as well as supporting and promoting understanding of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender history, culture and arts in all their diversity, being considered one of the largest and most the world's most extensive collections of materials belonging to LGBT people and organizations.

the commons

More than a site of images from the past, the commons is a global project to record these images, which uses the free Flickr to host this collection. The purpose of the project the commons is to bring together public archives of photographs from around the world. For this, it relies on voluntary contributions from more than 100 institutions, such as NASA (U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration), the Federal Senate of Brazil and the Smithsonian Institution, the largest museum in the world located in Washington, USA.

Image of the riley family, lusitania - collection of the national library of ireland
Image of the Riley Family, Lusitania – collection of National Library of Ireland

The project started in 2008 from a partnership between the Flickr to Public Library of Congress American library, considered the largest public library in the world. Since then the project, in order to maintain itself, accepts more contributions. But you can also help by adding tags and comments, contributions that help the photos become popular.

Europeana

A Europeana brings together thousands of archives from European libraries and museums, sharing the continent's cultural heritage, with an educational, investigative and entertainment objective. In addition to the historical images of the collection, there are millions of books, music and works of art that can be searched through internal search and filter tools developed exclusively for the user of the Europeana. To do this, just register for free with an account and, with this, save your favorite items from the collections and create your own galleries within the immense collection of Europeana. Remembering that the site offers two versions for navigation, one Classical, used since its creation, and a more recent and updated version, being up to the user to decide which one to use.

Image of nurses and soldiers peeling potatoes in a colony hospital in World War I - european collection
Image of nurses and soldiers peeling potatoes in a colony hospital in World War I – collection Europeana

The site also offers exhibitions online and a blog that seeks to inform and inspire the public, as well as a monthly newsletter that highlights all editorials and the latest news related to the Europeana. In addition, the institution seeks to empower the European cultural heritage sector and its digital transformation, developing knowledge, tools and policies that embrace digital change and encouraging partnerships that foster innovation.

George Eastman Legacy Collection

A George Eastman Legacy Collection it is one of the oldest collections in the world, bringing together 400.000 items dating back to 1839. There are works in the most diverse photographic processes, from daguerreotype to digital. The institution seeks to instigate the work of photographers, both amateurs and professionals, in addition to scientific research in the field of Photography and documentary records, reaching more than eight thousand photographers.

Man poses at the american side of niagara falls - george eastman legacy collection
Man poses on the American side of Niagara Falls – collection George Eastman Legacy Collection

The collection pays tribute to the North American entrepreneur George Eastman, pioneer in the production of photographic film in 1885. In 1888 he began to produce photographic film on celluloid, the same year he produced his first photographic camera called Kodak, which would also be your company's name. About the site, in the session Photography, it is worth mentioning that it is possible to find sections such as the history of photography, the photographic process and a complete technical glossary.

George Edward AndersonCollection

Family residing in cleveland, utah - george edward anderson collection
Family residing in Cleveland, Utah – collection George Edward AndersonCollection

the collection of George Edward Anderson includes 14.020 images with historical records of people and places in the US state of Utah from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. George Edward Anderson was an American photographer from Salt Lake City who specializes in portraits and photographs documenting religious historic sites from the rise of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The photos taken throughout his career demonstrate artistry and perfectionism, especially the studio portraits and environments of Utah residents. The collection also features historical elements of the state of Utah, such as its railroad, mining, construction. As for the searches in the collection, you can search by historical period, by keyword related to the elements found in the photograph or by the photographer.

Huntington Bagley Collection

Photo essay by photographer huntgton bagley, including rehearsed poses, including a woman playing the guitar - huntington bagley collection
Photo essay by photographer Huntgton Bagley, including rehearsed poses, including a woman playing the guitar – collection Huntington Bagley Collection

the collection of huntington bagley brings together the collection of the photographer of the same name who, at the turn of the 19th century to the 20th century, in partnership with her partner Joseph Daniel Bagley, recorded scenes of the daily lives of her clients. There are 4.500 images from 15.145 negatives and original prints. Bagley she was deaf and her photos were mostly commissioned, but there is a good-humored and witty pattern in her records. An excellent opportunity to understand what everyday and intimate life was like at the turn of the end of 1890 and beginning of 1900. Regarding the searches in the collection, they can also be done by the historical period, by the keyword related to the elements found in the photograph or by the photographer.

Harvard Digital Collections

The phrase at the bottom of the photo, in free translation "I sell the shadow to sustain the substance - pilgrim's truth" - harvard digital collections
The phrase at the bottom of the photo, in free translation "I sell the shadow to sustain the substance - pilgrim's truth" - collection Harvard Digital Collections

A Harvard Digital Collections, from the renowned Harvard University in the US, it provides free public access to more than 6 million digitized items from its collection, ranging from ancient manuscripts to audiovisual material. Through this platform, which uses information from various library catalogs and data sources, as well as high-resolution digital images, allowing users to scroll, zoom and compare multiple images next to each other.

Iconic Images

O Iconic Images brings together the work of the most renowned photographers active in the world today. In addition to creating international traveling exhibitions in partnership with 30 galleries around the world, the photographers that make up the Iconic Images collaborate for luxury fashion brands, in addition to licensing editorial images for leading newspapers and magazines in their segment. The free translation of the site's name, Iconic Images, lives up to it as it contains historical images from the universe of fashion, music, cinema and politics.

Marilyn Monroe's 1954 essay by photographer Milton H. Greene - iconic images collection
Marilyn Monroe's 1954 essay by photographer Milton H. Greene – collection Iconic Images

The pioneering work of these renowned photographers includes the world's largest collections of pop culture icons such as David Bowie, Marilyn Monroe, Elton John, Jimi Hendrix, Audrey Hepburn, Frank Sinatra and musicians from renowned bands Led ZeppelinTthe Beatles e Rolling Stones. In the fashion universe, it brings together the entire catalog of Vogue from the late 30s to today. And, finally, in the field of politics, there are photographic records of John F. Kennedy, Winston Churchill e Nelson Mandela.

National Library of Scotland MacKinnon Collection

17 image sites from the past to remember history. Among museum collections in Brazil and abroad, also check out newspapers and institutions that preserve the memory of humanity through photography on 17 sites of images from the past
1890's photo of a fisherwoman with her fishing net and basket on her waist to store her catch – collection National Library of Scotland MacKinnon Collection

O National Library of Scotland MacKinnon Collection includes over 14.000 photographs dating from 1840 to 1940. The collection brings together pieces from the National Library of Scotland and other Scottish National Galleries, in a work that was completed and updated in 2018. The images in the collection seek to capture and convey 100 years of Scottish life history and identity. Landscapes, traditional communities, ship building on River Clyde, the Tay Bridge disaster, are some of the themes captured in the collection's photos.

Project Apollo Archive

Shadow of astronaut neil armstrong on lunar soil during mission apollo 11 - project apollo archive collection
Shadow of astronaut Neil Armstrong on lunar soil during the Apollo 11 mission – collection Project Apollo Archive

O Project Apollo Archive is the online source and repository of digital images from the historic manned lunar landing program of the NASA (US National Aeronautics and Space Administration). It is possible to browse images from all missions, from Apollo 1 to Apollo 17, including Apollo 11, which effectively enabled the first manned landing on lunar territory in July 1969 with astronauts Collins, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. O Project Appollo Archive was created by Kipp Teague in February 1999 with the aim of bringing together the entire retrospective of the project in images and also integrates the Apollo Lunar Surface Journal.

Getty Museum

Image of photographer george rodriguez captured in an american suburb in the 70s - getty museum collection
Image of photographer George Rodriguez captured in an American suburb in the 70s – collection Getty Museum

O Getty Museum brings together the entire collection of Getty, a cultural and philanthropic institution dedicated to the presentation, conservation and interpretation of the world's artistic legacy, as well as seeking to inspire curiosity, delight and understanding of the visual arts, through the collection, conservation, exhibition and interpretation of works of excellence in quality and historical importance. To fulfill this mission, the Getty Museum continues to expand its collection through donations, as well as developing exhibitions, publications, academic research, public education, and the arts that engage diverse local and international audiences. All these activities involve the headquarters in Los Angeles (USA), but the Getty Museum is also made up of institutions Getty Conservation Institute, Getty Foundation, J. Paul Getty Museum e Getty Research Institute.

Moreira Salles Institute

Walther Moreira Salles was a banker who created the Unibanco, politician and philanthropist. O Moreira Salles Institute (IMS) was created in 1992 and its digital collection provides around 2 million images, thus being the most important set of photographs of Brazil from the 19th and 20th centuries. Photographic Technical Reserve do IMS, which is the largest building dedicated to the preservation, restoration, custody and dissemination of photography collections in the country.

Panorama of the city of Rio de Janeiro recorded in 1885 - Instituto Moreira Salles Collection
Panorama of the city of Rio de Janeiro recorded in 1885 – collection Moreira Salles Institute

The importance of the photographic collection of the IMS for the field of Brazilian photography and its cultural scene is important mainly for the memory and history of the country, in addition to playing a key role in communication and as a platform increasingly integrated with digital media. The need to form and preserve this photographic collection is now a reference in Brazil and abroad.

Estadão collection

Excerpt from a newspaper from the time of the dictatorship censored by the military regime - estadão collection
Newspaper at the time of the Dictatorship censored by the Military Regime – Estadão collection

The State of São Paulo, Also known as Estadão, is a São Paulo newspaper that began to be published in the city of São Paulo in 1875, being today considered one of the main media vehicles in Brazil. O Estadão collection makes available, online and for free, all the editions already published by the periodical since January 4, 1875. In this way, the Estadão Collection becomes a rich collection of the recent world history of Brazil and the world through the newspaper's news. The state of Sao Paulo. An example is the image above, in which we can see a clipping from the time of the Dictatorship (1964-1985), in which excerpts censored by the military regime were removed and the final printed version remained empty. To search for an edition, just search for the field “See the daily newspaper:”, located in the upper right corner of the site, select the desired date by day, month and year and click on “VIEW”. The user will have access to the complete edition of the date.

Leaf Collection

Cover from the 70s, in reference to the vietnam war - sheet collection
Cover from the 70s, in reference to the Vietnam War –Leaf Collection

Created in 1921 under the name of night leaf, Folha de S. Paul also emerges as one of the most important press vehicles in Brazil. As well as the Estadão collection, Leaf Collection gathers in its database the editions of the morning leaf (1925 to 1959), night leaf (1921 to 1959) and the Folha de S. Paul (since 1960), which makes its collection an important record of great events of the 20th century. In the example above, a cover from 1971 that refers to the Vietnam War. About the search, to find the edition of a specific date, in the field “Select the period”, put the Day, Month and Year and click on “OK”.

Museum of Image and Sound

Scene from the daily life of a couple, maria and josé, with her cutting his hair - Museu da Imagem e do Som collection
Scene from the daily life of a couple, Maria and José, with her cutting his hair – collection Museum of Image and Sound

Created in 1970 and located in the capital of São Paulo, the Museum of Image and Sound (My), is based on a database developed especially for the Museum's collection. Its Online Collection is presented to the public and free of charge as an instrument for exploring the thousands of items that are part of the permanent collection of My. In the online collection it is possible to find information about the items that make up the museological and bibliographic collections of the My, in addition to wide access to photo collections, but also audio and video. Remembering that records on the collections are constantly reviewed and updated, with more than 200 items such as posters and graphic pieces.

Museum of Images

British Air Force Airplane during World War II - museum collection of images
British Air Force aircraft during World War II – collection Museum of Images

O Museum of Images is a totally free and digital project developed by economist Talita Lopes and the lawyers Italo the Great e Eudes Bezerra. The creators' mission, in addition to the credibility of the information about the photos passed to the public, is the care in crediting the authorship of the photographers and artists responsible for the images published in the Museum of Images. The project was created in 2014 seeking to disseminate historical, world, economic, political and social information, providing information in a creative, fun and accessible way to everyone. The collection of Museum of Images is composed through intense iconographic research from diverse sources, such as academic journals, books, historical news, image banks. Thus, the Museum of Images recreates these important historical episodes through the selection of these photos, as well as descriptive texts rich in content with clear and direct language.

Museum of the Person

A resident of the São José community, Amapá, poses with her house in the background - Museu da Pessoa collection
A resident of the São José community, Amapá, poses with her house in the background – collection Museum of the Person

Created in 1991, the Museum of the Person is a fully collaborative museum that aims to bring together in its collection the life stories of people from the most varied cultures. The digital collection provides archived images and records of this human asset that the museum aims to value. At the Museum of the Person, every visitor can also become part of the collection by recording their life story. With this, the institution becomes a means for the life stories of each and every person to be a source of knowledge, understanding and connection between entities and peoples.

See also:

For those of you who love photography, check out our post with the 10 best photography courses online that teaches you how to take the best pictures!


Discover more about Showmetech

Sign up to receive our latest news via email.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked with *

Related Posts