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Primary sources provide direct evidence concerning a topic being investigated and are associated with the time period in which they were created. They can be textual or audiovisual, published or unpublished.
They are produced by participants in a specific event or time period, or witnesses to an event or period in history. Examples include: letters, diaries, official government records, artifacts, contemporary newspaper articles, interviews, original photographs, memoirs and autobiographies.
The 19th Century British Library Newspapers collection contains full runs of 48 newspapers specially selected by the British Library to best represent nineteenth century Britain. This new collection includes national and regional newspapers, as well as those from both established country or university towns and the new industrial powerhouses of the manufacturing Midlands, as well as Scotland, Ireland and Wales.
A digitized collection of all English- and foreign-language titles printed in the U.K., plus thousands printed in the Americas. Includes many types of materials: books, broadsides, ephemera, etc. Covers 1701-1800.
A digitized collection of virtually all materials (books, pamphlets, broadsides, sermons, etc.) published in 17th and 18th century America. A primary source collection for all aspects of American life during this time period. Use keywords common to the time period.
A digitized collection of books, pamphlets, and broadsides published in early 19th-century America. A primary source collection for all aspects of American life during this time period.
Nearly 500,000 art images of art, architecture and other forms of visual and material culture. Represents all time periods and cultures. Includes online and offline tools for faculty and students.
Best to begin by searching broadly and then narrow your search. For example, search across all the collections by artist's surname, then limit results by also searching for a primary word in the title.
Wide-ranging online collection of edited correspondence of the early modern period, linking people across Europe, the Americas and Asia from the early 17th to the mid-19th century
Digitized collection of rare medieval and Renaissance manuscripts, as well as early printed books. Almost all manuscripts in the Parker Library collection have been fully digitized and are available in this exhibit, along with associated bibliographic references and annotations made by scholars from around the world. Fully open access as of 2018.
