Image library

Background information

How to search the image library

Further information

Background information

Our image library comprises a selection of high quality tiff images from the National Records of Scotland's historical record collections of photographs, manuscripts and drawings.

The images within the library range from images of mediaeval documents to photographs from the mid 20th century. The images that predate the creation of photographic images are taken from historical documents.

Image re-use

If you wish to purchase and re-use images from the image library for purposes other than personal use, research or study, please refer to our copyright guide for further information.

How to search the image library

Search the image library. You can search on some or all of the following index fields:

  • Search by the title or description of the image - if you wish to search for images relating to men or women, use the search terms 'gender-female' or 'gender-male'.
  • Category - the categories range from 'agriculture' to 'wars and conflicts'.
  • Time period - search by year range.
  • Reference - search for a specific institutional reference.

The search form includes search tips for each field.

Once you have selected one or more fields, select 'apply' to carry out a search. On the results page select a thumbnail to view a larger image and additional details.

Select 'add to basket' to purchase an image and then proceed to checkout and make payment.

Further information

If you have not found what you are looking for look at our guide on photographic and image research.