Nineteenth Century Collections Online: #8
Photography
 
Experience the nineteenth century through photographs that document world events or capture everyday life.

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.

Key areas of research covered include:

• Exploration and travel
• Empire, colonization, and life in colonized regions
• Topography and archaeology
• Daily life in nineteenth century in countries across the globe
• People and portraiture
• Science, medicine, and criminology
• Photography as reproduction of art works
• Key events and wars

Nineteenth Century Collections Online is the most ambitious electronic scholarly archive ever undertaken, providing full-text, fully searchable content from a wide range of primary sources. Selected with the guidance of an international team of expert advisors, these primary sources are invaluable for a wide range of academic disciplines and areas of study, providing never-before-possible research opportunities for one of the most studied historical periods.