This is an instructional presentation on how to use the Filson Historical Society's image database--PastPerfectOnline.

1. Filson.Past
PerfectOnline.com
A Free Local History Archive Image
Database from the Filson Historical
Society
A Ready Reference Instructional Guide

2. FilsonPastPerfectOnline Opens Doors
into History
★ The Filson’s Online Image Database contains the
digitized versions of photograph, print, and Museum
object archives.
★ Historians, archivists, other museums, and personal
researchers interested in the history of the Ohio Valley
Region, rely on Filson.PastPerfectOnline.com as a critical
access point to history through imagery.

3. How To Access
★ FilsonPastPerfectOnline can be accessed from any
computer that has internet access.
★ It can be accessed simply by opening your preferred
search engine and typing
https://filson.pastperfectonline.com/ into your browser or
clicking the provided link.
★ It is a free resource and requires no login or subscription

4. History of FilsonPastPerfectOnline
★ The Filson Historical Society was founded in 1884 by ten
individuals with a common passion for history preservation.
★ The official library and archival headquarters was opened in
1986.
★ In 2001, the Filson began the massive task of digitizing
their collections.
★ Since then, the Filson digital collections have been remotely
utilized by museums, archives, libraries, universities, and
private researchers across the Ohio Valley Region

5. What Can FilsonPastPerfectOnline
Do For You?
It is the standard authority on local research image archives
for Kentucky and the Ohio Valley Region.
Contains;
★ 21 million documents, photos, and prints
★ 10,000 museum items
★ 400 portraits
★ Historical information dating back pre-civil war

6. Arrangement of Information
★ The Filson’s online image collection includes approximately 2.1
million pages of documents, photos, and prints.
★ All work will be accompanied by title, catalog number, artist,
date, object type, material, dimension, description, collection,
and the featured collection.
★ Information on how to request usage rights and reproductions
can be found through the link provided or by emailing
images@filsonhistorical.org
★ Records are updated frequently–if you don’t see what you’re
looking for email image@filsonhistorical.org

7. How to Search
There are four easy ways to use FilsonPastPerfectOnline:
★ Searching using keywords
★ Searching by term
★ Advanced search
★ Browsing the inventory category

8. Keyword Search Example
For example, if someone wanted to search photos of the 1937 Louisville Flood,
we’d put in 1937 flood in the search box and click Search.

9. Keyword Search Example
This takes us to the next page
where we can limit searches to
“items with Images Only”. Click
the search button and we have 75
results that are listed by when
they were added to the archive.
There are not pre-determined
search parameters, but keyword
searches can be as specific as
you’d like.

10. Search by Term/Vocabulary Search Example
If you’d like to
search a specific
creator, you’d do so
through the “Search
by Term”. Here it
lists the alphabet
and you click the
first letter of the
last name of the
specific creator
you’re looking for.
For example,
clicking “B” and
finding all images

11. Advanced Search Example
The Advanced Search option allows for
the most specific search parameters,
allowing filters for objects, photos,
creators, people, and containers to be
specified. Filters can easily be reset
through the button at the bottom.

12. Advanced Search
Example
For example, if you’d like to look for
images of log cabins from the year
1970 you can put “log cabin” in the
description box and “1970” in the
date box. All boxes above are
checked off so that the search
engine looks for all resources under
that description.

13. Browsing Inventory Example: “Objects”
The first way to browse the
inventory is through a
browsing view of the Photo
Record Type. The home
page for this search engine
is a list of all the records for
that record type. Search
criteria can be added at the
top to specify results.

14. Browsing Inventory Example:
“Photos”
The first way to browse
the inventory is through
a browsing view of the
Photo Record Type. The
home page for this
search engine is a list of
all the records for that
record type. Search
criteria can be added at
the top to specify
results.

15. Browsing Inventory Example: “Random Images”
The first way to browse the
inventory is through a
browsing view of Random
Objects which showcases the
entire collection. The home
page for this search engine is a
list of all the records for the
image and museum archives.
No search criteria can be
added–this is truly a listing of
random images to provided
inspiration or research

16. Ask A Librarian
If you have any questions about this resource or something
left unclear contact the library research center remotely by
emailing research@filsonhistorical.org
Renee Freville 12-12-23

17. Citations
The Filson Historical Society. (n.d.). Online collections: Filson
Historical Society. Online Collections | Filson Historical Society.
https://filson.pastperfectonline.com/