Update on the World of Arts and Design

Children's Book Illustration Posted: 12 May 2008 04:26 AM CDT
Baldwin Library of Children's Literature : Digital Collection in an online collection of digitised children's books at the University of Florida libraries. The collection contains volumes published in the UK and US from the early 1700s, and numbers over 3,000 titles. Specialised collections on the site include: the Afterlife of Alice and her Adventures in Wonderland, a collection of early editions of Carroll's work and works based on it; Daniel Defoe and the Robinsonades, a collection of early editions of Robinson Crusoe and works inspired by it (such as Swiss Family Robinson); and St. Nicolas Magazine, a popular US children's magazine which ran from 1873 to 1941.
Link: http://www.uflib.ufl.edu/UFDC/?c=juv
Access: Free

Ocean Liners 1891-1919 Posted: 12 May 2008 04:22 AM CDT
Bedford Lemere Collection : National Maritime Museum is an online collection of over 500 photographs of ocean liners taken between 1891 and 1919. Taken by Bedford Lemere & Co., a company of architectural photographers active from the late 1860s to the 1940s, the collection covers the interiors and exteriors of 35 liners. The images were digitised from 12 x 10 inch glass plate negatives which were taken with small apertures and long exposures to allow their subjects to be captured in fine detail. Each image is accompanied by metadata detailing its provenance and describing its contents, and is available in a number of resolutions.
Link: http://www.nmm.ac.uk/collections/explore/index.cfm/category/90536
Access: Free

Century of Shoes Posted: 12 May 2008 04:18 AM CDT
'Solemates' is an online feature which traces the history of shoes through the 20th Century and their importance to our cultural landscape. Produced by the staff of 4th Revolution, a California-based company, the site offers both a Flash and non-Flash version. Well-designed and easy to navigate, the site provides a decade-by-decade guide, containing, for each decade, an essay, a list of items which were 'all the rage', images of advertisements from the period and movie clips of scenes from the decade. A selection of shoe images are also available, augmented by a description, a facility to zoom in and alternate views of each pair.
Link: http://www.centuryinshoes.com/
Access: Free

19th Century American Trade Cards Posted: 12 May 2008 04:16 AM CDT
The historical collections website for the Baker Library Bloomberg Center at Harvard Business School has provided this online resource on 19th century American trade cards, which were used as a form of advertising of products and businesses in the nineteenth century. As the website points out, they could be "an indicator of consumer habits, social values, and marketing techniques, [and] trade cards are of interest to scholars across many disciplines, including business history, American studies, graphic design and printing history, and social and cultural history". This website provides access to an exhibition on `A New and Wonderful Invention: The Nineteenth-Century American Trade Card', which is organised in four sections: the development of the trade card; new markets, new methods; the art of the trade card; and the public appeal of these cards.
Link: http://www.library.hbs.edu/hc/19th_century_tcard/
Access: Free

V&A Research Reports Posted: 12 May 2008 04:13 AM CDT
This website brings together the research reports of the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A). The reports, dating back to 1990 present the whole range of research conducted at the museum, including lectures and exhibitions. Each (annual) report is available to download, and subjects cover the entire of the Museums interests in fine and decorative arts.
Link: http://www.vam.ac.uk/res_cons/research/research_reports/index.html
Access: Free

Gilbert Stuart 1755-1828 Posted: 12 May 2008 04:12 AM CDT
This online version of an exhibition which ran from 21 October 2004 to 16 January 2005 on the American portraitist, Gilbert Stuart (1755-1828) has been provided by the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York). Arranged in chronological order this online exhibition charts Stuart's work during his time in Newport (Rhode Island), Scotland, London and Dublin from 1755 to 1793, his subsequent return to the United States, and examples of his work from his time in New York, then Philadelphia, Washington and finally Boston where he settled in 1805 and remained until his death. Each of the online galleries features an introductory text and four high quality images of Stuart`s portraits. Clicking on each image provides a very brief biography of the sitter, together with comments on Stuart's painting style. This exhibition also includes the George Washington gallery featuring six versions of Stuart`s portrait of the first President of the United States.
Link: http://www.metmuseum.org/special/Gilbert_Stuart/stuart_gallery.asp
Access: Free

Defence Image Database Posted: 12 May 2008 04:09 AM CDT
Official Ministry of Defence imagebank, holding thousands of images from the Army, Royal Navy, Royal Air Force and MoD photographers. Includes images from Iraq, Afghanistan and Bosnia.
Link: http://www.defenceimagedatabase.mod.uk/fotoweb/
Access: Free