How to use images from the CHS collection

The Connecticut Historical Society is committed to digitizing its collections to make them available remotely to users everywhere. Digital reproductions of images, manuscripts, and artifacts in the Connecticut Historical Society collection are available for personal, educational, and in some instances commercial use.

When using an image from the CHS collection in any way other than for personal use, there are three things to be aware of: the credit line, citations, and copyright.

Credit Line and Citations

A credit line acknowledges, in a caption that appears next to a reproduction, the source of the reproduction. If there is limited space, the credit line can simply read, “The Connecticut Historical Society.” If there is room in the space allotted for the caption, the full citation can be used.

The full citation should appear somewhere in the published or displayed work, possibly in an image list. The following information should appear in the full citation:

Manuscripts: Item, Collection Title, Collection number (Box number, Folder number), The Connecticut Historical Society. Example:

Punderson Family Papers, 1760-1790. Box 2, Folder 1. Ms 98531, The Connecticut Historical Society.

Museum objects: Title, Maker, Place, Date, Media, Source, Accession number, The Connecticut Historical Society. Example:

And She Had Compassion on Him; embroidered and painted by Ruth Green; 1815-1825; embroidery: paint, chenille yarn, paper and gold foil on a plain-woven silk ground; gold paint, wood; gift of Mrs. Caroline T. Jones; 1921.5.0a-c; The Connecticut Historical Society

Copyright

Copyright is the legal protection of original works from reproduction, derivation, and/or public display or performance, by anyone other than the creator of said works. As stated in the Conditions of Use on the CHS’s Request for Permission to Publish form, “the requestor must seek permission from the creator of the original work or from the original copyright holder.” This means that you bear the responsibility of determining whether or not the work in question is still protected by copyright laws.

The good news is, there are a number of resources available to help you!

• AAM’s Rights and Reproductions Handbook
• U.S. Copyright Office
• Yale’s Beinecke Library Collections page—Copyright
• Peter Hirtle’s Copyright Term and the Public Domain table—maintained by Cornell University)
• Copyright Laws
• WATCH File (Writers, Authors and Their Copyright Holders)—database maintained by University of Reading/Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas at Austin
• DPLA and Europeana’s Rights Statements
• United States Copyright Office Fair Use Index—database of court opinions; searchable by category and type of use
• United States Patent and Trademark Office

For more information, please contact [email protected].

Related CHS Information and Forms

CHS Digital Reproductions

Digital Reproduction Processing Fees (PDF) 

Digital Reproduction Order Form (PDF) 

Permission to Quote Form (PDF)