About Plate Archive

Plate Archive is a free, catalogued collection of public-domain science and natural-history illustration — botanical, celestial, zoological, entomological, anatomical, mineralogical and more — all released into the public domain.

Where the plates come from

Every plate in the archive is curated from works that have been explicitly released into the public domain under a Creative Commons Zero (CC0) dedication or equivalent. We include only works whose rights are explicitly public domain / CC0. Nothing here is guessed or fabricated: if a work isn't public domain, it isn't in the archive.

How it's funded

The archive is free. It's supported by unobtrusive display advertising, a handful of relevant affiliate links (framing, art supplies, reference books), and an optional shop of themed image packs. The works themselves are public domain / CC0.

Operator

Plate Archive is operated by Westcountry Hosting Ltd. Contact details to be confirmed.