Life Images Online

Google has just announced that the humongous Life magazine photo archive -- containing more than 10 million photos, some even dating back to the 1750s -- will be available through Google's "Image Search" feature online. Most of the photos in the collection were never published in the magazine and only exist as negatives, slides, and etchings. About 1/5 of the collection is already online and the rest is expected to be available within the next few months.
Life, begun in 1883, ceased publication in 2006. Thanks to Google, one can access the entire database of photos and purchase framed prints. Browse here: http://images.google.com/hosted/life.