The Nebraska State Historical Society has collected photographic images since its founding. Today its photo collections are renowned in the nation and the world. Numbering over 1/2 million images, the photographic holdings represent nearly every aspect of Nebraska and Great Plains life from the later 1800s to the present. Photographic formats include daguerreotypes, tintypes, studio portraits, glass plate negatives, slides, "circuit" panorama photos, snapshots and albums. While countless people, places and subjects are captured in these images, the collections are particularly rich in portraits, town scenes, buildings, and images of Native Americans and Prairie life.
Search the Photograph Collections; links to several databases
Highlights from the photograph collections
Caring for your photographs
Access the photograph collections
Photograph Collections Search (PastPerfect database)
Obtain Copies of Nebraska State Historical Society photographs
Get Permission to Publish (pdf) Nebraska State Historical Society photographs
Digital imaging / scanning services
Help Us Digitize the photograph collections and make them available to you on this website
Contact the Curator for information on donating photographs to the Nebraska State Historical Society.
Click on the photograph
to learn more.