<p>These striking images are among a treasure trove of more than a million pictures that have been scanned from books held by the British Library and which have just been posted on the photo-sharing website Flickr.</p><p>The images are from texts published in the 17th to the 19th centuries, meaning that any copyright claims have expired. And the library is encouraging the public to use them however they like, saying they are for anyone to "remix and repurpose".</p><p>In addition, curators hope that amateur enthusiasts will help provide more information about many of the images that remain a mystery.</p><p>Nora McGregor, a curator on the digital research team at the British Library, said: "There are so many images that we don't really have a great sense of all the gems that are in there."</p><p><a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/historic-images-brought-into-21st-century-after-being-posted-on-flickr-by-british-library-9006290.html">Keep reading...</a></p><p>Read also:</p><p><a href="http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-12/15/british-library">British Library uploads more than a million public domain images to Flickr</a> (Wired.co.uk)</p><p><a href="http://www.rappler.com/life-and-style/technology/46023-british-library-images-flickr-commons">1M images from British Library now on Flickr Commons</a> (Rappler)</p><p><a href="http://www.complex.com/tech/2013/12/british-library-flickr-photos">The British Library Just Blessed Flickr With Over 1 Million Public Domain Images</a> (Complex.com)</p><p>Explore: <a href="http://news.google.com/news/more?ncl=di3catoiyk-aKFMN4yEPjniUH3arM&ned=us">12 additional articles.</a></p>