About U.S. History Images

My obsession with old books and illustrations lead me to create the Public Domain Images part of my web site at Karen's Whimsy.

As that site expanded, I started to realize that I had a lot of books filled with amazing drawings and engravings of United States history. I decided that this was a special niche that should be shared with others. What better way to learn about and appreciate the history of the United States than through the illustrations of artists from the last century and a half?

While looking through the images on this website, please keep in mind biases and prejudices of the authors and illustrators of the time. The primary source material comes from books published from as early as 1842 up to 1922. Attitudes towards different ethinic groups are often narrow-minded, at best. Although I do not agree with the stereotypes depicted in the books, I feel that it is of historical importance to present the images as authentically as possible, without censorship. But I recommend that these factors be kept in mind while viewing the images.

The images are all in the public domain and are free for anyone to use in any way with just a couple of exceptions. Please see my Terms of Use for more details.

On each individual image page, you'll find a link to a citation of the primary source material for that image. A list of all sources can be found at Sources.

I hope that you will enjoy and treasure these incredible pictures as much as I do.
 




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