Online Historical and Architecture Images
Royal Institute of British Architects Photograph Collection
Aug 12, 2009
The Library of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) was founded in 1834 and is the most wide-ranging resource on all aspects of architecture. One of its key collections is the Photographs Collection. With over 1.5 million images, most of them unique, the collection covers architecture in Britain as well as worldwide. The RIBA photograph collection is a photo archive valuable to architects, historians, students, designers, and researchers from different walks of life.
RIBA Online Catalogue
The RIBA Online Catalogue is searchable by author, title, subject and keyword and contains information on
- articles published in reputable architectural periodicals
- material held in the Library Photographs Collection
- material held in the Library Drawings and Archives Collection
- architects' biographies.
Architecture Photos
The Photograph Collection of the RIBA Architectural Library contains historical images from antiquity to the present:
- Photographs of architecture and related topics, such as design, topography, construction, social history
- Portraits of famous architects
- Archives of many famous 20th-century photographers of architecture and topography
- Archive of the Architectural Press
The images of the RIBA collection come in:
- Negatives
- Prints
- Colour transparencies
- Postcards
- Digital files
Researchers can view the photos and other holdings of the RIBA library by appointment.
RIBA Photos Online
The RIBA Library online is called RIBApix and is “the world’s most extensive visual archive devoted to architecture”. It is a resource not only for architects but also for historians and includes contemporary and historical photographs as well as drawings and engravings. The growing image database of RIBApix is the place where one can search, browse, view and purchase architecture and historical images for private, commercial and educational use.
Prices and Copyright of Architecture Online Images
Images are subject to the laws of copyright. The Royal Institute of British Architects photo collection can provide copies of its holdings (images of buildings or subjects) for private use or reproduction. Images can be purchased for private display and prices start at £20 for an A4 in-house digital print and go up to £240 for a 30x40 digital b&w/colour glossy. Cost varies depending on the artist whose work is reproduced.
Photos can also be reproduced for commercial use, namely for
- Books and journals (inside or cover)
- Exhibition displays
- Greeting Cards
- Internet (educational or commercial)
- Public Display
- Promotional Brochures
- Newspapers (national or local)
- TV and Film
Prices vary depending on artist and date of work as well as on location of image use, print run, audience (European, North American only, world, etc.) and duration of use or display. For example a 300dpi reproduction of an image for Internet commercial use could set the buyer back by £120 to £240 depending on the duration of use (1 month to 1 year). An image used for a book cover for a single language and single country could cost up to £100.
Copies of images can be supplied in conventional or digital form.
Subjects of Historical and Architecture Online Images
The range of searchable subjects in the online architecture photos or images of RIBApix is indicative of their wide range of use. Subjects include animals, archaeology, construction, leisure, death, decoration and design, food and drink, patterns and shapes, monuments and memorials, social history, sport, toys and transport.
Source:
Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) website
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