What Are Cookies

Cookies are small text files stored on your device by your web browser when you visit a website. They help the site remember your preferences and activity over time. Similar technologies, such as local storage and pixel tags, may also be used.

How We Use Cookies

We use cookies and similar storage for the following purposes:

• Essential cookies: These are necessary for the catalogue to function, including remembering your session and enabling secure access. They are set automatically and cannot be disabled. Without them, basic operations like logging in or navigating between pages would not work reliably.
• Preference cookies: These remember choices you make, such as text size, language, or display settings, so you do not have to set them each visit. For instance, if you select a larger font for reading a work like A history of Italian painting, that preference can be stored.
• Analytics cookies: Where enabled, these help us understand how visitors use the site—which pages are viewed, how long they stay, and what links are followed. We use this information to improve the catalogue and your experience. For example, knowing which sections of Survey of London, Volume 05 are most popular helps us refine our presentation.
• Advertising cookies: If advertisements are displayed on the site, third-party advertising networks, including Google, may place cookies to serve relevant ads and measure their performance. These cookies track your browsing across websites to build a profile of your interests. We do not control which ads are shown or the data collected by these networks.

First-Party and Third-Party Cookies

First-party cookies are set by this website. They are used for essential functions and preferences. Third-party cookies are set by other domains, such as analytics services or advertising partners. For instance, if we use Google Analytics, Google sets its own cookies. We do not control the data practices of third parties. Where advertising is enabled, Google may use cookies for personalized advertising, and you can manage your Google ad settings through your Google Account. We recommend reviewing the privacy policies of any third-party services we use.

Session and Persistent Cookies

Session cookies are temporary and are deleted when you close your browser. They are used during a single visit to maintain your session state. Persistent cookies remain on your device for a period set by the cookie, or until you delete them. We do not specify fixed durations for persistent cookies because they vary by purpose and provider. For example, a preference cookie might last for a year, while an analytics cookie might expire after two years.

Local Storage

We may use local storage to store site preferences or other data that does not need to be sent to the server with every request. Local storage remains on your device until cleared by you. This is similar to persistent cookies but can hold larger amounts of data. For instance, we might store your reading progress in a long text like Childhood in literature and art so you can resume where you left off.

Your Choices and Consent

When you first visit the site, a cookie banner will inform you of the types of cookies used and ask for your consent to non-essential cookies. You may accept or decline optional cookies. Essential cookies are always set. You can change your preferences at any time by clicking the cookie settings link in the footer. The banner will reappear if you clear your cookies or if our policy changes materially.

Withdrawing Consent

If you have consented to analytics or advertising cookies, you may withdraw that consent by updating your cookie preferences on the site. Note that withdrawing consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal. After withdrawal, analytics and advertising cookies will no longer be set, but existing cookies may remain on your device until they expire or are deleted by you.

Browser Controls

Most web browsers allow you to control cookies through their settings. You can block or delete cookies entirely, but doing so may affect the functionality of the catalogue. For example, you may be unable to log in or maintain preferences. Consult your browser’s help documentation for instructions. Common options include blocking all cookies, blocking third-party cookies only, or deleting cookies when you close the browser.

Practical Effects of Disabling Storage

If you disable all cookies, essential features of the site may not work correctly. You may still browse public-domain texts, but personalization and session management will be unavailable. For instance, you might not be able to save your place in a book like Treatise on landscape painting in water-colours or remember your display preferences. Disabling analytics or advertising cookies will not affect the core reading experience, though it may reduce our ability to improve the site based on usage patterns.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page. We encourage you to review it periodically. Significant changes will be highlighted in the policy or through a notice on the site.

Contact

If you have questions about our use of cookies, you may contact our editor at the email address provided on the site. We will respond as promptly as possible.