Primary sources are original, uninterpreted information, such as firsthand accounts of events in letters, diaries, interviews, or historical news reportage; original works of fiction, art, or music; research data; testimony, speeches, etc. Visit Special Collections to use some original texts in print or manuscript.
Questions? Don't know where to start? Want advice on research strategies? I'm happy to meet with you -- see my contact info on this guide!
Full text of more than 170 wide-ranging publications by and about African Americans, including academic journals, magazines, newsletters, reports, and other genres.
Dates: 1825-1997 CE
Primary source pamphlets covering sociopolitical and economic aspects of 19th century Britain.
Dates: 1545-1900 CE
Text-based primary sources covering 19th and early 20th Century political, social and gender issues, religion, race, education, employment, marriage, sexuality, home and family life, and health.
Dates: 1800-1940 CE
Primary sources documenting representations and experiences of gender roles and relations, including pamphlets, speeches, newsletters, diaries, images, and more. About half of the materials from 1900-1950.
Dates: 1575-2014 CE
A wide variety of primary sources focused on America's transformative age of industrialization, urbanization, expanding wealth, extreme inequality, and social change, with an emphasis on 1870-1920. Themes include art and literature, charity and philanthropy, protests and strikes, roles of women, and more.
Dates: 1800-1976 CE
Primary sources chronicling entertainment in the Victorian era, including music halls and theater, circuses and sideshows, spiritualism and magic, and the first moving pictures. Includes a 3D gallery of historical objects, video clips of optical toys, and music hall recordings.
Dates: 1718-1940 CE
International collection of digitized books, pamphlets, magazines, journals and newspapers from pertaining to social history, women's and gender studies, and women's rights.
Dates: 1543-1988 CE
A complete searchable archive of American Vogue, reproduced in high-resolution color page images.
Dates: 1892 CE-Present
Millions of full-text books and other publications from academic, research library, and other collections from around the world.
To access the largest number of volumes and features, please log in as a Wellesley user:
Select LOG IN??and then choose 'Wellesley College.' You may then be prompted to authenticate yourself via the Wellesley login screen.
Full-text historical news articles in major American and British newspapers, including the New York Times, Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, Washington Post and more.
Dates: 1791-2003 CE
Full text of more than 1,000 historical U.S. newspapers. Contains Early American Newspapers, 1690-1922, and African American Newspapers, 1827-1998.
Dates: 1690-1998 CE
Full-text of 282 Black American newspapers.
Dates: 1827-1998 CE
Full text news, editorials, letters to the editor, obituaries, historical photos, reviews, and advertisements from a premier British newspaper.
Dates: 1785-2014 CE
The Gilded Age and Progressive Era: A Documentary Reader (e-book)