Licence & how you can use these images

Every plate in this archive is in the public domain, released under a Creative Commons Zero (CC0) dedication or equivalent. That means:

• You can use them for anything — personal or commercial.
• No permission is needed, and no fee is owed.
• No attribution is legally required.
• You may print, frame, modify, remix and even sell your own derivative works.

How we verify it

We include a plate only when its rights are explicitly public domain / CC0. Every plate page shows a plain rights statement confirming that the work is in the public domain (CC0).

Important note: United States vs the EU and elsewhere

In the United States, a faithful photographic reproduction of a public-domain two-dimensional artwork does not attract a new copyright of its own (Bridgeman Art Library v. Corel Corp., 1999). The open-access programmes we draw from operate on that basis.

In the European Union, Article 14 of Directive 2019/790 provides that when the term of protection of a visual artwork has expired, material resulting from an act of reproduction of that work is not subject to copyright unless it is itself an original creative work. Some jurisdictions have historically argued the point differently. If you intend to reuse an image commercially in a specific country, satisfy yourself of the local position — this archive asserts only that the underlying work is public domain / CC0.

The shop

The shop offers themed sets of these public-domain plates packaged as a single ZIP. Every pack ships with a LICENCE.txt and a manifest listing each plate's details.