Google's Art & Culture - Online Galleries

Now Google's Art & Culture is an really interesting and probably is the biggest of the on-line museum and art galleries catalogs out there. Maybe, because Google is a billion pound company or as they have started this project a long time ago and they have built it up to what it is today from there. Now I am not going to take a look at all about this amazing site has to offer, as this would be like reviewing the internet itself, a impossible task.

When the Art Project first started in 2011, the site had a huge collection of scanned works of art. For the first time you could take a close look at works of art and learn about the pieces; and the artiest who made them. You could see the artist brush strokes and the detail of the art work which you might have never been able to do at a art gallery. The project has evolved and now you can do and see so much more. 

At the moment I believe the site is a beta test and might be changed or updated to something even better than what's up at the moment but I see this as really unlikely.

You can take a look at articles, artefacts, art work, museum collection, Google Earth drop-in historic and museum/art galleries; historical accounts on events, people and so much more. 

Now with the artefacts, art work and museum collections you take a close look at individual objects with high detail. The site allows you to look close to objects for the first time. This makes you feel like you are looking at the object face-to-face or with a magnifying glass. Allowing you to see everything from the artist's brush strokes to every tiny detail.

Now there is a fabulous section of the site were you can digitally drop into a historic locations or museum/art galleries. In the same style as the drop-in setting of Google Earth, this allows to take a virtual tour of the location. This gives you idea of what the place it like and also allows to take a closer look of the highlights of the exhibits, giving you a taster of what you can see.

Now I could go on and on about this site as there is so much of it to take about.

The whole site is amazing. However, the only thing that I can say which is bad is the size of the collection they provide you. Now to many that's not a problem and it isn't but it is a problem if you can't search through all which they have. For example you have 1,692 of them. You get a search engine to search things, this is great if you know what you are looking for. However, can't possible know what they have to offer if you don't know and you are simply browsing. In my opinion it would be far easier with a filter system allowing you to select specific theme, century, topic etc. In the way they provide you, you would need to sieve through all what they have to find something you wish to take a look at. The other problem is the search engine itself as if you spell anything wrong, the search engine will not recognize it or give you alternatives search. So at the end you will turn up with your search with practically nothing.

Although it has some problems I must give Google a huge amount of credit. This site is what museums should inspire to with their own on-line catalog or gallery. 

500 Years of the Royal Mail - Online Museum

LEGO postman with a LEGO
Penny Black, first and
rarest British stamp from 1840.

Well you don't see many of these every day, a on-line museum for the 500 years of the Royal Mail. Now I know some museums are doing digital stored collection and I am happy to see this happening more and more as years go on. You can go to museums without leaving the comfort of your own home or pay for entry. These stored collections catalogs get the collection out to the public easier (one of the fundamental principles of a museum) and are great for researchers to see what they have before inquiring to see the items. 

This beautifully done on-line archive of images of portraits, documents, engravings, artefacts, stamps etc. Each image is provided with a few paragraphs of information describing what it is and the history behind the item you have selected. The layout almost gives a similar style to some social media sites, e.g. Instagram or Pinterest. A unusual way of displaying this but I think it works really well.

You have 6 categories to choose from to help you narrow down your search of items and information. Although the images and information is repeated in some of the different categories provided. The categories include:

• Moments in History - taking a look at the main milestones of the Royal Mail.
• Stamps - taking a look at main milestones in design and changes of the history of Stamps.
• The Beginning of the Royal Mail - obviously looking at the beginning of the Royal Mail and how it came about. 
• World Firsts - taking a look at what the Royal Mail started first in the world of the postal service.
• Iconography - taking a look at the visual images, symbols, or modes of representation collectively associated with the Royal Mail.
• People - taking a look at all the people who were involved in the Royal Mail and how they impacted it.

To help you even farther with navigation around the site you have a filter system in which you can select for all an item you are specific looking for. So you can choose the century the item was made or used in and which category you wish it to be from and the order they are all listed in. For example I want everything from the 1500s, themed to The Beginning of the Royal Mail and be viewed by latest - oldest items. 

Another feature with this section is you have a option to favorite items that you like best and gives you a opportunity to come back to them later on.   

Victorian post

Now you also have a search engine to search for specific item. However, if you don't visit the site often you can't possibly know what is there specifically. So this is only good if you know you way around and know what is actually there to see. 

Now it doesn't stop there you have the Features section which house additional thing to take a look at. This are some:

• By Land, Sea and Air - this section talks about the evolution of how the post got from a) to b) and how this benefited society. 
• The Letters of our Lives Campaign - a campaign to collect letters on hidden social and political history of the UK through the people who lived it.
• And so much more...

Now this is a great public resource which the Royal Mail had provided us. The complete collection which is provided here can be interesting to a Royal Mail enthusiast, Stamp collectors or any history buff who fancies knowing more on the Royal Mail and its history behind the British postal service we know today.