The University of Chicago Library
How Do I Find...? | Images

Searching for Images

U.S. Copyright Laws

Searching the Library Catalog

Selected illustration indexes

Art images in online collections

Art images in print collections

Searching in magazines and books online

Browsing for images in printed magazines

History of medicine: finding images

Searching the Library Catalog:

Here are some strategies for finding images within the University of Chicago Library's collection by using the Library Catalog.

  • For a general image search, use the BEGINS WITH option, select subject from the drop box, and enter one of the following search terms: exhibitions, illustrated periodicals, photographs, portraits, or caricatures and cartoons.
  • Include the subject phrase "pictorial works" in an ADVANCED KEYWORD search, for example:
    anatomy and pictorial works
    abraham lincoln and pictorial works
    venice and pictorial worksworks
  • Using the BEGINS WITH option, select subject from the drop box, and enter the phrase "___in art," for example:
    musical instruments in art
    philosophers in art
    working class in art
  • Look at the physical descriptions of books retrieved in a catalog search. If a work contains illustrative material, the type of illustration will normally be mentioned after the pagination. "Ill" stands for illustrations, "col" for colored, meaning two or more colors; you can also expect to find "maps," "plans," and "ports" for portraits.
  • Selected illustration indexes:

    listed in chronological order

    ALA Portrait Index: Index to Portraits Contained in Printed Books and Periodicals
    Published in 1906.
    Despite its age, an excellent resource for images of people known to19th-century audiences.
    N7620.A51 Regenstein 1st Floor Reference Collection, and Regenstein 4th Floor Reference Collection.

    General index to illustrations; 22,000 selected references in all fields exclusive of nature
    Published in 1931.
    Primarily indexes images published in art journals and catalogs from the late 1800s to the 1920s, but the subject matter is wide-ranging.
    NC996.E47 Regenstein 1st Floor Reference Collection, and Regenstein 4th Floor Reference Collection.

    Illustration Index
    Eight editions of this work provide citations to images found in mass-market publications from 1957 to 1996.
    N7525.1558 Regenstein 1st Floor Reference Collection.

    Index to Illustrations of the Natural World: Where to Find Pictures of the Living Things of North America
    Published in 1977.
    Z7998.N87T47 Crerar 1st Floor Reference Collection.

    Photography Index: A Guide to Reproductions
    Published in 1979.
    Indexes photographic reproductions in books published between 1820 and 1970s, with an emphasis on artistic and documentary photography. Arranged by photographer, but also includes a good subject index.
    TR199.P370 Regenstein, 4th Floor Reference Collection.

    Searching in magazines and books online:

    listed in chronological order

    The making of the modern world: the Goldsmiths'-Kress Library of Economic Literature
    Date Coverage: 1450-1850
    Select the Advanced Search button and you will have options to limit your search by various types of illustrated works.

    Early English Books Online (EEBO)
    Date Coverage: 1473-1700
    If you perfrom an advanced search there is an option to specify "Illustration Type".

    Sabin Americana: 1500-1926
    Based on Joseph Sabin's landmark bibliography, this collection contains works about the Americas published throughout the world from 1500 to the early 1900's. Included are books, pamphlets, serials and other documents that provide original accounts of exploration, trade, colonialism, slavery and abolition, the western movement, Native Americans, military actions and much more.
    Select the "Advanced Search" button and note the drop box titled "to Illustrated Works Containing".

    America's Historical Newspapers
    Date Coverage: 1690-1922
    Select "Article Types". There is an option to search "Advertisements".

    British Periodicals - Collection 1
    Date Coverage: 1709-1937
    Select "Article Search" for the ability to limit content.

    C19, The Nineteenth Century Index
    Date Coverage: 1790-1919
    Select "Search Indexes". Only certain indexes within C19 allow for searching for images; they are: American Periodicals Series and British Periodicals.

    19th century U.S. newspapers

    Testaments to the Holocaust
    Date Coverage: 1933-"after the war"

    Readers' Guide Full Text
    Date Coverage: 1983-present
    Select "Readers' Guide Full Text" from the main page.
    Note the "Physical Description" drop box that allows you to specify various image descriptions.

    Images.MD
    Date Coverage: current
    Consists of over 48,000 high-quality images spanning all of internal medicine, all derived from Current Medicine's series of illustrated atlases. Each image is accompanied by detailed explanatory text and citation of the source.

    EBSCO Image Collection
    Date Coverage: N/A
    Select "Images" within the tool bar.
    Contains over 180,000 photographs and images including current events, sports, maps, entertainment, the sciences and historical interests. The images are gathered from several providers such as UPI, Getty Images, Canadian Press, The Motion Picture and Television Photo Archive, MapQuest, and public domain sources.

    Digital South Asia Library
    Date Coverage: N/A

    Images. MD: the online encyclopedia of medical images
    Date Coverage: Current

    New York Public Library Digital Gallery
    Date Coverage: N/A

    Persée: portail de revues scientifiques en sciences humaines et sociales
    Date Coverage: N/A

    Browsing in magazines:

    listed in chronological order

    Saturday evening post, an illustrated weekly magazine
    Library has: v. 1- Aug. 18, 1821-present
    http://proquest.umi.com.proxy.uchicago.edu/pqdweb?RQT=318=HNP=000042274=1=1153327604=13392
    http://proquest.umi.com.proxy.uchicago.edu/pqdweb?RQT=318=1157575508=13392=PQD=HNP=PROD=42273=1=5197
    [f] AP2.S22 Regenstein Bookstacks

    Godey's magazine
    Library has: 1831-1898
    Absorbed: American ladies' magazine
    Superseded in part by: Puritan
    AP2.G6 Regenstein Bookstacks

    Harper's magazine
    Library has: 1850-1976
    Continued by: Harper's (same call number as Harper's Magazine)
    http://gateway.proquest.com.proxy.uchicago.edu/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004=xri:pao-us:=xri:pao:journal:5128
    http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/moa/browse.journals/harp.html
    AP2.H3 Regenstein Bookstacks

    Harper's weekly; a journal of civilization
    Library has: 1857-1916
    Absorbed by: Independent (New York, N.Y.)
    Issues from 1857-1877 also available on the Internet - http://app.harpweek.com.proxy.uchicago.edu/
    [f] AP2.H33 Regenstein Bookstacks

    The Outlook
    Library has: 1871-1935 (some of the earliest issues are temporarily held in dark storage)
    Title was "Christian Union" 1870-1893: http://proquest.umi.com.proxy.uchicago.edu/pqdweb?RQT=318=HNP=000041962=1=1153938000=13392
    http://proquest.umi.com.proxy.uchicago.edu/pqdweb?RQT=318=1156437104=13392=PQD=HNP=PROD=41960=1=5197
    [f]AP2.O93 Regenstein Bookstacks

    The Ladies' home journal
    Library has: 1883-present
    [f] AP2.L16 Regenstein Bookstacks

    The literary digest Library has: 1890-1938
    Absorbed by: Time (Chicago, Ill.)
    Absorbed in part by: Review of reviews (New York, N. Y.)
    AP2.L7 Regenstein Bookstacks

    National geographic
    Library has: 1894-present
    G1.N27 Regenstein Bookstacks

    Collier's, the national weekly
    Library has: 1898-1957
    [f] AP2.C69 Regenstein Bookstacks

    Sunset. The magazine of the Pacific and of all the far West
    Library has: 1899-1972
    F851.S95 Regenstein Bookstacks

    The Country life. A magazine for the home-maker in the country ..
    Library has: 1901-1942
    Absorbed by: Country Calendar
    Country Life and the Country Calendar
    [f] AP2.C85 Regenstein Bookstacks

    The Countryside magazine and suburban life
    Library has: 1905-1917
    Absorbed: Birds & nature magazine
    Absorbed by: Independent (New York, N.Y.)
    [f] AP2.C86 Regenstein Bookstacks

    Time
    Library has: v.1, 1923-present
    Continues: Literary digest
    http://www.time.com/time/archive/
    AP2.T45 Regenstein Bookstacks

    Newsweek
    Library has: 1933-present
    Absorbed: Today Feb. 27, 1937
    AP2.N68 Regenstein Bookstacks

    Life
    Library has: 1936-1972
    Superseded in Oct. 1978 by: Life ([f]AP2.L69151)
    [f] AP2.L6915 Regenstein Bookstacks

    Consumer reports
    Library has: 1936-present
    [does not contain advertisements but does contain images of products]
    TX1.C76 Regenstein Bookstacks

    Look
    Library has: 1942-1971
    [f] AP2.L857 Regenstein Bookstacks

    Realites
    Library has: 1950-1974
    [f]AP2.R26 Regenstein Bookstacks

    Ebony
    Library has: 1962-present
    [f] E185.5.E19 Regenstein Bookstacks

    Maclean's
    Library has: 1968-present
    Continues: Busy man's magazine
    [f] AP2.M18 Regenstein Bookstacks

    Smithsonian
    Library has: 1970-present
    AS30.S66 Regenstein Bookstacks