Public Domain Collections

The historian David McCullough has described the New York Public Library as one of the five most important libraries in the United States; the others are the Library of Congress, the Boston Public Library, and the university libraries of Harvard and Yale. Founded in 1895, NYPL is the nation’s largest public library system, featuring a unique combination of 88 neighborhood branches and four scholarly research centers, bringing together an extraordinary richness of resources and opportunities available to all. The New York Public Library releases high-resolution images for download when it believes that they are in “public domain,” meaning free of known U.S. copyright restrictions, copyright has expired or does not apply, and no permission from a copyright holder is necessary. The media in this archive was released in 2016.

Serving more than 17 million patrons a year, and millions more online, the Library holds more than 55 million items, from books, e-books, and DVDs to renowned research collections used by scholars from around the world. Housed in the iconic 42nd Street library and three other research centers, NYPL’s historical collections hold such treasures as Columbus’s 1493 letter announcing his discovery of the New World, George Washington’s original Farewell Address, and John Coltrane’s handwritten score of “Lover Man.” In the always-expanding digital realm, The New York Public Library provides patrons worldwide with powerful online tools to help them discover its extensive resources and services. This archive is a part of the world's largest public domain image source picryl.com.