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Smithsonian Institution Research Information System (SIRIS)
Archival, Manuscript, and Photographic Collections
230,000 descriptions of personal papers, manuscripts, photographs, oral histories, sound recordings, films, and organizational records from nine repositories. Over 100,000 scanned images are available online.
Smithsonian American Art Museum Research Databases
500,000 records, comprising the national Inventory of American Paintings and Sculpture databases and the Peter A. Juley & Son Collection.
Library and Archival Exhibitions on the Web
This site features links to online exhibitions that have been created by libraries, archives, and historical societies, as well as to museum online exhibitions with a significant focus on library and archival materials, such as printed books, book illustrations, manuscripts, photographs, printed ephemera, posters, archival audio and video recordings, artist's books, and the book arts (engraving, marbling, and bookbinding, etc.).
American Memory Online Collections
American Memory is a gateway to rich primary source materials relating to the history and culture of the United States. The site offers more than 7 million digital items from more than 100 historical collections. The collections include:
Chicago Daily News ~ Photographs ~ 1902-1933
Title: Photographs from the Chicago Daily News
Description: This collection comprises approximately 54,000 images of urban life captured on glass plate negatives between 1902 and 1933 by photographers employed by the Chicago Daily News, one of Chicago's leading newspapers.
Civil War Images ~ Multiformat ~ 1861-1865
Title: Civil War Treasures from the New-York Historical Society
Description: The images in this collection are drawn from the New-York Historical Society's rich archival collections that document the Civil War. They include recruiting posters for New York City regiments of volunteers, stereographic views documenting the mustering of soldiers and of popular support for the Union in New York City, photography showing the war's impact, both in the North and South, and drawings and writings by ordinary soldiers on both sides.
Nineteenth-Century Books ~ 1850-1877
Title: The Nineteenth Century in Print: Books
Description: The books in this collection are nineteenth century American imprints, dating mainly from between 1850 and 1880. They have been digitized by the University of Michigan as part of the Making of America project, a major collaborative endeavor to preserve and provide access to historical texts. Currently, approximately 1,500 books are included. The collection is particularly strong in poetry and in the subject areas of education, psychology, American history, sociology, religion, and science and technology.
Nineteenth-Century Periodicals ~ 1850-1877
Title: The Nineteenth Century in Print: Periodicals
Description: This collection comprises periodicals published in the United States during the nineteenth century, primarily during the second half of the century. The materials selected illuminate the subject areas of education, psychology, American history, sociology, religion, and science and technology. The first release of this collection presents Garden and Forest: A Journal of Horticulture, Landscape Art, and Forestry (1888-1897).
Maritime Westward Expansion ~ Multiformat ~ 1820-1890
Title: Westward by Sea: A Maritime Perspective on American Expansion,1820-1890
Description: This selection of items from Mystic Seaport Museum's archival collections includes logbooks, diaries, letters, business papers, and published narratives of voyages and travels. The unique maritime perspective of these materials offers a rich look at the events, culture, beliefs, and personal experiences associated with the settlement of California, Alaska, Hawaii, Texas, and the Pacific Northwest. A number of photographs, paintings, maps, and nautical charts are also included to illustrate the story of Americans' western seaborne travel. Various themes are touched upon, including whaling, life at sea, shipping, women at sea, and native populations.
Maps ~ 1500-2002
Title: Map Collections: 1500-2002
Description: The focus of Map Collections is Americana and Cartographic Treasures of the Library of Congress. These images were created from maps and atlases selected from the collections of the Geography and Map Division.
Daguerreotype Photographs ~ 1839-1864
Title: America's First Look into the Camera: Daguerreotype Portraits and Views, 1839-1864
Description: The Library's daguerreotype collection consists of approximately 600 photographs dating from 1839 to 1864. Portrait daguerreotypes produced by the Mathew Brady studio make up the major portion of the collection. The collection also includes early architectural views by John Plumbe, a few outdoor scenes, and copies of painted portraits. The Prints and Photographs Division holds the collection.
Prints and Photographs (P&P) Online Catalog
The Prints and Photographs Online Catalog contains catalog records and digital images representing a rich cross-section of still pictures held by the Prints & Photographs Division and other units of the Library. The catalog provides access through group or item records to about 50% of the Division's holdings. About 90% of the records are accompanied by one or more digital images.
ABDUL HAMID II COLLECTION -- about 400 photographs mounted in albums
ca. 1880-1893. Photographic survey of the Ottoman Empire, showing educational, military, and other government facilities as well as historic sites.
AFRICAN AMERICAN PHOTOGRAPHS ASSEMBLED FOR 1900 PARIS EXPOSITION -- about 475 photographs (records being added)
ca. 1899. Photos gathered for use in the American Negro Exhibit at the Paris Exposition, consisting of portraits and scenes of education, work, and daily life. Includes more than 360 photos presented by W.E.B. Du Bois.
AMERICAN POLITICAL PRINTS -- About 800 prints.
ca. 1766-1876. Political satires, allegories, campaign banners, certificates, and broadsides printed in the U.S.
ANSEL ADAMS'S PHOTOGRAPHS OF JAPANESE-AMERICAN INTERNMENT AT MANZANAR -- 244 photographs
1943. Portraits, views of daily life, agricultural scenes, and sports and leisure activities.
ARCHITECTURE, DESIGN & ENGINEERING DRAWINGS -- About 38,500 drawings (ca. 5,100 catalog records).
1600-1989, bulk 1880-1940. Drawings, primarily for sites and structures in the U.S. (especially Washington, D.C.), as well as Europe and Mexico, mostly by American architects and architectural firms. Most cataloged in groups by project. (Note: Original materials are served by appointment.)
BAIN COLLECTION -- about 1,100 photographs (records being added)
ca. 1900-1931 (bulk). Photos produced and gathered by George Grantham Bain for his news photo service, including portraits and worldwide news events, but with special emphasis on life in New York City. Includes images in the Bain collection for which copy photos have been produced.
BASEBALL CARDS -- 2,100 baseball cards.
1887-1914. Baseball cards representing more than one thousand major and minor league ballplayers (primarily major league), from teams in thirteen identified leagues and seventy-five cities in the United States and Canada.
BRUMFIELD COLLECTION -- 916 slides.
1987-2000. Documents architectural heritage of pre-Soviet Russia, highlighting wooden buildings, and religious, commercial and industrial facilities, as well as some landscapes.
CABINET OF AMERICAN ILLUSTRATION -- About 4,000 drawings and prints.
1850-1930. Book and magazine illustrations and some graphic designs.
CARPENTER COLLECTION -- about 1,600 photographs (records being added)
ca. 1860-1934, bulk 1880-1924. Photos produced and gathered by Frank and Frances Carpenter to illustrate popular writings on world geography. Consists of photos in the Carpenter collection for which copy photos have been produced.
CARTOON DRAWINGS -- About 9,400 drawings.
1794-1994. Political, editorial, and humorous cartoons and caricatures by about 500 artists.
CARTOON DRAWINGS (SWANN COLLECTION OF CARICATURE AND CARTOON) --About 2,000 drawings.
1780-1975 (chiefly 1930's). Cartoons, caricatures, and illustrations by various artists.
CASE BOOKS -- about 2,000 books and serials
ca. 1557-2000. Books, serials and published, bound portfolios assigned to the Prints and Photographs Division because they contain original photographs, engravings, and other kinds of graphic materials.
CIVIL WAR PHOTOGRAPHS -- About 1,600 photographs.
1861-1865. Selected from the Civil War Photographs Collection.
CURTIS (EDWARD S.) COLLECTION -- about 850 photographic prints
1890-1929. Native Americans in the Pacific Northwest, New Southwest, Great Basin, Great Plains, Plateau Region, California, and Alaska. Features studio and field photographs. Comprises only images in the collection for which copy photos have been produced.
DAGUERREOTYPES -- About 735 daguerreotypes.
1839-1864. Primarily portraits; also architectural views and works of art.
DETROIT PUBLISHING COMPANY -- About 28,200 glass negatives, glass transparencies, and color photomechanical prints.
1885-1930. Chiefly scenes in U.S. and Latin America, including landscapes, cityscapes, historic sites, architecture, vessels, industry, etc.
DRAWINGS (DOCUMENTARY) -- About 1,800 drawings.
1783-1865. Primarily eyewitness sketches of Civil War scenes and events, including military personnel, battles, civilian activities, and landscapes. Also includes portraits, and American landscapes and structures from earlier periods.
FARM SECURITY ADMINISTRATION/OFFICE OF WAR INFORMATION BLACK-AND-WHITE NEGATIVES -- About 171,000 negatives: includes all FSA, OWI, and OEM negatives (LC-USF33; LC-USF34; LC-USW3; LC-USE6).
1935-1945. Photos documenting rural and urban conditions and lifestyles in the U.S. and its territories; a few in Canada. Includes negatives the FSA/OWI did not print, many of which lack identifying information.
FARM SECURITY ADMINISTRATION/OFFICE OF WAR INFORMATION COLOR PHOTOGRAPHS -- About 1,600 color transparencies.
1939-1944. U.S., Puerto Rico, and Virgin Islands scenes showing work and home life, culture, and war industry.
FENTON CRIMEAN WAR PHOTOGRAPHS -- 263 photographs by Roger Fenton.
1855. Views of participants, landscapes and equipment.
FINE PRINTS: JAPANESE, pre-1915 -- about 300 prints and a few drawings
1688-1915. Primarily woodcuts depicting actors, women, landscapes, scenes from Japanese literature and daily life, English and European visitors.
GENTHE COLLECTION -- About 15,600 negatives and 1,200 autochromes, lantern slides and transparencies by Arnold Genthe.
1896-1942. Includes studio portraits, dancers, San Francisco Chinatown scenes, and travel photos in the U.S. and abroad.
GOTTSCHO-SCHLEISNER COLLECTION -- About 29,300 negatives and slides.
ca. 1935-1955. Northeastern U.S. and Florida, emphasizing architecture.
GRABILL COLLECTION -- 188 photographic prints.
ca. 1888-1892. Photographs by John C. H. Grabill of frontier life in South Dakota and Wyoming, including scenes of railroad construction, cowboys and miners, and the interactions between Native Americans and U.S. officials.
HISTORIC AMERICAN BUILDINGS SURVEY/HISTORIC AMERICAN ENGINEERING RECORD (HABS/HAER) -- Documentation for over 31,000 sites and structures.
ca. 1930- . Measured drawings, photographs, and written historical and architectural information for structures and sites dating from the 17th-20th centuries in the U.S. and its territories.
HORYDCZAK COLLECTION -- About 14,000 negatives.
1923-1959. U.S., especially Washington, D.C., showing architecture and daily life.
JOHNSTON (FRANCES BENJAMIN) COLLECTION -- About 1,100 photographs
ca. 1850-1949, bulk 1897-1927. Photos produced and gathered by Frances Benjamin Johnston in the course of her career as a photojournalist, portrait and architectural photographer. Consists primarily of photos in the Johnston collection for which copy photos have been produced.
LOMAX COLLECTION -- 400 photographs.
1934-ca. 1950. Snapshots documenting sound recording expeditions carried out by John Avery Lomax, Alan Lomax, and Ruby Terrill Lomax for the Archive of American Folk Song, including African American and Latino musicians, singers, and dancers, primarily in the southern United States and the Bahamas.
LOOK COLLECTION -- 3.7 million photographs, negatives, and color transparencies (ca. 9,000 catalog records; records being added continuously).
ca. 1951-1971. U.S. and international lifestyles, celebrities, and events, made for use in LOOK magazine.
NATIONAL PHOTO COMPANY COLLECTION -- about 1,600 photographs (records being added)
ca. 1850-1945, bulk 1909-1932. Photos assembled by Herbert French, who supplied photographs of news events in Washington, D.C., to subscribers. Features portraits of presidents and celebrities and scenes of social life. Consists primarily of photos in the National Photo Company Collection for which copy photos have been produced.
PANORAMIC PHOTOGRAPHS -- 4,200 photographs.
1880-1930. U.S. and foreign sites, showing cities and towns, as well as events, industries, and group portraits.
PHOTOCHROM PRINTS -- about 4,800 items–records being added continuously.
ca. 1890-1905. People, architecture and sites in Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East.
POPULAR GRAPHIC ARTS -- about 3,900 prints--records being added continuously.
1600-1943, bulk 1800-1890. Prints and illustrated broadsides of historical, graphic and/or documentary importance produced in the U.S. and abroad. (Note: Some prints will also be retrieved when searching American Political Prints).
POSTERS: ARTIST POSTERS -- About 1,200 posters selected from the Artist Poster filing series (records being added continuously)
ca. 1840s-present. Posters notable for their design by artists (some unidentified) from all countries. Includes all subjects (e.g., documentary posters, travel and transportation, political propaganda, etc.).
POSTERS: PERFORMING ARTS POSTERS -- About 2,100 posters.
1840-1936 (bulk 1879-1910). Posters from three collections: Theatrical Poster Collection (ca. 1,775 posters); Minstrel Poster Collection (ca. 175 posters); and Magic Poster Collection (ca. 150 posters).
POSTERS: SPANISH CIVIL WAR POSTERS -- 124 posters.
1936-1939. Posters sponsored by Republican and anti-Republican groups, trade unions, Catalonian nationalists, and international factions, on themes relating to the causes, conduct, and consequences of the civil war.
POSTERS: WORLD WAR I POSTERS -- about 900 posters
1914-1920. American and French posters supporting the war effort. (Note: Some posters will also be retrieved when searching Posters: Artist Posters).
POSTERS: WPA POSTERS -- About 900 posters.
1936-1943. Posters produced by various branches of the WPA to publicize exhibits, community activities, theatrical productions, and health and educational programs in seventeen states and the District of Columbia.
POSTERS: YANKER POSTER COLLECTION -- About 3,500 items.
1927-1980, bulk 1965-1980. Political, propaganda and social issue posters, handbills, and a few bumper stickers, produced in the U.S. and about 50 other countries.
PROKUDIN-GORSKII COLLECTION -- About 1,900 glass plate negatives by Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii using three-part color separation technique, with about 100 modern digital color renderings and approximately 2,400 prints mounted in fourteen albums.
1909-1915. Photographic survey of the Russian Empire, showing people, religious architecture, historic sites, industry and agriculture, public works construction, water and railway transportation routes, villages and cities.
VAN VECHTEN COLLECTION -- About 1,400 photographs by Carl Van Vechten.
1932-1964. U.S. -- includes portraits of celebrities, especially artists, entertainers, and authors, including African Americans active in these fields.
WORLD'S TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION -- 584 lantern slides and 297 photographic prints.
1894-1896. Asia, Australia, and Oceania, showing scenes and sites, with an emphasis on transportation systems.
WRIGHT BROTHERS NEGATIVES -- 302 negatives
1897-1928. Photos, mostly taken by the Wright brothers to document their new flying machines, including views of their laboratory, engines, models, experimental planes, runways, flights, accidents, as well as portraits, buildings and landscapes.
ITEMS IN HIGH DEMAND (MISCELLANEOUS) -- About 45,000 prints, photographs, and drawings cataloged since 1989 (successor to Biographical and Subject card indexes); records added continuously.
1500's - 1980's. Most are items for which copy photography has been requested.
GROUPS OF IMAGES IN HIGH DEMAND (MISCELLANEOUS) -- About 1,000 groups of prints, photographs, and drawings cataloged since 1986 (successor to Divisional Catalog) ; records added continuously.
Images date from 1800's-1960's. Includes LOT records describing groups of images, most of which are kept in storage areas and can be requested using call slips. Among the LOT records are those describing groups of images relating to Native Americans, groups of images by Frances Benjamin Johnston, and groups of images from the records of the NAACP. Provides links to some images.
COPY PHOTOS WITHOUT CATALOG RECORDS -- About 79,000 items (prints, photographs, and drawings); digital images are being added regularly
This reproduction number search provides access to digitized copy negatives and copy transparencies (reproduction numbers beginning with LC-USZ...), for which online catalog records may not yet exist. When no online catalog record exists, reproduction numbers are obtained from manual files in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room and some publications.
NARA (U.S. National Archives and Records Administration)
AccuNet/AP Photo Archive (licensed for MIT and available through MIT library e-journals + databases: VERA)
The AccuNet™ /AP® Multimedia Archive is the most extensive online collection of copyright-released multimedia material available. It contains The Associated Press' current year's photo library and a wide selection of images from their vast negative and print library, dating from the 1840s. Today, the Multimedia Archive contains over 750,000 photos and continues to grow daily as hundreds of new photos are added to the Archive. This is a great resource to bring history alive, available for unlimited access for online review and printing, with quick and easy search functions.
Grove Dictionary of Art (licensed for MIT and available through MIT library e-journals + databases: VERA)
The online version of the entire 34-volume printed edition of The Dictionary of Art published in 1996. It is the only comprehensive art reference work in the world and covers all the visual arts from prehistory to the 1990’s.
Clearinghouse of Image Databases
An online directory of image databases hosted by the University of Arizona.
Mother of All Art and Art History Links Pages
Links to research resources, resources for visual collections, image collections and online art, online exhibits, fine art schools and departments, art museums, and textual and linguistic resources.
Find images easily from across the web.
This site lets you find photos, images, audio and video clips from all over the web. Search results feature thumbnails of images found.
FAST Multimedia Search
Millions of images, audio and video files from across the web can be located via this crawler-based index, powered by FAST Search. You can also narrow searches to particular formats, such as JPEG, GIF, BMP, MIDI, MP3, Wave, AVI, MPEG and QuickTime.
Alexander C.T. Geppert, European University Institute, Florence
Jean Coffey and Tammy Lau, California State University, Fresno
International Exhibitions, Expositions Universelles and World's Fairs, 1851-1951: A Bibliography
Currently the most comprehensive bibliography for the secondary sources on the history of international exhibitions and world’s fairs comprising approximately 1,500 items that cover more than one hundred fairs held in more than twenty different countries between 1851 and 1951.
Smithsonian Institution Libraries
Revisiting World’s Fairs and International Expositions: A Selected Bibliography, 1992-1999
This bibliography supplements Bridget Burke's bibliography, "World's Fairs and International Expositions: Selected References 1987-1993," which was published as part of Fair Representations: World's Fairs and the Modern World, edited by Robert Rydell and Nancy Gwinn. It focuses on secondary materials that were published between 1992 and mid-summer 1999, but also includes some entries for materials prior to 1992 that were not included in the Burke's bibliography. Citations were gathered from a variety of sources including online databases such as America: History and Life, History of Science and Technology, Historical Abstracts, and Dissertation Abstracts as well as from online bibliographic catalogs such as OCLC and RLIN.
Geppert, Alexander C.T., Jean Coffey and Tammy Lau: International Exhibitions, Expositions Universelles and World's Fairs, 1851-1951: A Bibliography. (
PDF)
This site includes a wealth of resources. The listing of Internet Resources found in the Research Aids section is particularly useful.
APPENDIX: Japanese Resources
A. Illustrated periodicals and other visual materials during the Meiji period available at Harvard-Yenching Library
Yomiuri shinbun (CD-ROM). Meiji 1874-/Taisho/Showa.
Hakubunkan, Taiyo (CD-ROM). 77 disks. 1895-1928.
Tokyo pakku. 1905-1912.
Miyatake Gaikotsu (1867-1955), Meiji kibun. 1925-1926. Includes Meiji period articles.
Miyatake Gaikotsu chosakushu. 8 vols.
The Japan Punch.. 10 vol. 5/1862-3/1887.
The Far East. 7 vol. 5/30/1870-8/31/1875. Includes 560 photographs.
Shigarami zoshi. 1889-1894.
Bakumatsu Meiji kaikaki no nishikie hanga (1944), Bunmei kaika nishikie shu (1967), and other nishikie collections.
National Diet Library (Kokuritsu kokkai toshokan)
The Diplomatic Record Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Gaiko shiryokan)
The National Archives of Japan (Kokuritsu kobunshokan)
Japan Center for Asian Historical Records
JCAHR is digitalizing and providing access to Asia-related records dating from the early Meiji period to the end of the Pacific War that are in the possession of important collecting institutions of pre-war official documents, The National Archives of Japan, The Diplomatic Record Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Library of The National Institute for Defense Studies of the National Defense Agency. The number of image data to be produced from the materials these institutions possess alone will exceed 27,000,000. As of June 2002, users have access to 2,300,000 pieces of image data and a catalog database of 160,000 items, which will be augmented on an ongoing basis. ENGLISH SEARCH CAPABILITY.
After the port at Shimoda was opened to the United States according to the Japan U.S. Friendly Treaty in 1854, Ryosenji became the site where Commodore Perry and the Japanese representatives discussed and concluded the Japan-U.S. Shimoda Treaty (ten supplementary provisions of the Japan-U.S. Friendly Treaty). The Ryosenji Kurofune Collection’s more than 1,000 objects include pictorial scrolls, painting, kawaraban woodblock prints, illustrated periodicals published overseas and diplomatic documents, focusing on black ships, Commodore Perry and intercultural exchanges in general.
approx. 31,000 images including Edo-Meiji illustrated books and 11,500 Edo nishiki-e
approx. 30,000 titles of books in humanities and social studies published in the Meiji period from the collection of National Diet Library
*See Kazuko Sakaguchi’s articles below for the contents of the following digital image archives.
Early Photo Database (Historiographical Institute at University of Tokyo)
Bakumatsu and Meiji Old Photo Archives (Nagasaki University)
Database of Early Photographs (International Research Center for Japanese Studies)
Peace Database (Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation)
Dai Nihon enkai yochi zenzu (Complete Survey of the Japanese Coast) (National Diet Library)
Old Maps of Nagasaki (International Research Center for Japanese Studies)
Premodern Antique Map and Drawing Map Collection (University of Tokushima Library)
Ashida Antique Map Collection (Meiji University)
Asia in World Antique Map (Osaka University)
The Mainichi Photo Bank offers access to photographic resources accumulated by the Mainichi Daily newspaper over its 130-year history, which are available for photo rental. It is the largest photo database among the Japanese newspapers. Thankfully the database is accessible to anyone free of charge because it targets commercial clients such as publishers and broadcasters as well as individual Internet users as potential clients for its photo rental services. The database currently contains approximately 200,000 photos, including 120,000 photos taken from the Meiji period through the thirties (the Showa period), and, more recently, photographs taken after January 1998. Photos taken between the 1950s and 1997 have been gradually digitized, but only less than 10 % of them --those requested for photo rental --have been digitized thus far and many lack captions. At this moment, it is unknown when all remaining photos will be digitized. One can enjoy hyperlink functions because the database is linked to the Mainichi Daily newspaper's major articles published after August 1997. The database system and digitalization of photos were developed by Dai-Nihon Printing, Inc., which enjoys a good reputation for know-how in the development of high-resolution image archives.
In order to search photographs or images, "non-verbal information" manifested in the image needs to be translated into texts and characteristics and features of the subjects, which can then be sorted and organized to retrieve information. It is no exaggeration to say that the functional use of an image database depends on what and how access points are organized and sorted, including bibliographic data. The Mainichi Photo Bank includes precise information characterized in a photo, thus, for instance, one can use terms for facial expressions such as "fury" and "smile" as key words. Free access only allows one to view photos in a small image of the photograph, known as the thumbnail. One can view up to 40 photos at a time and then select any one to view in a larger size thumbnail for display. If one wants to purchase a desired photo, one proceeds to an online order form. Upon Mainichi Information Service Center's completion of an assessment or confirmation of the requester’s information (e.g., objectives and type of media), a positive print or data image will be sent to the requester. For educational use a photograph costs 2,000 yen, and for publication use, 6,000 yen per black and white photo and 20,000 yen per color photo. Overseas users may need to allow for shipping and handling costs in addition to these prices. The moga photo attached to the Director's article in this issue of Tsushin was obtained through this service.
Bakumatsu and Meiji Old Photo Archives (Nagasaki University)
Photographic techniques invented by Daguerre in 1839 were brought to Nagasaki by a Dutch vessel in the following year. They took no time to spread throughout the country. Bakumatsu and Meiji Old Photo Archives developed at Nagasaki University contain valuable historical photographs preserved at this birthplace of Japanese photographic culture. Many of them depict scenes, lives, and folklore taken in Westerners' residential districts or sight seeing spots across Japan. Photographs in this database show how Japan was transforming from the late Edo period into the Meiji. Identified photographers" names provide an interesting perspective on how Japan was perceived in the eyes of Westerners. The notably large collection, containing over 5,400 photographs that are in relatively good condition, was subtly colored by craftsmen called professional painters. Four types of search screens, that can be entered in both Japanese and English are organized effectively in accordance with the purpose of use of the photographs. One can execute various searches without any specific knowledge of photographs. Free keyword search, for instance, includes searching not only captions to the photos but also descriptions of the photos, and one can select a photo by clicking a geographical name of an area on a map. Furthermore, one can even reach a needed item by simply clicking a subject in 86 categories on a list, in addition to the key word search. These lists also usefully provide one with an overview of the history of Japanese photographs in this early period.
Database of Early Photographs (International Research Center for Japanese Studies)
The Database of Early Photographs at the International Research Center for Japanese Studies also offers historical photographs made during the late Edo period through early Meiji. One can enjoy experiencing the Meiji period through historical records captured in such photographs, which were the cutting edge medium back then. Types and coverage of photographs and capability of search in both Japanese and English are similar to those in the above-mentioned Old Photo Archives at Nagasaki University; however, the specific search methods and layouts are quite different. One cannot obtain results just by clicking fields, but needs to spell out search terms in a simple search, which consists of a free keyword search, or by an advanced search, to narrow down the search by filling columns for captions, notes and photographers. One may need to have some knowledge of historical photographs to execute an efficient search because of the limitation of suggested vocabularies in keywords columns. The truncation search and search history functions, which are not found in the other old photograph databases, are useful. The old photograph collections at the International Research Center for Japanese Studies are also available in the Database of Pictorial Images Outside Japan, which includes images and texts extracted from photographs and illustrations in research on Japanese culture published overseas. You may retrieve more results on some topics, such as "geisha," from this database. Also, you may take advantage of a separate search engine with cross-reference that allows for a consolidated seamless search of three databases, the Database of Pictorial Images Outside Japan, the Database of Old Photographs, and the Database of Japanese Art.
Early Photo Database (Historiographical Institute at University of Tokyo)
The Early Photographs Database at the Historiographical Institute at the University of Tokyo covers the same period as those of the above mentioned two image databases. However, the big difference from the other two is an inclusion of photographs of the Western peoples and materials obtained on the Iwakura Mission. The Early Photographs Database contains many portraits from notable figures in the late Edo through the Meiji era and is the only database that includes a photograph of Tokugawa Yoshinobu, the 15th shogun, among the three old photo databases introduced in this article. Viewing the database is free for academic purposes, but one must fill out an online database use application on each occasion of use. Various search methods include narrowing down by Japanese calendar, Boolean searches combining AND and OR, or simply clicking appropriate terms suggested on lists for objects, photographers, or photographic techniques. One can view thumbnail images, up to 100 photographs at a time. Both titles and photographers" names are assigned identification numbers within each category, and one can retrieve text information to describe the photo by clicking those numbers. The famous French photographer Nader, who took photographs from the air for the first time in the world, is included on the list. Among fifty of his photographs, all of which are made in Paris, a portrait of Fukuzawa Yukichi on his visit to Europe on the first Japanese mission to the Western world is also included. Unfortunately, however, the database seems to lack a thesaurus control. Thus despite many portraits of Japanese in formal warrior outfits photographed by Nader, only one photo appears under "bushi" (warrior), and no results under "samurai" whether in hiragana, katakana, or Chinese characters.
Peace Database (Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation)
The merit of digitizing photographs may not be restricted to mere preservation in archives but can also function as a sort of historical testimony to relay messages of understanding to others through multimedia. The Peace Database developed at the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation is a multimedia database consisting of various types of information in text, image, and audio to reflect an entreaty for the abolition of nuclear weapons. To convey the reality of atomic bombing, which has been fading from our memory after half a century, as well as to contribute to research on world peace, the database exhibits over the Internet 12,000 items housed at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. Maximizing the impact of photographs as a message communicator, the site is an attempt to transmit Japan"s hope for world peace, as the only nation to have suffered from the atomic bomb. In addition to photographs, the database also contains videos on victims" testimony, interviews with victims by the US Strategic Investigation Team, and atomic bomb documentary films. Bibliographical information with 20 fields is comprehensive and description of the items is thorough enough so that one can enjoy advanced combination of search terms with AND and OR functions. In addition, sorting in both ascending and descending modes is available as well.
Kazuko Sakaguchi. "Antique Map Digital Image Archives." Tsushin, Vol. 8, No.1 (Spring 2002).
Dai Nihon enkai yochi zenzu (Complete Survey of the Japanese Coast) (National Diet Library)
The Dai Nihon enkai yochi zenzu (Complete Survey of the Japanese Coast), the first geographical survey maps of Japan, were made by Tadataka Ino (1745-1818), and are known as "Ino Maps" in general. They consist of three hand-produced sets in three scales: a large-scale set (1:36,000, originally consisting of 214 sheets), a medium-scale set (1:216,000, originally consisting of 64 sheets) , and a small-scale set (1: 432,000, originally consisting of three sheets). Many sheets of the large-scale map (the most detailed) have been destroyed in fires, and only about sixty survive in Japan. Fortunately, however, 206 sheets (later verified as 207) of the Ino large-scale map were discovered at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. last year. Coincidentally it was the bicentennial anniversary of the date when Ino Tadataka began surveying all of Japan. Currently, a homecoming exhibition is under development, and meanwhile one can view parts of this Ino map through digital archives.
The National Diet Library (NDL) houses the Japanese holdings of the Dai Nihon enkai yochi zenzu, which is today formed of shahon made in the Meiji era and donated by the Meteorological Agency. It exhibits forty-three sheets of the large-scale map as high quality digital images. Due to their visual nature, maps are especially suitable for digital image databases. Users can enjoy viewing digitized maps as many times as they want without touching physical surfaces, and digital image archives are thus free from damage or deterioration. If maps are not used but just being stored, they may be meaningless. Digitized geographical information can open the sources for a variety of capabilities and utilization. Developed as part of the Rare Book Image Database Project at the NDL, the Dai Nihon enkai yochi zenzu has several varieties of search functions and image displays, such as cross-referencing within the Project and detailed annotations. In addition to the list of sheets of the large-scale map, it contains a comprehensive geographical name index for old place names, current place names by municipal levels, and natural place names. One may find the place name list useful because it displays the whole contents at a time, which are arranged by the Japanese fifty syllables, while natural place names are organized by categories such as mountains, rivers, islands, lakes, and capes. One can also jump to the whole map divided into three sections by clicking images consisting of combined maps, full-sized, and enlargement of partial map images.
Old Maps of Nagasaki (International Research Center for Japanese Studies)
The Old Maps of Nagasaki project developed at the International Research Center for Japanese Studies (Nichibunken) includes 221 color photographic images whose originals are in the collection of the Nagasaki Municipal Museum. Because of this project so-called "museum items" are now revived as vivid JPEG images and can be easily accessible anywhere and anytime. One can obtain access free of charge (for research use only), though prior registration is required. Functional features of this image database are similar to those of the Database of Early Photographs at Nichibunken, which was introduced in this column in the previous issue of Tsushin. However, it lacks truncation search functions, and as yet no old map image databases developed at any other institutions have such capability. The database has an excellent system structure for a digital image archive, including well-organized and balanced layouts as well as capabilities for browsing, lists, and bibliographies, with a variety of search methods specifically designed for ease of use. In addition, the user's search history is displayed on the top of the screen. The database has the most functional and comprehensive search capabilities among the old map image archives introduced here. Especially helpful, a free key word search can be entered in both Japanese and English because captions are described in English as well.
Premodern Antique Map and Drawing Map Collection (University of Tokushima Library)
The Premodern Antique Map and Drawing Map Collection at the University of Tokushima Library features 200 items related to old maps in their premodern rare book collection. The collection includes not only maps of Tokushima but also of Edo, Kyoto, various provinces, and the world, as well as pictorial maps of clans, provinces, counties, villages, and rivers. The digital archive also includes the collection of the Hachisuka Family, the former daimyo of Tokushima; it provides invaluable research materials for local history. Because of the limited size of the collection, the archive currently does not have a search engine; however, the database has as many as twenty categories to provide access points for future developments in search functions. Also, one can jump to an enlarged map of notable places from a front page, which is a special feature not found among similar old map image databases. Furthermore, the database offers bibliographical references and detailed annotations so as to assist systematic further research. This image database has the potential to become a full-scale image archive.
Ashida Antique Map Collection (Meiji University)
The Ashida Antique Map Collection at the Meiji University Library consists of approximately 2,500 items of geographical material, such as maps of Japan, China, Korea, and the world, and topography in the Edo period, collected by Koreto Ashida (1877-1960), a pioneer of Japanese topography. Covering the early period of Edo through the Showa era, over half of the collection is premodern. Regional maps are predominant (over ninety percent), and manuscript maps make up thirty percent of the total. Notable as a compiler of the Dai-Nihon Chishi-Taikei (Japan Topographic Encyclopedia. 40 volumes) (Tokyo: Yuzankaku, 1929-1933), Ashida reflected his scholarship and aesthetics in his collection, which has not only research value but also artistic value as well. Even today Meiji University is continuing an annual budget allocation to maintain and develop their unique collection of old maps. Although it does not have a free key word search, the search keys are organized by both region and chronology, and one can easily retrieve search results by simply clicking the code classified by region and chronology. The database has two types of images: high resolution and medium resolution. It is often said that one needs a wide range of knowledge from sociology and art history through religion to comprehend old maps, because they reflect the creators' aesthetics, worldviews, and values (Hiroshi Takeda). One of the features to be mentioned about this archive is the comprehensive annotations of background information and bibliographical references. In addition, for those interested in viewpoints and research questions about the collection, reports by the Ashida Antique Map Collection Committee (http://www.lib.meiji.ac.jp/ashida/articles/report-2000/preface.html) might be useful for further study.
Edo Streets Digital Exhibition (University of Tokyo)
Portable maps made by woodblock printing, which indicated the locations of residential mansions for daimyo and warrior classes, enjoyed their heyday during the Edo period. They were used as practical tools in the everyday lives of people in old Edo. This type of printed maps, called kiriezu, or patch-work maps, are often misleading due to deformation or deletion of detail and are therefore not suitable to serve as a source for accurate geographical data. They do not correspond to current maps of Tokyo. Yet, maps are, in the first place, picture and drawing . The colorful woodblock maps, such as the Owariya-version of the patch-work maps, are aesthetic enough for contemporary people to appreciate as a sort of art due to their unique color and abstract design. It is no coincidence that current audiences pay special attention to such maps. The Edo Streets Digital Exhibition developed at the University of Tokyo includes colorful patch-work maps published from the early Edo period through the early Meiji era. Because this digital image archive was originally developed as catalogues for the named exhibition, it has comprehensive commentary on each map. However, it lacks search functions and has only one image resolution. Due to the fact that maps offer unlimited sources of information, and as Edo studies are receiving special attention as a research area in recent years, it would be desirable if this image archive could be transformed into an image database with a variety of search functions and capabilities.
Walking in Edo-Tokyo with Antique Map (APP Company)
A CD-ROM production by Keishi Nakagawa, a contemporary graphic designer and illustrator, aiming to view the world of Edo through the Owariya Edo Street Maps, is now available on the market. The uniqueness of this CD-ROM is that one can compare places on the old Edo map and the current Tokyo map by combining old maps and current scientific maps on a computer screen. This epoch-making offline resource provides the pleasure of not only viewing maps but also walking on actual streets on the map to understand geographical information and life in the Edo period. Due to its aspects of game and entertainment, contemporary users who have grown up in a culture with pervasive electronic images will find this CD-ROM satisfying, above and beyond the interesting contents. Viewing back and forth between Edo and Tokyo, which is an unattainable feature through a printed map, it demonstrates descriptive methods and functions achieved only through digital media. Including comparisons with the Owariya Edo Street Maps, Hiroshige's Edo woodblock prints, landmarks in Edo, and explanation of social conditions and city planning in the Edo period, the CD-ROM is an indispensable tool for exploring the old city. It might be worthwhile to reconstruct and reexperience the premodern world through new technology in the twenty-first century. Perhaps one could gain a greater sense of intimacy towards the protagonists in Edo literature and be able to understand the Edo culture more personally.
Old Northern Maps Cyber Exhibition (Hokkaido University)
Due to the importance of maps for national defense, maps were forbidden for foreigners to possess or export in the Edo period. As represented by the Siebold Incident, maps have not been free from political situations and social environments. Hokkaido, formerly called Ezochi, had remained unknown for a long time. Even the Matsumae clan who ruled this region did not have an accurate geographical understanding of their territory. Because of Russia's ambition toward the Ezochi territory, which grew conspicuous in the late eighteenth century, however, Ezochi came into geographical view for the Japanese. This image archive consists of a collection housed at the Institute of Northern Territory Studies, which was originally prepared as part of the 125th commemorative anniversary for Hokkaido University. The archive traces the historical process of how Ezochi has been transformed into the current Hokkaido. Ezochi was drawn in an oval shape extending to the north and the south on the Genroku kunie zu, a map produced by the order of the Edo shognate in 1700. One might find it interesting to see the low level of knowledge of Hokkaido in those days. Because of the limited number of visual images included on the database, this archive does not have a search engine, though the database offers high density images through FlashPix, which allows layered image data. Furthermore, it has a function to manipulate image position, which is not found in this type of image databases anywhere; one can move images on a computer screen in any direction by simply clicking an icon called "pan."
Asia in World Antique Map (Osaka University)
During those days when land survey technology was primitive, maps were often made based on hearsay and guess or assumption. Antique maps, therefore, have been often perceived as reflections of the author's worldviews. The Asia in World Antique Map project at Osaka University consists of approximately one hundred images of maps published from the seventeenth century through the nineteenth century, covering North East Asia, including Japan, China, Korea, and Siberia. This image archive is invaluable for obtaining the Western geographical views toward Asia and is useful for tracing historical changes. Although it lacks a search engine, the database has a user-friendly search screen. One can retrieve a medium-sized map with bibliographic information by clicking authors and names of maps on a list organized chronologically on the right page, and can directly jump to a full-sized image in a JPEG file. It is interesting that Hokkaido is not included in any maps from the first up to the eighty-fourth included in this database. Also, Japan, Manchuria, and the Kurile Isles made by John Bartholomew, the third generation of the Bartholomews, a well-known family of geographers, shows an accurate map of Japan and Sakhalin, whereas it shows an inferior map of the Korean Peninsula. The Western geographical perception toward East Asia seems to be vague even in the late nineteenth century.
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