Obtaining Digital Images

The American Antiquarian Society offers a variety of reproduction services as an aid to scholarly and general research, in accordance with its mission to provide access to our outstanding collections of rare printed books, newspapers, manuscripts and graphics while preserving them for the use of future generations.

We seek to provide the highest quality archival digital images to our customers. This means that every aspect of the original item (colors and details but also existing stains, folds, foxing, and tears) will be present in digital images. We will not manipulate items in a way that could cause damage nor will we provide conservation treatments in order to complete a digital photography request.

Freely Available Images Online

The Society makes available, without charge, all of our existing medium resolution (up to 72 dpi) digital images that are in the public domain to be used for any purpose under the terms of a Creative Commons License. 

Always begin your search by exploring our General Catalog and this website, which includes our digital projects, exhibitions and illustrated inventories. For many items that are already digitized, you will find links in the General Catalog to our digital image archive, GIGI. You may also browse and do limited searching within the GIGI system.

The video tutorial finding digital surrogates provides a quick overview of how to find materials in the American Antiquarian Society catalog that have digital surrogates.

 You may freely download and use any of these images for your own research, for teaching and presentations, or for non-commercial projects.  There is no fee for this service. No permission is required* though attribution is required. The Society's preferred credit line for all uses is:

"Courtesy, American Antiquarian Society"

Ordering Images

Step 1

Always begin your search by checking for the availability of freely available images.

We strongly recommend that high-resolution images be used in print publications (See #3 below).

For the news media
A selection of high-resolution press photos are available. To request additional press photos, contact Julieane Frost, Communications Specialist, at jfrost [at] mwa.org (jfrost[at]mwa[dot]org). All other reproduction requests should go through our Rights and Reproductions team (please follow the steps below).

Step 2

If you cannot find the material you need, please contact reproductions [at] mwa.org (reproductions[at]mwa[dot]org) for assistance. We are happy to help with small requests. However, if your inquiry requires extensive research, we recommend visiting the Society before placing a request to be sure the material meets your needs.

Step 3

To request a high-resolution image (maximum 300 dpi tiff files provided)**, please complete an Image Request Form indicating your intended use of the image(s). 

Image Request Form 

The image request form must be completed in full and can be submitted electronically, by email, or postal mail. For all high-resolution images, the Society charges a processing fee (per order) and an additional shot fee (per image). The processing fee is higher when the intended use of the image(s) is for a commercial enterprise (textbook, trade book, popular magazine, advertising, merchandise, etc.). All fees will be quoted and must be paid in advance

Fee Structure, effective September 21, 2026

• A RUSH order will double all normal fees (not available for PDF orders).
• PDF orders are not available for newspapers or manuscripts, and are limited to 200 pages per institution/individual in a 12-month period.
• For requests exceeding 200 images, please contact the Digital Librarian (apietrewicz [at] mwa.org (apietrewicz[at]mwa[dot]org)) to inquire further about rates and the feasibility of your project.
• Photo orders are processed through the Readers' Services department and may be subject to limitation based on current staff availability and workload.
• May through September are our busiest months, and a processing time of eight to ten weeks may be quoted. 

Helpful Hint: Whenever possible please include the “Catalog Record” number found in each General Catalog entry; this will expedite your request. Here, circled in yellow, is the Catalog Record number as it appears in a sample general catalog record:

Quoting from collections

Permission is not needed to quote from out-of copyright printed materials in the Society's collections although acknowledgement of the use of such materials is appreciated.

Requesting Permission to Quote from Manuscripts

On-site filming

The American Antiquarian Society considers on-site filming requests on a case-by-case basis. If you are interested in filming in Antiquarian Hall or the Goddard-Daniels House, please fill out the filming request form.

Please contact us and let us know how we may help you!

American Antiquarian Society
185 Salisbury Street
Worcester, MA 01609
Email: reproductions [at] mwa.org (reproductions[at]mwa[dot]org)
Telephone: (508) 755-5221 x171

*If you have concerns or questions about copyright, please review the very helpful summary compiled by the Cornell University Copyright Information Center.

**The camera is a Canon 5D Mark IV and the lens for photography is a Sigma 70mm f/2.8 DG Macro Art Lens.