The primary goal is to bring to light historic images that would otherwise remain unseen in family photo albums and attics. According to Mary Evans' managing director Paul Brown, the heritage-image specialist conceived The History Album "because we felt there was no other online facility which made the sharing of photographs, the sharing of history and connecting with the past so accessible, and which would be backed by a high level of historical expertise." Mary Evans has been supplying the media and publishing industries with historic imagery for more than 40 years.

The History Album invites users to scan, upload, keyword and share images, as well as to comment on the submissions of others. Brown says that the site takes the social-networking concept further by linking history with places and family names, as well as uniting a niche audience with a shared love of images of the past.

The Web site also has a commercial component. By partnering with Media Storehouse, a Watford-based technology company that specializes in generating non-licensing revenue from visual content, The History Album will sell its users' historical photos as prints, canvases, mouse mats and other products.

In addition, Mary Evans plans to offer users an opportunity to profit from licensing their images. According to the Web site, the Mary Evans content team will regularly review submissions to The History Album and add pictures of particular quality or interest to its library of commercially licensed images.