The British Library’s photograph collections represent a major
resource for photographic historians, scholars and picture
researchers. Extensive collections of photographs are held in all
departmental areas of the Library, with particularly strong
coverage of India and Asia, the 19th-century photographically
illustrated book, travel, European topography and portraiture.
In addition, the Library’s holdings of textual material relating
to the history and development of the medium, from its earliest days
to the present, is outstanding, comprising a unique collection
of patents relating to photography, technical manuals, photographic
journals, monographs and histories.
The dispersal of these collections throughout the Library has
in the past made many of these holdings difficult to locate.
This new catalogue will for the first time provide an integrated search
tool for this wealth of material, providing access to a unique resource
for the study of photography and visual culture in general. For guidance
on the most effective ways of using the catalogue, please read the
search tips.
Asian photographs: The existing catalogue of photographs in
the former India Office Collections will also shortly be transferred to
these catalogues. The listings of these photographs at http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/indiaofficeselect/welcome.asp will
continue to be available until this process is complete and users requiring
Indian and Asian material are requested to also check this catalogue until all records have been transferred.