Emigration Image Library

The Government Medical Inspector's Office at Liverpool. The Illustrated London News, 6 July 1850. GGA Image ID # 1d99e7b86c

The Emigrants Begin the Process of Embarkation at the Waterlook Docks in Liverpool. The Illustrated London News, 6 July 1850. GGA Image ID # 14b686ca8a

Steerage Passengers Dancing Between Decks. The Illustrated London News, 6 July 1850. GGA Image ID # 14b6b9ef2f

Departure of the Emigrant Ship from Liverpool. The Illustrated London News, 6 July 1850. GGA Image ID # 14b6f94fe9

The Ship's Crew Search for Stowaways. The Illustrated London News, 6 July 1850. GGA Image ID # 14b6f0a3a7

Steerage Passengers Summoned to the Quarter-Deck of the Emigrant Ship for Roll Call. The Illustrated London News, 6 July 1850. GGA Image ID # 14b6f47c6f

Emigrants Crowded Onto the Steerage Deck on an Emigrant Ship. The Illustrated London News, 17 August 1850. GGA Image ID # 14b736055c

Life in Steerage Between Decks on an Emigrant Ship. The Illustrated London News, 17 August 1850. GGA Image ID # 14b721f545

Front of Steerage Passage Contract from 1854, Le Havre to New York GGA Image ID # 102808387e

First Page - Provisional Immigration Law of Norway - 1867. 1867-04-06 Provisorist Anordning angaaenbe Control med Befordring af Uddandrere til frennede Berdensdele. GG Archives Immigration Collection. GGA Image ID # 14fefa0e42

Page 2: Content of the Decree -- the Provisional Emigration Law of Norway - 1867, Sections 1-3. GG Archives Immigration Collection. GGA Image ID # 14ff55b343

Page 3: Content of the Decree -- the Provisional Emigration Law of Norway - 1867, Sections 4-8. GG Archives Immigration Collection. GGA Image ID # 14ff726849

Page 4: Content of the Decree -- the Provisional Emigration Law of Norway - 1867, Sections 9-10 and Seal of King Karl V of Norway and Sweden. GG Archives Immigration Collection. GGA Image ID # 14ff856c11

Norway's official statistics, Emigration Statistics, show the distribution of emigrants at various ports from 1876 to 1917. Here is the percentage from Kristiania. GGA Image ID # 21ec40ad2a

Immigrants Landing at Castle Garden in 1880. GGA Image ID # 21ec682501

Emigration for Ladies. Clipping from The Bazaar, The Exchange and Mart, 26 October 1883. GGA Image ID # 14ff8e4060

Women Who Will Likely Need Maids and Servants for Their Household in 1885. Ladies Magazine of Fashion, March 1885. GGA Image ID # 21edc34645

The Money Exchange at Castle Garden. Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly, March 1888. GGA Image ID # 14bda6e48c

Ladies Who Have Come To England State That First-Class Dressmaking and Millinery Are Highly Sought After and Highly Paid, While Extraordinary Prices Have Been Paid for Paris-Made Costumes. Woman's World, August 1888. GGA Image ID # 21edc6ac6f

Emigrants at Auswanderer-Hallen. nd, circa 1890. GGA Image ID # 14feeca2eb

Emigrants Bid Farewell at Auswanderer-Hallen Immigration Control Center near Hamburg, Germany (Auswandererhallen of the Hamburg-American Line). nd, circa 1890. GGA image ID # 14feef74c7

The “Deutschland,” the Hapag’s only express steamer, paid for with the proceeds of the sale to Spain of obsolete Hapag liners, at the time of the Spanish-American war. She is being built over into a pleasure cruiser, the “Victoria Luise.” GGA Image ID # 14141cec29

Large Dutch Fmily Lines Up at Ellis Island. nd, circa Early 1900s. National Park Service # 646085. GGA Image ID # 1490593c8b

A Typical Italian Immigrant Family at Ellis Island. Photograph by Arthur Hewitt. The World's Work, October 1902. GGA Image ID # 14f9097c8d

The Cots Were Like One Wide Bed Divided Into Spaces by Iron Piping. Illustration by M. J. Burns, Scribner's Magazine, November 1902. GGA Image ID # 14fbc36658

Immigrant Waiting Room -- The Immigrants Sit in This Room Till the Train Is Ready to Take Them to the Coast. Each Table Has a Samovar for Their Use. Illustration by M. J. Burns, Scribner's Magazine, November 1902. GGA Image ID # 14fbd9106f

Russian Immigrants en Route to Hamburg. Illustration by M. J. Burns, Scribner's Magazine, November 1902. GGA Image ID # 14fbe8886d

Manager of the Control Station at Eydtkuhnen. Chernyshevskoye (Russian: Черныше́вское; German: Eydtkuhnen, from 1938: Eydtkau); is a settlement in Nesterovsky District in the eastern part of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, close to the border with Lithuania. Illustration by M. J. Burns, Scribner's Magazine, November 1902. GGA Image ID # 14fc070a9d

Examining Immigrants' Papers at Hamburg. Illustration by M. J. Burns, Scribner's Magazine, November 1902. GGA Image ID # 14fc646673

The Last Examination of Immigrants Before Heading to America. Illustration by M. J. Burns, Scribner's Magazine, November 1902. GGA Image ID # 14fc90aed7

In the Morning, They Watched Other Immigrants Coming In from the Train. Illustration by M. J. Burns, Scribner's Magazine, November 1902. GGA Image ID # 14fd04518b

There Were Separate Kitchens for Jews and Christians. Illustration by M. J. Burns, Scribner's Magazine, November 1902. GGA Image ID # 14fd2a1087

Immigrants' Waiting Room at Hamburg. Illustration by M. J. Burns, Scribner's Magazine, November 1902. GGA Image ID # 14fd51931f

A Type of Immigrant. Illustration by M. J. Burns, Scribner's Magazine, November 1902. GGA Image ID # 14fdd78e3d

Immigrants On the Way from the Train to the Auswanderer-Hallen. Illustration by M. J. Burns, Scribner's Magazine, November 1902. GGA Image ID # 14fe4c8e95

The Big Steam-Box in Which the Outer Clothing of the Immigrant Undergoes Disinfection. Illustration by M. J. Burns, Scribner's Magazine, November 1902. GGA Image ID # 14fea1d561

A Tender Takes Immigrants Down the River. Illustration by M. J. Burns, Scribner's Magazine, November 1902. GGA Image ID # 14fee15e3b

Immigrants at the Kitchen Door. Illustration by M. J. Burns, Scribner's Magazine, November 1902. GGA Image ID # 14fee2eb12

Emigrants at the Depot in Hamburg. The Alien Immigrant, 1903. GGA Image ID # 149abcf16a

The Church in the Emigrant Depot at Hamburg, Germany. The Alien Immigrant, 1903. GGA Image ID # 149aca0ce9

Italian Immigrants Leaving The Office Of The Society For The Protection Of Italian Immigrants. Photograph by Rockwood. The World's Work, October 1904. GGA Image ID # 14f2b35e79

The RMS Ivernia, a Transatlantic Ocean Liner Operated by the Cunard Line, Was Launched in 1899 and Entered Service in 1900. By Circa 1906, the Vessel Had Accommodations for Approximately: 200 First-Class Passengers, 200 Second-Class Passengers, and 2,350 Third-Class (Steerage) Passengers. This Configuration Reflects Its Primary Role As an Immigrant Transport Ship, Catering Mainly to Steerage Passengers Traveling From Europe to North America. the Ivernia Frequently Operated Routes Between Liverpool and Boston, With Stops at Queenstown (Cobh), Ireland. Cunard Daily Bulletin, Ivernia Edition, 28 June 1905. GGA Image ID # 21ed05ac79

Italian Family Looking For Lost Luggage at Ellis Island, 1905. Photograph by Lewis Wickes Hine. The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints, and Photographs: Photography Collection. New York Public Library. NYPL # 79878. GGA Image ID # 14e47f27fb

Photo of the Hotel for Emigrants of the N.A.S.M. (Holland-America Line), 1908. GGA Image ID # 21ec8fdd70

A Runaway Italian Mother and Two Girls. The Home Missionary, March 1909. GGA Image ID # 149af4321d

An Italian Family. The Man Tried to Pass as her Husband but was Found to be Her Brother. The Home Missionary, March 1909. GGA Image ID # 149ade1e51

The Olaf H. Solem Cunard Line Steamship Company Agency in Trondheim, Norway circa 1910. Olaf H. Solem is pictured above on the left. Photo courtesy of Børge Solem. GGA Image ID # 14c7bcc2e7

Slavic Woman and Italian Husband. Photo Courtesy of The Survey. The Old World and the New, 1914. GGA Image ID # 14dbd4d394

Typical Headdress of Italian Immigrant Women, Passing Through Ellis Island. Photograph from Frederic C. Howe. The National Geographic Magazine, February 1917. GGA Image ID # 14ca62f9ad

Max and Nellie Heilbron Were Owners of a Boarding House for Jewish Immigrants in Liverpool. The Image Above Dates From ca. 1917. Notice Is Hereby Given That the Partnership Heretofore Subsisting Between William Mosca Heilbron, George Heilbron, and Max Heilbron, Carrying On Business in Co-partnership Together at 1, 2, and 3, Great George Square, in the City of Liverpool, as Emigration Agents, Boarding-House Keepers, and Cigar Merchants, Under the Style of "a. Heilbron & Sons Has Been Dissolved by Mutual Consent as and From the 31st Day of December 1916, as From Which Date the Said George Heilbron and Max Heilbron and George Heilbron the Younger Have Carried on the Said Business, and They Will in Future Carry On the Business at 1, 2, and 3, Great George Square Aforesaid, Under the Style of "Heilbrons' Cunard Hotel."—Dated This Fourteenth Day of March 1917. William Rudd, Solicitor for All the Persons Mentioned Above, 10 Dale Street, Liverpool. (The London Gazette, 30 March 1917:3142) GGA Image ID # 2110df6eee

Bibliography

"Emigration from Liverpool," in The Illustrated London News, Vol. XVII, No, 434, Saturday, 6 July 1850, pp. 19-22.

Major W. Evans-Gordon, M.P., The Alien Immigrant: With Map and Numerous Illustrations for Author's Photographs, New York: Chas. Scribner's Sons, 1903.

The Emigration Image Library Summary

A Visual Chronicle of Immigration History

For teachers, students, genealogists, family historians, and researchers, the Emigration Image Library is an extraordinary visual archive that brings the history of immigration to life. This collection of rare photographs, newspaper clippings, illustrations, and historical documents offers firsthand perspectives on the emigrant experience from departure to arrival.

Why This Image Library is Essential for Immigration Research

• Capturing the Emigrant Journey – These historical images document every stage of emigration, from medical inspections at Liverpool, the crowded conditions in steerage, and farewells at European ports to life onboard transatlantic ships.
• Rare Visuals of Departure Points – The collection features photographs from major ports like Hamburg, Bremen, Liverpool, and Rotterdam, as well as Norwegian emigration laws from 1867, showing the regulations that governed departures.
• The Reality of Steerage Travel – Images such as Steerage Passengers Dancing Between Decks and Emigrants Crowded onto the Steerage Deck provide a rare look into the living conditions aboard ships that carried millions to America.
• Emigrant Hotels and Processing Centers – See the lodging houses and immigration depots where travelers prepared for their journeys or awaited further transportation in places like Antwerp, Hamburg, and Liverpool.
• Genealogical Value – These images can help descendants of immigrants visualize the conditions their ancestors endured, adding an emotional and historical depth to family research.

Who Should Explore This Collection?

• Genealogists & Family Historians – This library connects family stories to real historical images, helping descendants of immigrants understand their ancestors’ experiences.
• Historians & Immigration Scholars – A vital visual record of 19th and early 20th-century migration, providing primary sources for research into European emigration, transatlantic voyages, and U.S. immigration policies.
• Educators & Students – A compelling teaching tool for courses on migration history, social history, and transatlantic travel, offering engaging visuals for classroom discussions.

Unlock the Past Through Visual Storytelling

This extraordinary image collection presents a powerful, visual narrative of emigration history, offering a firsthand glimpse into the struggles, hopes, and realities of those who left their homelands in search of a better life. Whether you're researching your own family history or studying immigration trends, these images bring the past to life in an unforgettable way.