Public Domain

All images on this website are in the public domain. Copyright.gov explains public domain as:

The public domain is not a place. A work of authorship is in the “public domain” if it is no longer under copyright protection or if it failed to meet the requirements for copyright protection. Works in the public domain may be used freely without the permission of the former copyright owner.

Many countries maintain copyright protection for works of art for the author's lifetime, plus a set number of years. Currently, the United States grants a copyright for author's lifetime plus 70 years. The works on this website are in the public domain because they were published more than 100 years ago.

Even though these works are in the public domain, it is still important to give credit. Copyright protects the right of the creator to make money off of their works, but there is no expiration date for giving credit to a work that inspired or informed you.