Now here is a useful resource for steampunks - I am of the belief that to be steampunk you really ought to start with a victorian influence.. and this is a treasure-trove for those looking for inspiration..

The Victorian Image Collection.

I especially enjoyed looking at the Victorian Costumes section.. seeing various historical eras re-imagined with the Victorian Eye results in some really interesting stuff:



From their "About Us" page:

The Collection

The Victorian Image Collection consists of over 200,000 cartes de visite, cabinet cards and large format photographs from the Victorian era and has been built up over many years.

The majority of the photographs are portraits taken in the studio and, occasionally, outdoors and they provide a UNIQUE RESOURCE – they are not available anywhere else.

The images illustrate a fascinating view of Victorian life and fashion – people in their best clothes, their working clothes, their uniforms, their traditional clothes, clothes for specific events in life and clothes designed for a wide range of leisure activities. With the clothes are all sorts of interesting accessories used for fashion, work or pleasure. Also included are wonderful images of ladies hairstyles and magnificent moustaches and beards of the gentlemen from a bygone era. All categorised for easy retrieval.

Some of the images in the collection were originally made for sale to the general public and therefore are not unique but are, nevertheless, rarely available for reproduction. These include photographs of famous people and of topographical views which, incidentally, pre-date picture postcards by up to 40 years.

Many of the more interesting images have been made available on this website so that they can be enjoyed and appreciated by a wider audience and, also, to help defray to cost of maintaining the archive.


Research

We are always interested in co-operating on projects of all sorts either on a paid basis or a voluntary basis as appropriate. Payment will depend on the nature of the project and whether it is commercial, low profit making or non-profit making. You can find further information here: Research Services.


Family History Research

We also have a sister site which is designed specifically for family history researchers. It is packed with information on Victorian photographers, their customers, their studios, their addresses and the dates that they were in business. The site is particularly helpful for people trying to DATE their family photographs – something which helps them to discover who the photograph is of. You can find the site at www.cartedevisite.co.uk