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# New York Public Library Releases 180,000 Images, and Invites Users to Remix Them
- URL: https://hyperallergic.com/new-york-public-library-releases-180000-images-and-invites-users-to-remix-them/
- Published: 2016-01-08T12:00:44.000Z
- Updated: 2025-11-24T15:39:57.000Z
- Description: This week, the New York Public Library announced the release of over 180,000 public domain images available in high resolution.
- Author: Allison Meier
- Tags: Art, Archives, data visualization, Digitization, Libraries, New York Public Library, public domain, #wp, #wp-post, #image-position-hidden, #Import 2025-11-24 07:17 (2016, 2017, part 1)

![NYPL Archive](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/01/nyplarchive02.jpg)

Walker Evans, photograph of a boy near Vicksburg, Mississippi (1936) (via NYPL)

This week, the New York Public Library (NYPL) [announced](http://www.nypl.org/research/collections/digital-collections/public-domain?hspace=331354&ref=hyperallergic.com) the release of over 180,000 public domain images available in high resolution. In conjunction, [NYPL Labs](http://labs.nypl.org/?ref=hyperallergic.com) launched a [data visualization](http://publicdomain.nypl.org/pd-visualization/?ref=hyperallergic.com) by Brian Foo that enables easy navigation of the [Digital Collections](http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/?ref=hyperallergic.com) objects, allowing users to hover over blocks of images organized by category, color, medium, and other filters. To increase public interaction with the collections, NYPL is also starting new [Remix Residencies](http://www.nypl.org/help/about-nypl/fellowships-institutes/remix?ref=hyperallergic.com), where people can apply to work on projects involving gaming, mapping, visualization, and other interactive features.

“I think of libraries as being full of many pieces of culture that are reassembled to create new forms of culture,” Shana Kimball, manager of public programs and outreach for NYPL Labs, told Hyperallergic, noting that the library has long been “a platform for creation” to inspire all forms of written, visual, performing, and now digital art. “I think that’s absolutely a trajectory of the library, we should be a set of resources that people can use for new forms of creation that are contemporary, and ones we haven’t even thought about yet.”

NYPL Labs has a few demonstrations of what these new creations can look like, such as a [trip planner](http://publicdomain.nypl.org/greenbook-map/?ref=hyperallergic.com) based on the Green Book — a travel guide for black travelers from the 1930s to 60s, and [Mansion Maniac](http://publicdomain.nypl.org/mansion-maniac/?ref=hyperallergic.com) where you navigate floor plans from early 20th-century New York’s luxury apartments. People have already been experimenting with the NYPL resources, such as [OldNYC](https://www.oldnyc.org/?ref=hyperallergic.com) that maps historic photographs, and this invites closer collaboration with the institution. There are also new crowd-made Twitter bots created since Wednesday’s release, with [@NYPLpostcards](https://twitter.com/NYPLpostcards?ref=hyperallergic.com) sharing postcards, and [@NYPLphotobot](https://twitter.com/NYPLphotobot?ref=hyperallergic.com) sharing photographs. NYPL is asking visitors [to tag creations with #nyplremix ](http://www.nypl.org/blog/2015/01/06/creativity-public-domain?ref=hyperallergic.com)to keep the sharing in an evolving dialogue.

“We do these things both because they’re extensions of what the library has always done,” Kimball said. “And we know that the forms of creativity and research in working with the library are changing. We’re extending the library’s mission in the digital context by creating these new residencies.” She added that the projects can encourage different experiences with the objects, and create something new with the historic collections.

![NYPL Visualization](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/01/nyplvisual01.jpg)

Visualization of the public domain images by NYPL Labs (screenshot by the author for Hyperallergic)

![NYPL Visualization](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/01/nyplvisual02.jpg)

Visualization of the public domain images by color by NYPL Labs (screenshot by the author for Hyperallergic)

Sifting through the more than 180,000 images, there are numerous collections to explore, with [photographs from the Farm Security Administration](http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/collections/e5462600-c5d9-012f-a6a3-58d385a7bc34?ref=hyperallergic.com#/?tab=navigation), including hundreds by Walker Evans and Dorothea Lange; manuscripts by [Walt Whitman](http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/collections/walt-whitman-papers-1854-1892?ref=hyperallergic.com#/?tab=about); letters and papers from [Alexander Hamilton](http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/collections/alexander-hamilton-papers?ref=hyperallergic.com#/?tab=about); [photographs by Lewis Hine](http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/collections/b039b670-c608-012f-8f64-58d385a7bc34?ref=hyperallergic.com#/?tab=about) of Ellis Island immigrants; [19th and early 20th-century baseball cards](http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/collections/a-g-spalding-baseball-collection?ref=hyperallergic.com#/?tab=about); [1843 cyanotypes](http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/collections/photographs-of-british-algae-cyanotype-impressions?ref=hyperallergic.com#/?tab=about) of algae by Anna Atkins, the first know photography by a woman; [old illustrations of military uniforms](http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/collections/the-vinkhuijzen-collection-of-military-uniforms?ref=hyperallergic.com#/?tab=navigation); [prints from John James Audubon’s *Birds of America*](http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/collections/birds-of-america-from-drawings-made-in-the-united-states-and-their-territories?ref=hyperallergic.com#/?tab=about); and [over 40,000 stereoscopic images](http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/collections/robert-n-dennis-collection-of-stereoscopic-views?ref=hyperallergic.com#/?tab=about&roots=5302e210-c52e-012f-4579-58d385a7bc34/536296d0-c52e-012f-406b-58d385a7bc34) of the United States. It’s an incredible archive of global history, although much of it focuses on the United States, with material dating back to the 11th century, and international archives like [Renaissance and Medieval manuscripts](http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/collections/renaissance-and-medieval-manuscripts-collection-ca-850-ca-1600?ref=hyperallergic.com), [Babylonian cuneiform tablets](http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/collections/wilberforce-eames-babylonian-collection?ref=hyperallergic.com#/?tab=about), [postcards from World War I Germany](http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/collections/german-world-war-i-photographic-postcards?ref=hyperallergic.com#/?tab=about), and the [first known map of Africa from 1460](http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47da-e68d-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99?ref=hyperallergic.com). Whether [prints of dance](http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/collections/prints-depicting-dance?ref=hyperallergic.com#/?tab=navigation), a collection exclusively[ of decorative bookbinding](http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/collections/bookbinding-books-bequeathed-by-william-augustus-spencer?ref=hyperallergic.com#/?tab=navigation), or curious sub-collections [like death masks](http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/collections/print-collection-portrait-file?ref=hyperallergic.com#/?tab=navigation&roots=13:1b790ee0-c58f-012f-4fdf-58d385a7bc34/21:3b27f990-c58f-012f-4b70-58d385a7bc34/57:31e82f10-c591-012f-27f6-58d385a7bc34) (mostly of Napoleon), it’s an impressive overview of the diversity of NYPL’s collections on art and literature.

Many of these collections were previously available online, but getting a high-resolution download required a processing feed and contacting the permissions office. This release also includes their metadata and APIs to facilitate developer use. With copyright restrictions tight [in the United States](https://hyperallergic.com/happy-new-year-here-is-the-art-entering-the-public-domain-in-2016/), having this user-friendly access to the public domain archives that are available is incredibly valuable.

![NYPL Archive](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/01/nyplarchive20.jpg)

Edward S. Curtis, “The scout, Apache” (1906) (via NYPL)

![NYPL Archive](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/01/nyplarchive21.jpg)

Jules Girardet, “Carriage accident” (1878) (via NYPL)

![NYPL Archive](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/01/nyplarchive23.jpg)

Coffee shop menu from La Guardia Airport (1961) (via NYPL)

![NYPL Archive](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/01/nyplarchive22.jpg)

Carl Bock, “Mausoleum in Borneo” (1887), lithograph (via NYPL)

![NYPL Archive](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/01/nyplarchive03.jpg)

Anna Atkins, Cyanotype of algae (1843-53) (via NYPL)

![NYPL Archive](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/01/nyplarchive04.jpg)

Lewis Hine, “A Syrian Arab at Ellis Island” (1905) (via NYPL)

![NYPL Archive](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/01/nyplarchive12.jpg)

Gordon Parks, “Anacostia, D.C. Frederick Douglass housing project. Mother watching her children as she prepares the evening meal” (1942) (via NYPL)

![NYPL Archive](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/01/nyplarchive05.jpg)

Berenice Abbott, “Fulton Street Dock, Manhattan skyline” (1935) (via NYPL)

![NYPL Archive](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/01/nyplarchive11.jpg)

Strohmeyer & Wyman, “A thousand skaters, Central Park” (1889), stereoscopic image (via NYPL)

![NYPL Archive](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/01/nyplarchive01.jpg)

“The grand Pas des élémens, at Her Majesty’s Theatre” (1847, London) (via NYPL)

![NYPL Archive](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/01/nyplarchive06.jpg)

Gilbert & Bacon, “Deacon McGuire, Philadelphia Quakers” (nd) (via NYPL)

![NYPL Archive](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/01/nyplarchive09.jpg)

Paul Hoffmann & Co., “Westlicher Kriegsschauplatz. Die Kirche des von den Franzosen vollständig zerschossenen Ortes Brimont bei Reims.” (German World War I photographic postcards) (via NYPL)

![NYPL Archive](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/01/nyplarchive08.jpg)

Cunradus Schlapperitzi, “Rubric and full-page miniature showing God showering down bread” (1445) (via NYPL)

![NYPL Archive](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/01/nyplarchive10.jpg)

Dan Rico, “John Henry’s Mad” (1935-45), blockprint (via NYPL)

![NYPL Archive](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/01/nyplarchive13.jpg)

Dorothea Lange, “Mrs. Howard shows the beginning of a gardn to a neighbor” (1935, California) (via NYPL)

![NYPL Archive](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/01/nyplarchive14.jpg)

Benridō, “An autumnal view of Arashiyama in the suburbs of Kyoto” (nd) (via NYPL)

*Find over 180,000 high-resolution public domain images at the* [*New York Public library Digital Collections*](http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/?ref=hyperallergic.com)*. The deadline to apply for the* [*Remix Residency*](http://www.nypl.org/help/about-nypl/fellowships-institutes/remix?ref=hyperallergic.com) *is February 19\.*