Images Online: a selection

Some months back we released digital images of 430 objects from our collections into the public domain via Flickr Commons. Well short of the million we made available in December, these images have the benefit of being more precisely described at an individual level. Indeed they derive from Images Online, an extensive repository of high quality imagery that reflects the vast size and diversity of the British Library collections.

The World before the Deluge (1865)

The selection covers a range of topics, including images from the 12th century Topographia Hibernica, the signature of William Shakespeare from a Blackfriars mortgage-deed, engravings after drawings made in the countries Captain Cook visited during his first voyage to the South Pacific, illustrations from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, drawings depicting eighteenth century Hungarian and Saxon dress, Georgian caricatures by Thomas Rowlandson, and many more.

These digital images are freely available for unrestricted use and reuse, and are of an ideal quality for blogging, teaching, and creative work. We know that the community have already been viewing and sharing the collection, but if you've put the images to good use do let us know by emailing [email protected] or adding your work to our growing wiki of British Library Public Domain projects.