In 1769 Reverend James Granger, an avid print collector, published his 'Biographical History of England.' The book was notable for its extra leaves, left blank for the reader to embellish with illustrations from their own collection. Collecting prints to insert into existing books became a popular pastime of the leisured, and throughout the nineteenth century many other books were 'grangerized' in this same manner.

When Erika and William Glover founded their historical picture library in 1964, it was not difficult to find a suitable name to grace what for fifty years was known as The Granger Collection. Today we are known simply as Granger - Historical Picture Archive, a convenient and reliable source for images from prehistoric times through the recent past. Granger's holdings have grown to encompass millions of engravings, photographs, lithographs, and many other forms of illustration.