Galleries

Explore images of wood type and wood type posters. Many of these come from the collections at the Hamilton Wood Type Museum and Silver Buckle Press.

Historic Views of Manitowoc
Over the last three years, the Wisconsin Historical Society has been scanning and cataloging its collection of images of Wisconsin places. Consisting of over 10,000 items, the collection highlights main street views, prominent buildings in each community, local monuments and other features of interest. In support of the Wisconsin Hometown Stories: Manitowoc-Two Rivers broadcast, the Society is pleased to present a selection of historic views of Manitowoc. See FAQ for purchasing information.

Wisconsin Bird's-eye Maps
Over 200 panoramic drawings of Wisconsin cities and towns from the collections of the Wisconsin Historical Society are now available to browse and purchase. Known as bird’s eye views, panoramas, or perspective maps, these detailed illustrations were very popular with inhabitants of proud and growing communities during the latter half of the 19th century. Itinerant artists would walk the streets of a town and make sketches of its buildings. They were then assembled into a single drawing depicting the town’s streets, houses, and businesses, showing the community as if seen from above; hence the name "bird’s eye view."

Purchase Manitowoc's map here. For more information, see the WHS Images digital lab FAQ.

Hamilton Wood Type and Printing Museum

Operated by volunteers of the Two Rivers Historical Society, the Hamilton Wood Type and Printing Museum is the only museum dedicated to the preservation, study, production and printing of wood type.

Silver Buckle Press

Silver Buckle Press is a working museum of letterpress printing dedicated to preserving the craft of fine printing through educational programming, publications, exhibitions and tours. All its collections are part of the University of Wisconsin–Madison Libraries.

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The Wisconsin Historical Society’s online image collections provide a rich pictorial view of Wisconsin and United States history. To learn more, subscribe to the WHS Images Update, a monthly e-mail newsletter that features gallery exhibits and special image highlights.