LibGuides: History: Primary Sources


Library Research Guides

Primary Source Collections

Artemis Primary Sources
The Artemis Primary Sources program combines major archives of eighteenth and nineteenth century monographs, manuscripts, newspapers, maps, and early photographs.
NOTE: Access is provided through the Boston Public Library with a Boston Public Library card. Get a Boston Public Library eCard

ARTstor This link opens in a new window
The Artstor Digital Library provides over 1.6 million digital images in the arts, architecture, humanities, and sciences with an accessible suite of software tools for teaching and research. You need to register (free for MHC community members) if you wish to download ArtStor images.
Early American Imprints This link opens in a new window
Resource for researching every aspect of 17th and 18th-century America. Digital collection contains virtually every book, pamphlet and broadside published in America over a 160-year period.
Early Encounters in North America This link opens in a new window
Contains 1,482 authors and over 100,000 pages of letters, diaries, memoirs and accounts of early encounters.
ECCO / Eighteenth Century Collections Online This link opens in a new window
Works published in the UK during the 18th century. Includes books, pamphlets, essays, broadsides and more.
EEBO / Early English Books Online This link opens in a new window
Early English Books Online (EEBO) contains digital facsimile page images of virtually every work printed in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and British North America and works in English printed elsewhere from 1473-1700.
Gerritsen Collection This link opens in a new window
Books, pamphlets and periodicals reflecting the women's rights movement. Coverage ranges from 1543-1945. Publications are from Europe, the U.S., the United Kingdom, Canada, and New Zealand. The anti-feminist case is presented as well as the pro-feminist.
Making of the Modern World Parts I and II This link opens in a new window
Books, journals, pamphlets, essays and more that track the development of the modern western world through the lens of trade and wealth.
National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections This link opens in a new window
Manuscript Collections Cataloged Since 1986
Nineteenth Century Collections Online This link opens in a new window
Primary source collections covering British politics, Asia and the West, Europe and Africa, and Science and Technology from the nineteenth century.
Parliamentary Papers This link opens in a new window
Full text of the complete set of the nineteenth and twentieth century British Parliamentary Papers collection including Hansard Parliamentary Debates. A major source of primary source materials on all aspects of British society and the British Empire.
PROME/Parliament Rolls of Medieval England This link opens in a new window
The official records of the meetings of the English parliament from the reign of Edward I (1272 - 1307) until the reign of Henry VII (1485 - 1509).
U.S. Congressional Hearings (1824-1979) This link opens in a new window
Contains complete full text PDFs of all published and unpublished U.S. Congressional hearings.
U.S. Congressional Serial Set This link opens in a new window
Reports, documents, and journals of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, 1817-1980.
US Congressional Publications This link opens in a new window
Full text of US Congress publications including the complete set of the Congressional Record from 1789.

Victorian Lives and Letters Consortium
A Collection of Digital Archives and Editions including THE CARLYLE LETTERS ONLINE, THE JOHN RUSKIN DIARY NOTEBOOKS, THE W.E GLADSTONE PAPERS and THE MICHAEL FIELD DIARIES.

Women and Social Movements in the United States This link opens in a new window
Women and Social Movements provides access to primary resources around the history of women in social movements in the U.S. between 1600 and 2000.

Primary Newspaper and Magazine Articles

African American Newspapers, Series 1 and 2, 1827-1998 This link opens in a new window
more than 350 U.S. newspapers chronicling a century and a half of the African American experience. This unique collection, which includes historically significant papers from more than 35 states, features many rare 19th-century titles. Part of the America’s Historical Newspapers collection, African American Newspapers was created from the most extensive African American newspaper archives in the world.
African Historical Newspapers This link opens in a new window
Nineteenth and twentieth century African newspapers.
American Antiquarian Society Historical Periodicals Collections, 1691-1877 This link opens in a new window
A comprehensive collection of American periodicals published between 1691 and 1877.
Atlanta Constitution Historical Newspaper This link opens in a new window
Full text of the back issues of the Atlanta Constitution newspaper from June 17,1868-Dec. 31, 1984.
The Baltimore Afro-American This link opens in a new window
Full-text of The Baltimore Afro-American from 1893 to 1988.
Boston Globe Historical This link opens in a new window
Full Text of the back issues of the Boston Globe from 1872 to 1982

British Library Newspapers
British Library Newspapers contains full runs of influential national and regional newspapers representing different political and cultural segments of British society.
NOTE: Access is provided through the Boston Public Library with a Boston Public Library card. Get a Boston Public Library eCard

Chicago Defender Historical This link opens in a new window
Full text of the back issues of the African American newspaper, Chicago Defender, from 1910 to 1975.
Chicago Tribune Historical This link opens in a new window
Full text of the back issues of the Chicago Tribune from 1849 to 1970.
Economist Archive This link opens in a new window
Archive of the Economist, 1843 - 2015
Ethnic American Newspapers from the Balch Collection This link opens in a new window
Spanning the Early Republic’s Open Door Era to the Era of Liberalization in the mid-1960s, Ethnic American Newspapers from the Balch Collection covers two centuries of immigrant life in the United States
Hispanic American Historical Newspapers, 1808-1980 This link opens in a new window
The single largest compilation of Spanish-language newspapers printed in the U.S. during the 19th and 20th centuries. The distinctive collection features hundreds of Hispanic American newspapers, including many long scattered and forgotten titles published in the 19th century
Illustrated London News This link opens in a new window
Includes a full run of the illustrated newspaper, 1842-2003, including specials and presentation pieces.
Los Angeles Times Historical Newspaper This link opens in a new window
Full text of the back issues of the Los Angeles TImes from 1881 to 1990.
New York Amsterdam News Historical Newspaper This link opens in a new window
Full text of the back issues of the New York Amsterdam News from 1922 to 1993.
New York Times Historical Newspaper This link opens in a new window
Full text of the back issues of the New York Times from 1851 to 2010.
Nineteenth Century UK Periodicals This link opens in a new window
Full text of major nineteenth century British magazine and periodicals.
Pittsburgh Courier, 1911-2002 This link opens in a new window
Full text of the back issues of the African American newspaper, Pittsburgh Courier, from 1911 to 2002.
Eight Centuries This link opens in a new window
A collection of periodical indexes created in the nineteenth century. Includes: Index to the New York Times (1863-1905); Index to Harper's Magazine (1880-1905); Poole's Index to Periodical Literature (1802-1906); Stead's Index to Periodical Literature (the "British Poole's") (1890-1902); Index to the New York Daily Tribune 1875-1906; Descriptive catalog of the government publications of the U. S. (1774-1881).
PUNCH This link opens in a new window
Full-text of all issues from the satirical magazine, PUNCH, from 1841-2002
San Francisco Chronicle, 1865-1922 This link opens in a new window
Full Text of the back issues of the San Francisco Chronicle (and variant titles) from 1865 through 1922
Springfield Republican Historical Newspaper This link opens in a new window
Back issues of the Springfield Republican from 1844 to 1946.
Sunday Times (London) This link opens in a new window
Full text of the back issues of the Sunday Times (London) from 1822 to 2006.
Times London (The Times London) This link opens in a new window
Full text of the back issues of The Times (London) from 1785 to 2010.
Times of India (Historical Archive) This link opens in a new window
Full text of back issues of The Times of India from 1838-2005
Washington Post Historical This link opens in a new window
Full text of the back issues of The Washington Post from 1877 to 1997.

17th and 18th Century Burney Collection
The newspapers and news pamphlets gathered by the Reverend Charles Burney (1757 - 1817) represent the largest single collection of 17th and 18th century English news media. The 700 or so bound volumes of newspapers and news pamphlets were published mostly in London, however there are also some English provincial, Irish and Scottish papers, and a few examples from the American colonies, Europe and India.
NOTE: Access is provided through the Boston Public Library with a Boston Public Library card. Get a Boston Public Library eCard

AP Photo Archive This link opens in a new window
Contemporary and historical news images. The AP Image Archive is an electronic library containing the AP's photo reports and a selection of photos from their 50 million image print and negative library--updated daily.
Readers' Guide Retrospective This link opens in a new window
Provides indexing to older popular magazines published in the United States and Canada.

History

What are Primary Sources?

Primary Source Collections

Primary Newspaper and Magazine Articles

Primary Sources in the Library Catalog