This is pretty awesome stuff for history photo enthusiasts. Google has shared great information that it is now hosting a never-seen-before LIFE photo archive. The LIFE photo archive photographs date back to the 1750s!

Stunning? Absolutely. And fascinating, too. One forum member even questions whether some of the photographs themselves are legit: “does a full frontal of a 1-2 year old boy qualify as kiddie pic? Is it legal to publish that online?” I suppose it’s art and acceptable.

The next question is whether Google (or LIFE, I suppose) will give people rights to distribute these photos. I’m sure they can be used in a lot of great articles.

Forum discussion continues at WebmasterWorld.