Help & FAQs

Q – How do I see what the charge is going to be?
A - Our fee for providing an image digitally is always the same £15 plus vat per image. The fee for reproducing an image depends on lots of factors – such as the category, the size of the reproduction, the print run, the length of time an item is on display etc etc. In order to see our prices, add an image to the basket and use the drop down boxes to tell us the details of usage, the fee will be shown in red at the bottom of the page.

Q – Why are there two fees – the "reproduction" and the "loan" or "digital image" fee?
A – Sometimes customers are happy to scan an image that they have on a postcard or in a book and do not need us to send them a digital image – in which case only the reproduction fee is payable. For our long term, regular customers, we might also allow them to have a digital image for artwork purposes – they then let us know if the image is to be used and in what format, at which time we charge the reproduction fee separately.

Q - Why is a photograph taken over 70 years ago still copyright?
A - The laws on copyright are complex, but if you own an image that you are sure was printed (ie not photographed), over 70 years ago then the image may be out of copyright. This might be an original postcard dated or postmarked over 70 years ago (bear in mind that these postcards have been reprinted many times) – but please check with us before you reproduce to be on the safe side. If the image is being provided by us, or if it has been published in a book in more recent years, then copyright still applies and that image cannot be reproduced without our permission.

Q – Your categories do not cover what I plan to do with the image.
A – We get asked for such a huge range of reproduction uses that we could not possibly fit them all on the website – you will only find the most common ones here. If you cannot find your category, or are not sure which you would fit into, please give us a call on +44 (0)1722 716376.

Q – My magazine/leaflet etc is a free issue – do we have to pay the fees?
A – We do charge – even if you do not - and please be careful, for if your free leaflet etc is a form of advertising – then the fee to pay may be under advertising and not leaflet!

Q - I am using the image for a charity event – do I have to pay the fees?
A - Unfortunately the fees are still due. We get asked for help of this kind every day of the week – everything from church restoration funds to health & children’s charities and although we do help out if the charity is local to us, we cannot help everyone. However, we may be able to offer a 10% discount so give us a call on +44 (0)1722 716376.

Q – I want to use the images in a school project or educational document – do I have to pay the fees?
A – If you are happy to download the images from our website at a low resolution, including our logo, then we are happy for you to use the images for educational purposes at no charge. Please do add a credit line – "courtesy The Francis Frith collection www.francisfrith.com".

If you need a better quality reproduction, then our fees do apply – but depending on use, we may be able to offer a 10% educational discount - please telephone us on +44 (0)1722 716376.

Q – Your print run starts at up to 5,000 – but I only need to print 10 – do I have to pay the same price?
A – Our print run bands are kept deliberately wide – this is universal throughout the photo-library industry - but for very low runs it might be worth giving us a call on +44 (0)1722 716376. It will depend on usage – for example in the book publishing world, around 500 -1000 print run is quite common and not considered low.

Q - You say you want a tear sheet or copy of the publication – but I have used the image on an information board – what do I do?
A – We understand that you cannot send us an A2 interpretative board – but if you can take a photograph & e-mail us a copy, we are always interested to see how our images are being used - & to check that the image size and credit lines are adhered to!

Q – I want to use more than one image – is there a discount for this?
A – Yes, in most cases, when you add your images to the basket, you have the option to tell us how many images you are purchasing – you will see a drop-down box which might say, for example, for using 1-4 will be one price, and then 5-10 a lower price. Also, if you are a regular customer – using our images on a monthly basis, for example, we can arrange for a discount for you.

Q – I can’t find the image that I am looking for – but I have seen it elsewhere.
A – Our search facility on this new website relies on each image being looked at individually and “keywords” being added appropriately. At the moment we have over 6000 images keyworded – but as we have 100,000 images on the website – and three times that in the archive – you can see we have a lot of work to do! If you cannot find what you are looking for – then please give us a call on +44 (0)1722 716 376 as our photo library staff and archivists have been working with the images for years and may know instantly of images that might be of interest – or may be able to tell you if you are unlikely to find what you are looking for in our archive.

Q – My local Library/Museum has original Francis Frith images in its archive – who do I go to for permission to reproduce.
A – Many museums and libraries purchased original images from us where we had duplicates available. They were, for the most part, however, sold without the rights to reproduce – except for their own use in exhibitions and leaflets. You will find, therefore, that these bodies will direct you to us if you have an enquiry regarding reproduction – and we will still charge for these rights – although you may be able to arrange for a copy of the image from your museum/library once you can prove to them that permission has been granted for reproduction. In fact, in some cases, they may have images available that we have not yet scanned.

Q – You seem to have images of 2006 in the archive?
A – In 2006, we commissioned some "now" images from our authors who were writing local history books using our historic images. We have added these to the collection.

Q – You have Egypt images – have you any other foreign images?
A – Frith and his photographers did travel abroad from time to time taking images. We do have some of these available on our main website – but not many & we are not key wording any other than the Egypt ones for the moment.

Q – I am having problems with this website.
A – Please do contact us if you come across any problems with the website – we do have staff here who can search on your behalf – and we do need to know what is wrong in order to have it put right! If you get an error message, it would be very useful if you could note it down for us – or screen capture it & send us an e-mail! We will try to correct errors as soon as humanly possible!

Q – The terms I am looking for are not listed as keywords
A – We are attempting to get some basic keywords attached to our images as quickly as we can – and we may need to refine these, but if there are any obvious omissions then do let us know.