Universal Images Group Acquires Marka ITEM

10th January 2023.Reading time 2 minutes.

Universal Images Group Limited (UIG) is delighted to announce it has acquired the Marka ITEM collection, based in Milan, Italy. The collection will be integrated into UIG’s archive during December and will become immediately available for distribution and licensing through UIG’s extensive global network of licensing partners. The Marka ITEM collection features subject strengths in European […]

Best of Kaleidoscope 2022

19th December 2022.Reading time 8 minutes.

Take a journey with us as we look back at the posts we added to Kaleidoscope in 2022 and the interesting, topical and striking images that we chose to include in them. Don’t forget to use the ARCHIVE link at the bottom of this page to view all our previous posts – we’re sure there […]

Mauritania – The Last Frontier

5th December 2022.Reading time 5 minutes.

UIG contributing photographer Giovanni Merghetti sees the African nation of Mauritania as the last frontier, a place he has visited multiple times and a country he has discovered and explored by automobile. His haunting and striking images of the people and places of Mauritania illuminate a nation seldom visited, discussed or otherwise known about. The Islamic […]

Vintage Travel Posters

31st October 2022.Reading time 5 minutes.

Vintage travel posters evoke happy memories of family vacations, honeymoons, and open-eyed adventures around the world. These wonderfully designed, bright and cheerful posters long ago crossed over from mere promotional works to become both sought-after art and collector’s items. Travel posters began in the early 20th century as effective advertisements for rail and cruise line companies. Rail companies […]

The Multi-Tasking Gargoyles

24th October 2022.Reading time 6 minutes.

Throughout France and elsewhere in Europe, many gothic-inspired structures and cathedrals feature gargoyles adorning their exteriors. Gargoyles are often fearsome, fantastical, and humorous and were originally included in gothic architectural design to serve two purposes – to scare off evil spirits and as waterspouts directing water drainage away from the structure. Curiously, no two gargoyles are […]

Queen Elizabeth II

15th September 2022.Reading time 4 minutes.

We are deeply saddened at the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Serving her country and commonwealth as Queen since 1952 as the longest reigning monarch. A selection of images from our archive is a tribute to a life, a lot of it in the public eye, of a woman in an iconic position as diplomat, […]

In Kyrgyzstan, a Man Without a Horse is just a Pedestrian

22nd August 2022.Reading time 12 minutes.

Horses are essential throughout the mountains and steppes of the Central Asia landlocked nation of Kyrgyzstan. The nomadic lifestyle of many Kyrgyz people requires horses for nearly everything. Kyrgyz horses are used for transportation, for agricultural purposes, as offers of payment, and simply for companionship in the wide-open spaces and mountains. The horses of Kyrgyzstan are usually small […]

The Pier – a leisurely way into the sea

8th August 2022.Reading time 7 minutes.

The ‘pier’ as Wikipedia states does have slightly different meanings in various parts of the world (such as in the USA where it will often refer to a working pier for shipping and cargo). However, the popular idea of the pier is that of one for leisure purposes. They are a place we remember during […]

The “Ngontang” mask and dance.

18th July 2022.Reading time 4 minutes.

Desirey Minkoh, the owner of Gabon based UIG image partner AfrikImages provides a fascinating insight into the Ngontang mask and dance and the Fang ethnic group. “Ngontang”, which in the Fang language from which it derives its origins means “the white girl”, is a mask with several faces that represents the spirits in the form […]

Image Quest

11th July 2022.Reading time 6 minutes.

Thanks to our focus on educational subjects, UIG has enjoyed a long and successful partnership with Encyclopaedia Britannica, helping them curate and manage the Image Quest online educational image database, a global product that is offered to individual schools, educational authorities, and ministries. The product is licensed under a subscription model and students and teachers access […]