Getty Images has launched a new brand, Archive Photos. It is the child of Getty’s Hulton Archive, which the company says is the largest commercial archive on the market, containing more than 80 million images that date back to 1860.
The new collection has been edited to reflect historically and socially significant American themes. Some 80,000 editorial and creative images have been digitized, ranging from news photojournalism to celebrity coverage and pre-photography engravings and drawings. Also featured is the work of a number of celebrated photographers and image brands: Julia Margaret-Cameron, Lewis Hine, Jacob Riis, Pictorial Parade, FPG and George Eastman House.
A portion of the Hulton Archive—more than 16,000 images—has been available via the Getty-owned iStockphoto since 2007. These are mostly model-released creative stock and vintage illustrations. What is notable, however, is that much of this imagery is also still available at gettyimages.com, at traditional prices. This royalty-free image of two gossiping women will cost you 20 to 60 credits at iStock, where it has had 60 downloads. At Getty’s traditional site, it carries a price tag of $5 to $350, validating the theory that all content should be made available to everyone at buyer-driven price points.
The newly launched Archive Photos expands both Getty’s digital offering and its archival imagery. The company also offers content from partners such as Time & Life Pictures.