Nineteenth Century Collections Online This link opens in a new windowIncludes Photography: The invention of photography represented a turning point in nineteenth-century culture and visual experience. For the first time, there was a means to capture an accurate and true portrayal of the people, places, and events that would shape history. As a complement to studies of history, culture, media, and many other disciplines, Photography provides the visual evidence to support and supplement written sources.
Photography assembles collections of photographs, photograph albums, photographically illustrated books, and texts on the early history of photography found in libraries and archives across the globe. The nineteenth century was about changes in family and society, invention and scientific discovery, exploration and colonization, urban versus rural life, work, leisure and travel -- all this is captured in photographs. Photography delivers around 2 million photographs from Britain, Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas.