Images

Images are the heart of Yesterdays. Most are old photographs, but they also include drawings, postcards, architectural sketches, and more.

The images endpoint has two different response formats: a list response for browsing, and a richer detail response with full metadata, georeferences, subjects, and comments.

List images

GET /api/v2/images/

Returns a paginated list of images with basic metadata. This response is intentionally lightweight and doesn't include georeferences, subjects, or comments. Use the detail_url field to fetch the full details for any image.

Example request

curlPythonR

curl "https://yesterdays.maprva.org/api/v2/images/"

import requests

response = requests.get("https://yesterdays.maprva.org/api/v2/images/")
data = response.json()

library(httr2)

resp <- request("https://yesterdays.maprva.org/api/v2/images/") |>
  req_perform()
data <- resp_body_json(resp)

Example response

{
    "count": 37244,
    "next": "https://yesterdays.maprva.org/api/v2/images/?page=2",
    "previous": null,
    "results": [
        {
            "id": 5934,
            "title": "N. 28th and Q Streets",
            "thumbnail": "https://cdn.maprva.org/7416452b52d0f9fdbe1c_thumb",
            "creator": "Shelton, Edith Keesee--1898-1989",
            "original_date": "9/1956",
            "date_display": "9/1956",
            "from_above": false,
            "duplicate_of": null,
            "collection": {
                "id": 39,
                "name": "Edith K. Shelton Photograph Collection",
                "slug": "edith-k-shelton-photograph-collection",
                "source_name": "The Valentine"
            },
            "georeference_status": "georeferenced",
            "detail_url": "https://yesterdays.maprva.org/api/v2/images/5934/"
        }
    ]
}

List fields

Field	Type	Description
`id`	integer	Unique identifier
`title`	string	Title of the image
`thumbnail`	string	URL to a thumbnail of the image
`creator`	string	Creator/photographer name
`original_date`	string	Date string as recorded by the source
`date_display`	string	Human-friendly date display
`from_above`	boolean	Whether this is a from-above (bird's-eye) image
`duplicate_of`	integer or null	ID of the image this is a duplicate of, or `null` if not a duplicate
`collection`	object	Collection info (id, name, slug, source_name)
`georeference_status`	string	One of `"available"`, `"georeferenced"`, `"duplicate"`, or `"will_not_georef"`
`detail_url`	string	API link to the full detail for this image

Filtering

Parameter	Type	Description
`source`	integer	Filter by source ID
`collection`	integer	Filter by collection ID
`subject`	integer	Filter by subject ID
`creator`	string	Search creator name (case-insensitive, partial match)
`year_min`	number	Include images whose date range overlaps with or follows this year
`year_max`	number	Include images whose date range overlaps with or precedes this year
`georeferenced`	boolean	`true` for georeferenced images only, `false` for un-georeferenced
`from_above`	boolean	`true` for from-above images, `false` for standard images

Example: combining filters

Find all georeferenced images from the Valentine, taken between 1900 and 1920:

curlPythonR

curl "https://yesterdays.maprva.org/api/v2/images/?source=2&georeferenced=true&year_min=1900&year_max=1920"

import requests

response = requests.get("https://yesterdays.maprva.org/api/v2/images/", params={
    "source": 2,
    "georeferenced": "true",
    "year_min": 1900,
    "year_max": 1920,
})
data = response.json()

library(httr2)

resp <- request("https://yesterdays.maprva.org/api/v2/images/") |>
  req_url_query(source = 2, georeferenced = "true", year_min = 1900, year_max = 1920) |>
  req_perform()
data <- resp_body_json(resp)

Ordering

Parameter	Description
`order`	Sort by collection order
`title`	Sort alphabetically by title
`original_date`	Sort by date
`created_at`	Sort by when the image was added to Yesterdays
`last_georeferenced_at`	Sort by when the image was most recently georeferenced

Prefix with - to sort descending. For example, ordering=original_date gives oldest first, while ordering=-original_date gives newest first.

curlPythonR

# Most recently georeferenced images first
curl "https://yesterdays.maprva.org/api/v2/images/?ordering=-last_georeferenced_at"

import requests

# Most recently georeferenced images first
response = requests.get("https://yesterdays.maprva.org/api/v2/images/", params={
    "ordering": "-last_georeferenced_at",
})
data = response.json()

library(httr2)

# Most recently georeferenced images first
resp <- request("https://yesterdays.maprva.org/api/v2/images/") |>
  req_url_query(ordering = "-last_georeferenced_at") |>
  req_perform()
data <- resp_body_json(resp)

Default ordering is -order (newest additions first).

Get a single image

GET /api/v2/images/{id}/

Returns complete details for a single image, including its georeferences, subjects, comments, and license information.

Example request

curlPythonR

curl "https://yesterdays.maprva.org/api/v2/images/5934/"

import requests

response = requests.get("https://yesterdays.maprva.org/api/v2/images/5934/")
data = response.json()

library(httr2)

resp <- request("https://yesterdays.maprva.org/api/v2/images/5934/") |>
  req_perform()
data <- resp_body_json(resp)

Example response

{
    "id": 5934,
    "title": "N. 28th and Q Streets",
    "permalink": "https://cdn.maprva.org/7416452b52d0f9fdbe1c",
    "thumbnail": "https://cdn.maprva.org/7416452b52d0f9fdbe1c_thumb",
    "original_url": "https://valentine.rediscoverysoftware.com/MADetailB.aspx?rID=PHC0039/-#V.91.42.2952&db=biblio&dir=VALARCH",
    "description": "35mm color slide of the intersection of N. 28th Street and Q Street in north Church Hill; image shows a horse with small wagon loaded with a bale of hay, stopped at a Yield sign; three children stand on sidewalk near horse; two-story house with siding in background; Richmond, Virginia.",
    "creator": "Shelton, Edith Keesee--1898-1989",
    "license": null,
    "original_date": "9/1956",
    "edtf_date": "1956-09",
    "date_display": "9/1956",
    "collection": {
        "id": 39,
        "name": "Edith K. Shelton Photograph Collection",
        "slug": "edith-k-shelton-photograph-collection",
        "source_name": "The Valentine"
    },
    "subjects": [
        {
            "id": 150,
            "title": "horse",
            "slug": "horse",
            "wikidata": {
                "wikidata_id": "Q726",
                "uri": "https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q726",
                "title": "horse",
                "description": "domesticated four-footed mammal from the equine family"
            }
        }
    ],
    "from_above": false,
    "duplicate_of": null,
    "scale": null,
    "mirror": "none",
    "rotation": 0,
    "georeference_status": "georeferenced",
    "georeferences": [
        {
            "id": 5701,
            "latitude": 37.536789,
            "longitude": -77.409651,
            "direction": 136.0,
            "confidence": "medium",
            "confidence_notes": "",
            "georeferenced_by": "mhpob",
            "georeferenced_at": "2025-12-16T12:55:01Z",
            "validations": []
        }
    ],
    "from_above_georeferences": [],
    "comments": [
        {
            "id": 57,
            "text": "Other angle of #5933",
            "commented_by": "mhpob",
            "created_at": "2025-12-16T12:55:42Z"
        }
    ],
    "detail_url": "https://yesterdays.maprva.org/api/v2/images/5934/"
}

Detail fields

The detail response includes all the list fields, plus:

Field	Type	Description
`permalink`	string	Direct URL to the image file. If a rotation or mirror transform has been applied, this automatically points to the corrected version.
`original_url`	string	Link to the image in the original archive
`description`	string	Full description of the image
`license`	object or null	License info (display_name, permalink), or `null` if no license is available
`edtf_date`	string	Date in EDTF format, when available
`subjects`	array	Subjects tagged in this image, with Wikidata metadata
`scale`	string	Scale notation for maps and from-above imagery
`mirror`	string	Mirror transform applied: `"none"`, `"h"` (horizontal), or `"v"` (vertical)
`rotation`	integer	Clockwise rotation applied to this image: `0`, `90`, `180`, or `270` (degrees)
`georeferences`	array	Point georeferences (see below)
`from_above_georeferences`	array	From-above polygon georeferences (see below)
`comments`	array	Community comments on this image

Georeference objects

Each georeference in the georeferences array represents someone's placement of this image on the map:

Field	Type	Description
`id`	integer	Unique identifier
`latitude`	number	Latitude of the photographer's location
`longitude`	number	Longitude of the photographer's location
`direction`	number	Compass direction the camera was facing (degrees, 0 = north)
`confidence`	string	`"low"`, `"medium"`, or `"high"`
`confidence_notes`	string	Explanation for the chosen confidence level
`georeferenced_by`	string	OpenStreetMap username of the contributor
`georeferenced_at`	string	ISO 8601 timestamp
`validations`	array	Community validations (see below)

From-above georeference objects

The from_above_georeferences array contains polygon-based georeferences for bird's-eye and from-above images:

Field	Type	Description
`id`	integer	Unique identifier
`polygon`	object	GeoJSON Polygon geometry representing the area covered
`confidence`	string	`"low"`, `"medium"`, or `"high"`
`confidence_notes`	string	Explanation for the chosen confidence level
`georeferenced_by`	string	OpenStreetMap username of the contributor
`georeferenced_at`	string	ISO 8601 timestamp
`validations`	array	Community validations

Validation objects

Validations appear inside georeference objects. They represent community review of a georeference:

Field	Type	Description
`validation`	string	One of `"correct"`, `"uncertain"`, or `"incorrect"`
`validated_by`	string	OpenStreetMap username of the reviewer
`notes`	string	Optional notes from the reviewer
`validated_at`	string	ISO 8601 timestamp

Comment objects

Field	Type	Description
`id`	integer	Unique identifier
`text`	string	The comment text
`commented_by`	string	OpenStreetMap username of the commenter
`created_at`	string	ISO 8601 timestamp