Why do Historians like Pictures?

Pictures give readers a visual reference for imagining the people, places, objects, and events described in historical prose.

Journal articles leave little room for illustrations, while heavily illustrated books may encourage readers to skim the pictures and overlook the text.

A working rule of thumb is roughly one picture per thousand words, which would give a 45,000-word primer about 45 images.

Licensing images from museums and archives can make a history book substantially more expensive than a work of fiction of the same length.