Images
Get the Full Picture
of Historic Images
The Wisconsin Historical Society holds over 3 million images across 6,000+ collections — including photographs, films, architectural drawings, posters, cartoons, and rare materials from private, business, and government sources.
Explore Our Digital Collections
Autographed Hank Aaron Print
“Hammerin’ Hank” began and ended his big-league career in Milwaukee. In 1953, Aaron signed a contract with the Milwaukee Braves. He played for 21 seasons for the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves and two seasons for the Milwaukee Brewers from 1954-1976. He finished his career with 755 home runs.
This autographed copy of Hank Aaron's baseball card is part of Vel Phillips's Papers Collection.
Visual Materials Collections
These collections document the social, economic, and political history of Wisconsin, the Upper Midwest, and the United States from the mid-1800s to the present, with particularly strong coverage of everyday life from the early 1900s through the 1970.
Formerly Wisconsin Historical Images (WHI), the Wisconsin Historical Society offers 90,000+ images online, with new images added each year. Digitized materials reflect the full range of visual formats in the collections including photographs, films, posters, architectural drawings, and ephemera.
Collections also feature strengths in:
- 19th-century expeditionary photography
- Native American photographs
- Mass communications and media
- Labor, civil rights, and social action movements
The vast majority of our visual materials are not online. They are located among thousands of collections in the Archives.
Featured Image Subjects
Advertising
Advertising
Explore how businesses captured attention in the 19th and 20th centuries. This collection features brochures, posters, letterhead, magazine and newspaper ads, catalogs, trading cards, billboards, and handbills. Discover advertising for everything from farm equipment, beer, and automobiles to tourism, land sales — and even rewards for runaway enslaved people.
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Advertising Digital Images
Agriculture
Agriculture
Step into Wisconsin’s rural past through photographs of farms, farm families, and agricultural work. Images document farm machinery, daily farm life, and the growing and harvesting of crops such as cranberries, corn, tobacco, and honey production.
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Agriculture Digital Images
Cities & Towns
Cities & Towns
Browse more than 10,000 geographic views of Wisconsin communities. These images capture Main Streets, notable buildings, landmarks, and everyday life across the state. Large postcard collections highlight towns throughout Wisconsin, while a unique set of images from the Albertype Company — a New York postcard publisher — documents communities across the United States at the turn of the 20th century.
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Cities & Towns Digital Images
Domestic Life
Domestic Life
Snapshots of everyday life. Amateur and professional photographers captured family, friends, and the rhythms of home life in the late 19th and 20th centuries. These images show home interiors, domestic work and crafts, and people cooking, cleaning, dining, raising children, gardening, tackling home projects, and relaxing — offering an intimate look at daily life across generations.
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Domestic Life Digital Images
Education
Education
Explore images of learning across Wisconsin — from one-room schoolhouses to the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Photographs capture classrooms, libraries, teachers, students, campus life, folk art, and educational activities of all kinds.
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Education Digital Images
First Nations of North America
First Nations of North America
These photographs span from the Civil War era through the late 20th century, documenting Native nations in Wisconsin and across North America. Collections include images of major Wisconsin tribes, as well as communities from the East, Southwest, and Plains. Also featured are lithographs by George Catlin and Alexander Simplot, hand-colored engravings by Karl Bodmer, and watercolor paintings by Peter Rindisbacher.
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Indigenous Peoples of North America Digital Images
Political Activity
Political Activity
Wisconsin’s diverse political voices come to life in images of campaigns, protests, and public debate. From Robert M. La Follette Sr. to Joseph McCarthy, the collections document labor movements, strikes, civil rights activism, suffrage, and grassroots organizing.
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Political Activity Digital Images
Recreation
Recreation
See how Wisconsinites spent their free time. Images highlight hotels, restaurants, resorts, and tourist attractions, along with seasonal activities like hunting, fishing, boating, and sports.
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Recreation Digital Images
Transportation
Transportation
Track the evolution of travel in Wisconsin — from horse-drawn vehicles and steamships to bicycles, trains, automobiles, streetcars, motorcycles, and aircraft. Railroads and changing transportation networks are especially well represented.
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Transportation Digital Images
War
War
Photographs document military service, wartime life, and the home front. Highlights include Civil War soldier portraits and images from World War I, World War II, the Vietnam War, and other conflicts. Posters and photographs also capture grassroots activism, including anti-war movements during the Vietnam era.
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War Digital Images
""Ohio Tavern Women's Bowling Team League Champs"
Text reads, "Ohio Tavern Women's Bowling Team League Champs, '79-'80" lettered in red, except for "Women's" which is in black. Curlicue designs fill top two corners and cross the bottom. Fancy blue...
"'61 Was a Tuff Flight"
1961
Colored drawing of an injured bird with bandages on its cheek, neck, and wing. Supported by a crutch, it is leaning against a bar by a drink with an ice cube on a counter. Text on the bottom right ...
"'Tis a Fine, Patriotic Thing To Do" - Share Your Car
1943
Office of Civilian Defense Design No. 2, "Policeman." The poster features a police officer with cars passing behind him. The subtitle below the main caption reads: "A 'V' Home Does!"
"... Their Appointed Rounds"
1956
A mailman is trudging through the snow with his loaded mailbag. A city street and buildings are barely visible through the snow.
"...For Your Security and Mine!" - Buy and Hold War Bonds
1944
Treasury Design, title and number unknown. The poster features the profiles of Uncle Sam, a man, a woman, and a child arranged along the left border and facing the text.
"100,000 dolarů na slunci" (Greed in the Sun) Film Poster
1966
Czechoslovakian film poster for the French film "Cent mille dollars au soleil." Yellow background with black lettering. Small photographic image of a woman's head on top of a large, close-up image ...
"1865 Military Ball" at Old World Wisconsin
June 1, 1989
A costumed couple is dancing while four women in costumes are clapping their hands. Caption reads: "Dancers strutted their stuff at an '1865 Military Ball' sponsored by Friends of Old World Wiscons...
"2, 3, Many Boston Tea Parties" Poster
Social action poster depicting the Boston Tea Party. The Caption reads, "Sam Adams never actually said this, but he and his Sons of Liberty (those early Yippies complete with Indian beads and warpa...
"20 Hodin" (20 Hours) Film Poster
1966
Czechoslovakian film poster featuring a black and white photographic image of an arm (and its shadow) reaching out towards a rifle.
"30 On the Square" Office Building
May 26, 1965
Stanly Sirotin is posing in front of the corner of the "30 On the Square" sky scraper. The low, steep angle of the photographer's camera, looking up, reveals nine stories of the building's still ex...
Collections Use FAQs
Explore how you can find, access, and use our collection materials.
The Society's library and archives collections can be searched in the University of Wisconsin-Madison Library catalog and some parts of our collections have been digitized and are available online.
The Society's historical object collection cannot be searched online.
Library & Archives
Many books, bound periodicals, microforms and government publications may be checked out for home use with a library card. Rare, fragile, small and heavily used materials (including genealogical resources) do not circulate. A borrowing card is not required if you want to use materials within the Library. Archival materials are available for use in our Archives Reading Room.
For more information about our borrowing policies Library & Archives Services.
Historic Objects
If you are interested in viewing our historical objects please contact us.
Due to significant demands associated with developing the Wisconsin History Center, the Society has reduced capacity to handle loan requests. Therefore, we are not accepting new requests at this time.
For a credit line: Wisconsin Historical Society, Creator, Title, Unique Identifier.
The Unique Identifier can be found at the top or bottom of the webpage for each item. The name of a downloaded file is NOT the unique identifier.
For bibliographic citations please consult the UW-Madison Libraries Citation Research Guide to ensure compliance with appropriate style guidelines.
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Personal use (prints, gifts, home and study): Request images for personal use
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Commercial use (public display, publishing, media, products, film and more): Request commercial use of our Collection
Materials in our websites and digital collection are provided for research, teaching, and private study. The Wisconsin Historical Society hold rights to some items; others may be governed by additional copyright or donor restrictions.
We encourage users to download low-res images from our website for personal or classroom use, without written permission, within the meaning of the principles of “Fair Use.”
Permission is required for reproduction, publication, or commercial use of any content made available through our websites and digital collection. By using this website, including our digital collections, you agree to the Terms of Use. Users are responsible for determining whether their intended use qualifies as fair use under U.S. copyright law. When relying on fair use, cite the source.
Visit Our
Library & Archives
Perhaps the best way to begin exploring our collections is by visiting us in person. In our reading rooms, you’ll find free and unparalleled access to our collections, helpful staff and amenities, and perhaps, your very own story.
Plan Your Visit Hours
Donate to The Society's Collections
Your Story is Wisconsin's Story
History is made every day, everywhere. Since 1846, contributions from people across the state have helped us fulfill our mission to collect, preserve and tell the stories of Wisconsin.
Find Out HowLast Updated: July 7, 2026
