PictureHistory.com is an online archive of images and photographs highlighting over 200 years of American history. It specializes in images of US Presidents and the White House. The site is made available with the support of the Kohlberg Foundation. The bulk of the collection comprises thousands of images from the Meserve‐Kundardt Collection.
Images can be downloaded free of charge with a watermark for personal use. Hi‐resolution images are also available for professional licensing. The Rates page lists usage fees for a variety of formats: books, corporate publications, magazines, newspapers, web/electronic resources, television, film and exhibitions. Base prices range from $100 to $750 depending on usage. Users can also purchase framed or unframed prints of the images from the PictureHistory.com Print Shop. Sizes range from four inches×six inches to 20 inches×30 inches for unframed images and ten inches to 30 inches for framed images. Prices range from $6 to $64 for unframed prints and $113 to $241 for framed prints.
The site is free with internet access. Images can be searched, viewed and sent as e‐cards. Users should register for a free account in order to use many of the purchasing and organizing features of the site. Once logged‐in, users can download images, view prices and invoices, and edit account information.
The site has a very simple and classy design. The muted tones are an attractive background for both black and white and colour images. The layout is neat and the graphics are well placed. The text is easy to read, but the font size may be too small and may require users to adjust the text size when viewing the site.
Links to Log In, Register and Rates pages are found at the top of the page. The main page is separated into four sections. The top section spans the width of the page and contains the website title, description and a featured image. Whenever the page is refreshed, a new image appears. The left section of the page contains searching and browsing options. Users can browse by category (Life Cycle, Nature, People & Professions are a few examples), decade, photographer or anniversary (by month). The centre section contains the list of categories that can be browsed. If users choose other browsing criteria, those options will replace the category list. The right section contains a special feature called Looking Ahead which highlights images for an upcoming date or event in history. Lastly, a link to the PictureHistory.com Print Shop can be found below the Looking Ahead area. Links to About Us, Contact Us, FAQs, Privacy Policy, Website Terms and License Info pages can be found at the bottom of the page.
A basic keyword search box is available on the main page, but experienced searchers can click on the advanced search link for more intricate searching. The advanced search limiters include: date, original format (book, painting, videotape, postcard or cartoon), photographer, colour (black and white, sepia or colour), state, and item number. Search results are returned in the form of image thumbnails. Results can be sorted by title, date, or photographer. The page defaults to twelve images per page but can be changed to show 24 or 96 images. Each thumbnail image contains an image title and icons for the Lightbox and Shopping Cart. Users will be alerted to login to their account in order to use those features. The Lightbox feature allows users to store, organize and share groups of images. Users can click on the thumbnails for additional information such as: a detailed description, the date the image was taken, original format, item number, and photographer.
The site does not contain a formal Help section. Users can browse the FAQs for basic information concerning account creation, user names, icons, sending e‐cards and downloading images. Users can also visit the Contact Us page to obtain a telephone number or submit an email inquiry.
There are several online photograph collections available to users in need in historical images. The most comparable resource is the Smithsonian Images website (Smithsonian Photographic Services, 2007). Users can browse, search, download and purchase images. Registered users have a broader range of usage options. The Smithsonian Images collection contains over 2.5 million historical and contemporary images. Users in need of more contemporary images will be better served by the Smithsonian Images collection.
PictureHistory.com is a great resource for students looking to illustrate reports and presentations. Researchers will find the images and licensing to be very useful for publications. Individuals will enjoy the ability to purchase images for home or office décor or as gifts. Novices and advanced users will find the search feature easy to use. Students, educators, researchers and general users will find the site useful, educational and entertaining.
