Historical Picture Archive
Welcome to Look and Learn, your one-stop destination for historical images.
Discover over two million of the world’s best historical illustrations covering prehistory to the middle of the twentieth century.
Free historical images from public collections
Register (for free) to download any of 1,687,036 free high-res public domain images for either personal or commercial purposes. We have hand-picked these from 46 museums and galleries with open-access policies.
Plus our own premium historical illustrations
Over the last 18 years we have sought out, scanned and catalogued 601,697 historical images capable of being put to modern uses – from books, magazines, prints, photographs, posters, postcards, trade cards and other ephemera. These include tens of thousands of copyright illustrations from Look and Learn and other classic magazines.
Premium images may be licensed for a fee.
Ways you can use our historical images
Look and Learn images are used in TV documentaries, films, books, and magazines, as well as for marketing and advertising, museum display, greetings cards, clothing and textile design, product packaging, posters and prints.
We are here to help
Need assistance with your project? Someone is here to help 365 days a year.