The Best Source for Free, Reproduction-Quality Civil War Images
The Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division:
http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/
In 2001, the Prints and Photographs Division of the Library of Congress began a comprehensive program to make low-resolution and high-resolution digital scans of all of the Civil War photographic negatives in its vast collection. Most of that work is complete and now accessible to the general public. More than 12,000 Civil and early post-war negatives that were previously unavailable on the Internet are now available for instant download. Patrons no longer have to go through the library's photoduplication service or pay fees for copy negatives or prints.
Since all Civil War photographs are in the public domain and open to free use, no permission is required to reproduce, publish, market, or use any of these thousands of images. Proper Credit is all that is required. The Library of Congress requests the following credit line:
Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
[reproduction number, e.g., LC-B811-650].
Some Handy Links:
Search engine for 7,000 Civil War Photographs:
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/pp/cwpquery.html
Information about the Library of Congress Collections:
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/pp/cwphtml/cwpabt.html
Overview of the Major Civil War Photograph Collections:
LC-B811 series.
About 3,000 cut stereoscopic or half-stereo negatives mostly taken in the field.. Index nos. LC B811-0001 through LC B811-1292 are primarily negatives produced by Gardner's Gallery. (Many 1861-62 images were originally issued by Brady's Album Gallery). Index nos. LC B811-2282 through LC B811-4037 are primarily negatives produced by the E. & H. T. Anthony Co. as part of the War for the Union stereoscopic view series.
LC-B813 series.
About 3,000 Civil War negatives, primarily studio portraits.
LC-B815 series.
670 full, uncut stereoscopic negatives taken in the field by Gardner's Gallery. (Includes 1861-62 images originally by Brady's Album Gallery).
LC-B817 series.
758 large-plate, single-lens negatives taken in the field by Gardner's Gallery. (Includes 1861-62 images originally by Brady's Album Gallery).
LC-B8156 series.
Forty-four large plate negatives taken in South Carolina by the photographers Haas and Peale.
Brady-Handy Collection. LC-BH82 series.
About 5,000 glass negatives, chiefly portraits (many of military officers), circa 1860-1875, by Mathew Brady and Levin C. Handy studios.
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