I've recently come across the following website that publishes a large number of old photographs held in local council archives in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire:
http://tinyurl.com/nydpcjMany of the pictures are still in-copyright and have been released for private use only. However, many are pre-1923 and hence copyright expired, such as:
http://tinyurl.com/npay5tWould it be copyright-compliant for someone, particularly someone based in the US, to upload these photos to Commons based on the principles of PD-ART?
Andrew