Images Available Online with Smithsonian
An often overlooked resource is with America’s Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D. C. What is very special is the recent release into the public domain some 2.8 million images with their program ‘Smithsonian Open Access‘. Free to anyone are nearly 3 million images that you can download and use however you select. These come from the Smithsonian’s many branches, plus other archives and research centers. Great also is that more are being scanned and added to the ‘Smithsonian Open Access’.
There are numerous portraits of great Americans and artifacts from their lives. True it does not mean there will be portraits of your relatives in the Smithsonian but there can be items that relate to their lives. Scroll down the site of Open Access to get a feel of just some of the photos of artifacts and American life.
An excellent example is the 1941 ‘Green Book – Guide for the Negro Motorist.’ Same as was referred to in the Hollywood movie “The Green Book”. Another item that fits many our of female ancestors was the banner sign hung in a lady’s front window letting the public know they were registered to vote and encouraged others to do the same. You will be amazed at the variety of items.
Use the search box for Open Access Media to see if anything is there relating to your ancestor’s hometown, a surname, a business, a ship traveled on, a war they were in or a civic organization. There is also a listing of websites related to what you were searching. Check those out also.
Photo: 1920 – the 19th Amendment sign to vote.
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