Wikipedia:Public domain image resources
There are a number of sources of public domain images on the Web.
The presence of a resource on this list does not guarantee that all or any of the images in it are in the public domain: you are still responsible for checking the copyright status of images before you submit them to Wikipedia.
Please read the proposed policy on image use and etiquette at: Wikipedia:Image use policy
See also:
Objects
- Aeroplanes
- Archeological finds
- Animals
- Christianity related
- Cities
- Crops
- Fish
- Food
- Fruits/Vegetables
- Herbs
- Historical images (but see also people below)
- http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/ammemhome.html Library of Congress American Memory site
- http://www.archive.org/movies/
- http://teachpol.tcnj.edu/amer_pol_hist/
- Insects
- Landscape features (moutains, deserts, craters, etc)
- Maps
- http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/gmdhtml/gmdhome.html Library of Congress digital map archive 1500-2002 (some maps under copyright)
- http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/
- http://www.lib.utexas.edu/Libs/PCL/Map_collection/Map_collection.html
- Medicine
- http://www.autopsydb.org/iadbimag.htm Johns Hopkins Autopsy Resource (JHAR) Image Archive
- http://www.autopsydb.org/abpath.htm Public domain cytology photomicrographs, courtesy of Dr. Andrew Borkowski.
- http://www.autopsydb.org/dermpath.htm Public domain dermatopathology photomicrographs, courtesy of Dr. Grace F. Kao.
- http://www.sonoma.edu/psychology/psychart.html Public domain photos of famous psychologists
- Military
- Music
- Occult
- Paintings
Accurate photographs of paintings lack expressive content and are automatically in the public domain once the painting's copyright has expired (95 years after initial publication). All other copyright notices can safely be ignored. - Plants
- Satellites
- Ships
- http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/ships/index.html
- http://www.history.navy.mil/branches/org11-2.htm US navy archive of public domain ship photos
- Space (planets, stars, galaxies, etc) and spaceflight
- http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/SubjectT.html
- http://nix.nasa.gov/ NIX: NASA Image eXchange
- http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/imgcat/ NASA planetary image catalog
- http://www.nasa.gov/gallery/photo/ NASA photo gallery
- http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/ Johnson Space Center digital image collection
- http://www.donaldedavis.com/PARTS/allyours.html Public domain works done for NASA by Don Davis: high-resolution scans of space-related paintings.
- Underwater
- US National Parks
- Weather
People
- World Leaders
- Portraits
- http://www.lib.utexas.edu/photodraw/portraits/index.html
- http://teachpol.tcnj.edu/amer_pol_hist/
- http://www.sonoma.edu/psychology/psychart.html PD photos of famous psychologists
- http://www.cts.edu/FacHomePages/imagelibrary/portrait.htm Famous Christians
- http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/vvhtml/vvhome.html Creative Americans 1932 - 1964
Locations
- Botswana
- Cuba
- Egypt
- France
- Ghana
- Iran
- Ireland
- Israel
- Japan
- Mexico
- Panama
- Puerto Rico
- South Africa
- USA
- Los Angeles
- New York
- Orange County
- San Diego
- Vermont
- West Indies
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
Miscellaneous
- GIMP Archive 15,000 Royalty-free photos, organized by keyword
- Scanned and colorised etchings claimed to be PD images
- Public Domain Pagan Clipart
- World War II Poster Collection over 300 posters issued by U.S. Federal agencies
- Images of anarchists and anarchist symbols
- New York Public Library Digital Collection
- Compendium of Illustrations in the Public Domain 300-page book
Uncategorized links
U.S. Government sites
- U.S. Library of Congress digital image archive (Some images are still under copyright, so caveat emptor.)
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service pictures
- More U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service imagery
- NOAA Photo Library
Other sites:
- http://www.sru.edu/depts/cisba/compsci/dailey/public/public_domain.htm
- Physics for Free (Public domain physics textbook in pdf format with illustrations)
Computer-generated public domain images:
- Automatic public domain map generating program
- Canadian Illustrated News, 1869-1883 Note: should be cited in the Images page as: "[list full source]. Reproduced from the National Library of Canada's website (www.nlc-bnc.ca)."
Public domain image meta-resources:
- http://www.wfu.edu/~tedforrl/imagcoll.html
- http://protist.i.hosei.ac.jp/Science_Internet/TI_2001E/index.html
- http://www.archivalart.com/
- http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/links/clipart.html (a lengthy list of categorised links to other public domain image sources, many of those links don't work though)
Dover Publications has many, many books of copyright-free illustrations. Search on "copyright-free", "clip art" or "Pictorial Archive". These are hard copy and would have to be scanned, but they cover everything. You have to buy the books or borrow them from the library; the art is free. Here are just a few examples:
- Plants: 2,400 Copyright-Free Illustrations of Flowers, Trees, Fruits and Vegetables
- Animals: 1,419 Copyright-Free Illustrations of Mammals, Birds, Fish, Insects, etc.
- Ready-to-Use Illustrations of World-Famous Places: 109 Different Copyright-Free Designs
- Ready-to-Use Illustrations of Pets: 96 Different Copyright-Free Designs
- Ready-to-Use Illustrations of Appliances and Electronics: 98 Different Copyright-Free Designs
- Ready-to-Use Portraits of Famous People: 121 Copyright-Free Designs
- Ready-to-Use Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Mammals Illustrations: 98 Different Copyright-Free Designs
- Ready-to-Use Illustrations of Marine Animals: 96 Different Copyright-Free Designs
- Ready-to-Use Authentic Civil War Illustrations: 245 Different Copyright-Free Designs
- Ready-to-Use Bird Illustrations: 98 Different Copyright-Free Designs
- Ready-to-Use Flower Illustrations: 96 Different Copyright-Free Designs
- Ready-to-Use Endangered Animals Illustrations: 96 Different Copyright-Free Designs
- Ready-to-Use Medieval Herb, Plant and Flower Illustrations: 294 Different Copyright-Free Designs
- Airplanes of the Second World War Coloring Book 46 accurate illustrations copyright-free.
- Weapons and Armor, 1400 copyright-free illustrations of battle-axes, bows & arrows, cannons, more
- Transportation, 525 copyright-free illustrations include trains, trolleys, cars, ships, airplanes, many exotic vehicles.