Pictures

The Library's Pictures Collection documents the history of Victoria and its people from the early years of the colony to the present day. Started in 1859 with a series of commissioned photographs by a local photographer, this collection is the oldest of its type in Australia.

What's in the Pictures Collection?

Items in the collection include paintings, drawings, prints, cartoons, photographs, sculpture, architectural drawings, posters, postcards and some printed ephemera and objects. All contain information about the cultural, geographical, historical and sociological development of Victoria.

Images range from interiors and exteriors of public and private buildings, to methods of transport, aspects of social and family life, the evolution of costume and variations in dress, portraits of Victorians in public and private life, and the development of cities and towns.

What's special about this collection?

Photographs, particularly the work of local commercial and private photographers, are the mainstay of the collection. Items in other formats are also well represented and include material from interstate and overseas. Since 1983, images of contemporary Victoria have been regularly commissioned and collected, reflecting the Library's interest in the present as well as the past.   

How can I view material in this collection?

Original items in the Pictures Collection can only be viewed by appointment in the Heritage Collections Reading Room, or in some instances in the Pictures room. Many items from the collection can also be viewed in the Library's online catalogue.