Research Guides: MA HiLi Reid Hall: Primary Sources

Historical Newspapers

Eighteenth century journals : a portal to newspapers and periodicals, c1685-1835.
Portal to newspapers and periodicals c1685-1835 offers integrated access to the Hope Collection at the Bodleian Library, Oxford (Eighteenth Century Journals I), the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center University of Texas (Eighteenth Century Journals II) and the British Newspaper Library at Colindale, London and the Cambridge University Library (Eighteenth Century Journals III), Chetham's Library, Manchester and Brotherton Library, University of Leeds (Eighteenth Century Journals IV), as well as Birmingham Central Library, British Library, Cambridge University Library, and Liverpool John Moores University Library (Eighteens Century Journals V). It brings together rare journals printed between c1685 and 1835, illuminating all aspects of eighteenth-century social, political and literary life. Topics include: the writings of Sir Isaac Newton; the French and American Revolutions; colonial life, provincial and rural affairs, reviews of literature, the theater, and fashion throughout Europe; the origins and rise of Romanticism; political debates; gender, religion, influence of the press, and coffee house gossip and discussion.
Gale primary sources. Newspapers
Gale NewsVault delivers the definitive cross-searching experience for exploring Gale's range of historical newspaper and collections. Users can simultaneously search or browse across multiple products owned by their institution, including: 17th and 18th Century Burney Collection Newspapers; 19th Century British Library Newspapers, Parts I and II; 19th Century UK Periodicals, Series I: New Readerships; 19th Century UK Periodicals, Series II: Empire; 19th Century U.S. Newspapers; Financial Times Historical Archive 1888-2006; Illustrated London News Historical Archive 1842-2003; Times Digital Archive 1785-1985; and Times Literary Supplement Historical Archive 1902-2005.
Sunday times digital archive, 1822-2006.
Browsable by date and keyword search, the archive coverage begins with Oct. 20, 1822, including Sunday times, issued Oct. 20. 1822-Jan. 24, 1904; Sunday times and Sunday special, Jan. 31, 1904-Jan. 4, 1931; and Sunday times, Jan. 11, 1931-Dec. 31, 2006. Completely separate from the Times of London, the Sunday times is known for its investigative journalism, providing commentary and analysis of the week's news.

Primary Sources

Archives direct : sources from The National Archives, UK.
A full-text searchable suite of collections sourced from the National Archives, Kew. Includes The Nixon years, Confidential print Africa, Confidential print Latin America, Confidential print, North America, Confidential print Middle East, Foreign Office Files China, amongst others.
Archives unbound
"Archives Unbound presents topically-focused digital collections of historical documents that support the research and study needs of scholars and students at the college and university level. Collections in Archives Unbound cover a broad range of topics from the Middle Ages forward-from Witchcraft to World War II to twentieth-century political history. Collections are chosen for Archives Unbound based on requests from scholars, archivists, and students."--Home page.
Digital National Security Archive
Contains the most comprehensive collection of primary documents available. The database includes more than 63,000 of the most important declassified documents regarding critical U.S. policy decisions.

Documents from the Interwar Period
A set of digitized resources compiled at Mount Holyoke.

Documents on British policy overseas : diplomacy in the twentieth century.
"Documents on British Policy Overseas provides users with access to a wide range of primary source documents from Britain's Foreign and Commonwealth Office, shedding light on throughout the twentieth century. Selected and edited by the official historians of the FCO, Documents on British Policy Overseas includes many documents specifically de-classified for inclusion in the series."--About page.
Alexander Street literature
Alexander Street Literature is a comprehensive, cross-searchable package of collections covering literatures of place, race, and gender. It includes poetry, short fiction, and novels, along with full-text plays and film scripts.
Defining gender, 1450-1910
Ephemera, pamphlets, college records and exam papers, commonplace books, diaries, periodicals, letters, ledgers, account books, educational practice and pedagogy, government papers from the Home Office and Metropolitan police, illustrated writings on anatomy, midwifery, art and fashion, manuscript journals, poetry, novels, ballads, drama, receipt books, literary manuscripts, travel writing, and conduct and advice literature.
Early English books online
A digitized version of the Early English Books microfilm collection, this database contains full-text page images of of about 100,000 of the 1250,000 titles listed in Pollard & Redgrave's Short-Title Catalogue (1475-1640) and Wing's Short-Title Catalogue (1641-1700) and their revised editions, as well as the Thomason Tracts (1640-1661) collection. Also includes a growing collection of searchable full text provided by the EEBO Text Creation Partnership.
Empire online
This resource brings together manuscript, printed and visual primary source materials for the study of 'Empire' and its theories, practices and consequences. The materials span across the last five centuries and are accompanied by a host of secondary learning resources including scholarly essays, maps and an interactive chronology.

European History Primary Sources
European History Primary Sources (EHPS) is a joint initiative of the Library and the Department of History and Civilization of the European University Institute in Florence, Italy. The purpose of EHPS is to provide an easily searchable index of scholarly digital repositories that contain primary sources for the history of Europe.
The European Library
Designed to meet the needs of the research community worldwide, this online portal offers quick and easy access to the collections of the 48 National Libraries of Europe and leading European Research Libraries. Users can cross-search and reuse over 23,078,082 digital items and 163,053,414 bibliographic records. To facilitate further research, links are also provided to other websites in the Europeana group.
Foreign Relations of the United States (Online)
Browse by specific volumes or search through presidential administrations on the website of the U.S. Office of the Historian. The digitized offerings are incomplete so you'll want to check both the print and online to be thorough. NB: Columbia has a subscription to this series through HeinOnline as well: https://resolver.library.columbia.edu/clio5708792.001

Gale. Primary sources
Provides an interactive research environment that allows researchers to cross-search Eighteenth Century Collections Online (ECCO) and Nineteenth Century Collections Online (NCCO) and to discover and analyze content in new ways.
Gerritsen Women's History Collection of Aletta H. Jacobs
"In the late 1800's, Dutch physician and feminist Aletta Jacobs and her husband C.V. Gerritsen began collecting books, pamphlets and periodicals reflecting the evolution of a feminist consciousness and the movement for women's rights. By the time their successors finished their work in 1945, the Gerritsen Collection was the greatest single source for the study of women's history in the world, with more than 4,700 books, pamphlets and journals spanning four centuries and 15 languages"--Publisher's description (ProQuest, 23 August 2022).Covers years 1543-1945, bulk is 1880-1920, with monographs and serials from the U.S., the U.K., Canada, New Zealand, and continental Europe. The collection is especially rich in women's journals, scholarly medical and sociological studies, and housekeeping and advice manuals.
Grand tour
These accounts of the English abroad, c1550-1850, highlight the influence of continental travel on British art, architecture, urban planning, literature and philosophy. This collection of manuscript, visual and printed works allows scholars to compare a range of sources on the history of travel for the first time, including many from private or neglected collections.
ProQuest Congressional
Indexes information produced by or pertaining to the United States Congress from 1789 to the present. Provides full text for many titles, generally from the early 1990's to the present. Includes bills, laws, legislative histories, committee prints, House and Senate documents and reports, the Congressional Record, Code of Federal Regulations, and Federal Register. Includes full text of Congressional Research Service reports, 1916-present; full text of Congressional hearings, 1824-2003; full text of Committee Prints, 1830-2003; and full text of the Serial Set Collection with Maps, 1789-1969. For a complete description of contents, coverage, and update frequency, consult the online Help section.
Smithsonian collections online
Database containing primary source materials from the Smithsonian's museums, libraries, and archives.
Social theory
Social Theory offers an extensive selection of documents that explore the complexities and interpret the nature of social behavior and organization. It features works by such major theorists as Jean Baudrillard, Simone de Beauvoir, Ulrich Beck, Howard Becker, Nancy Chodorow, Émile Durkheim, Michel Foucault, Erving Goffman, Robert Merton, and Talcott Parsons.
United Nations Geospatial Information Section : (formerly Cartographic Section).
Presents maps and geographic information resources, provided by the United Nations. Includes general maps, deployment maps of peacekeeping operations, atlases, and other geographic information.
United Nations treaty collection = Collection des traites des Nations Unies.
Contains full-text of the United Nations Treaty Series, the United Nations Treaty Series Cumulative Index, and the League of Nations Treaty Series, the current status of the Multilateral Treaties deposited with the Secretary-General, and texts of recently deposited multilateral treaties.