M@British Library Releases Shed Loads Of Old Images Into Public Domain
The British Library just released over 1 million old illustrations into the public domain via Flickr, and scanned by Microsoft. The pictures date from the 17th to 19th century and include "maps, geological diagrams, beautiful illustrations, comical satire, illuminated and decorative letters, colourful illustrations, landscapes, wall-paintings and so much more". Many are pertinent to London.
The data dump is just a starting point. The library hopes that browsers will use the collection in creative ways, and it will release a crowdsourcing application next year so users can help improve descriptions of the illustrations.
For now, we can only search for keywords in the book titles, not figure legends. And, because it's on new-look Flickr, the search box is about as easy to handle as a wasp-drawn chariot. Still, if you do find stuff of interest, you can download any image you like, and put it to any creative purpose without fear of copyright infringement.
A view of the Thames from Waterloo Bridge, with some significant alterations to the South Bank.Another view of the South Bank as it might have been. The labels identify a coffee shop and (prophetically) an aquarium on the site of the future County Hall.A new scheme for Hyde Park.A novel plan for St James's Park, showing Venice-like canals and gondolas.How Lincoln's Inn and Fields could be improved. It's not clear whether we're looking into a radically altered 'Fields', or from the Fields into a radically altered Lincoln's Inn.A view of Temple, presumably (given the title of the book) showing how it could be improved rather than an actual view. We're struggling a bit with the view here. It has to be Fleet Street, but the gothic building on the left doesn't look like anything in the area. Any ideas?Ryther's Map of 1604. One of London's oldest maps that rarely gets published.An attempt to draw Saxon London (in 1884). Subsequent archaeology has uncovered additional finds, like the presence of the Roman amphitheatre at Guildhall, which would have no doubt been a notable feature at this time. The inclusion of Canute's Trench in Southwark is probably a fanciful addition.The Portman Estate in 1745. Note that Marylebone Road (the New Road) had not been built at this time, and fields and hedgerows dominate the estate.A plan of Cheap (i.e. Cheapside) in medieval times. Some of this will be speculative.The lost rivers of London.
