Visual Materials in Our Collections
Visual Materials in Our Collections
The Society's Archives has more than 3 million images across 6,000 collections. The majority of visual materials focus on Wisconsin, the Midwest, the United States and Canada.
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Featured Subjects
AgricultureImages feature rural life, including farms, machinery, growing and harvesting crops such as cranberries, tobacco and honey.
Cities and TownsGalleries depict street views, prominent buildings, and postcards of cities and towns in Wisconsin and beyond.
Domestic LifeGalleries focus on late 19th and early 20th century home interiors, domestic work and crafts, friends and families, dining, home-improvement, child rearing, gardening, and relaxing.
RecreationGalleries highlight a large variety of leisure-time activities, vacation resorts, tourist attractions, hunting, fishing, boating and more.
TransportationGalleries reflect the evolution of transportation, from steamships and bicycles to automobiles, trains, and aircraft.
WorkGalleries document workers, companies, development of Wisconsin industries such as fur trading, mining, timber operations, service industries, farming, brewing and more.
Purchasing Visual Materials
Our collection of historical photograhs and other materials are available for purchase. Learn about buying prints for home use as well as licensing for public use.
Finding Aids
- Catalog
Search the Catalog to find photographs and visual materials within a collection.
- Finding Aids
Search the Finding Aids to find film, photographs or audio recordings. Finding Aids also include details about a collection's contents.
Have Questions?
Looking for a photo but you don't know where to start? Want to order an image? Email our reference staff and we'll help to point you in the right direction.