Good for: Exploring African literature and culture through books originally published in the Heinemann African Writers Series.
Contains: Novels, plays, poetry, folk materials, and non-fictional accounts.
Dates covered: 1962-2003.
Good for: Studying plays by Asian-American playwrights.
Contains: Plays, biographical information, and production details.
Good for: Studying plays by Black playwrights from North America, English-speaking Africa, the Caribbean, and other African diaspora countries.
Contains: Playscripts.
Good for: Evidence of changing views about gender, themed around conduct, domesticity, consumption and leisure, education, and the body.
Contains: Primary sources like correspondence, advice literature, periodicals, ephemera and government documents.
Dates covered: 1500s-1920.
Good for: Reading play scripts and scholarly books analyzing drama.
Contains: Scripts for over 1000 plays, from Aeschylus to the present day, including modern classics from Tom Stoppard, David Mamet, Caryl Churchill and many more.
Good for: Studying American social, cultural, and popular history in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Contains: Primary sources like periodicals, pamphlets and books.
Dates covered: 1800-1920.
Good for: Exploring firsthand travel accounts of British tourists in Europe before 1850.
Contains: Travel accounts.
Dates covered: 1550-1850.
Good for: Reading memoirs, letters, and essays by Latin American women.
Contains: Written works by Latin American women.
Dates covered: 1600-present.
Good for: Reading novels, short stories, poems, and plays written by Americans of Spanish or Latin American heritage.
Contains: Literary works.
Dates covered: 1872-present.
Good for: Studying the history of tourism.
Contains: Archival material from Thomas Cook travel agency.
Dates covered: 1850-1980.
Good for: Examining the writing process of Victorian authors.
Contains: Victorian literary manuscripts, including unpublished poems, working notebooks, holograph manuscripts and drawings, and early print editions.
Good for: Examining 17th- and 18th-century poetry in handwritten drafts and commonplace books.
Contains: Manuscripts and scrapbooks.
Dates covered: 1660-1830.
Good for: Documents revealing the history of the book trade and printing/publishing community.
Contains: Primary sources from the Stationers Company in London.
Dates covered: 1554-2007.
Good for: Studying 19th-century London street culture.
Contains: Primary sources like ballads, slang dictionaries, brothel guides, and posters.
Dates covered: 1800-1910.
Good for: Reading or searching in European literature from the Romantic and Victorian period.
Contains: Novels, prose fiction, and other literary texts.
Dates covered: 1790-1840.
Good for: Theatre history research.
Contains: Reference texts, posters, playbills, photos, architectural images, floor plans, and ephemera.
Good for: Finding plays written by women in the United States and Canada.
Contains: Plays.
Dates covered: 1770-present.
Good for: Studying literary manuscripts, art, letters, and diaries from Romantic writers.
Contains: The manuscript collections of the Wordsworth Trust.
Good for: Studying Shakespeare's plays in performance using evidence from prompt books.
Contains: Prompt books, primary sources like correspondence, photos, and playbills.
Good for: Exploring travel writing and its history.
Contains: Manuscripts, diaries, correspondence, drawings, guidebooks, and photographs.
Dates covered: 1818-1974.
The full text of letters and diary entries, often from works that have been previously published as books containing collections of letters or diaries. Use the Browse indexes to find works about specific historical or life events.
Good for: Understanding the Civil War through personal accounts.
Contains: Previously published memoirs, letters, and diaries.
Dates covered: 1860-1865.
Good for: Researching the lives of women in Great Britain and Ireland.
Contains: Women's letters and diaries.
Dates covered: 1500-1900.
Good for: Exploring women’s letters and diaries to learn about historical events and details of daily life in the past.
Contains: Handwritten letters and diaries with a detailed index
Dates covered: 1770s-1970s
Good for: Exploring personal narratives of immigrants to the U.S. or Canada.
Contains: Letters, diaries, pamphlets, autobiographies, and oral histories.
Dates covered: 1840-present.
Good for: Exploring the lives and experiences of North American women.
Contains: Diaries, journals, and letters.
Dates covered: 1770-1950.
Use the date range limit to narrow your search to a relevant time period.
Good for: Finding articles from American newspapers of the 19th century.
Contains: Newspapers.
Dates covered: 1800-1900.
Good for: Searching 19th-century African American newspapers.
Contains: African-American newspapers.
Dates covered: 1827-1902.
Good for: Accounts of life, culture and historical events reported in newspapers from every U.S. state.
Contains: Historical newspapers.
Dates covered: 1690-1923.
Good for: Finding national periodicals, local community news and student publications from an Indigenous perspective.
Contains: Newspaper pages.
Dates covered: 1828-2016.
Good for: Searching newspaper articles by and for the African American communities in Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, New York, Norfolk VA., Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh.
Contains: Newspaper articles.
Dates covered: 1893-2010.
Good for: Finding newspaper reports about life, culture and historical events published in England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Wales, and Scotland.
Contains: National and regional newspapers representing multiple political and cultural views.
Dates covered: 1732-1950.
Good for: Finding newspaper articles about African American life and culture in Chicago.
Contains: Newspaper articles.
Dates covered: 1909-2010.
Good for: Finding newspaper articles about news and events in Chicago and the world.
Contains: Newspaper articles.
Dates covered: 1849-2015.
Good for: Researching historical events through American newspapers, including Nevada newspapers.
Contains: Historical newspapers.
Dates covered: 1789-1963.
Good for: Reading newspaper reports of major events of the U.S. Civil War.
Contains: Clippings from Union and Confederate sources.
Dates covered: 1860-1865.
Good for: News and commentary by and for Hispanic American communities in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Texas and New York.
Contains: Newspapers.
Dates covered: 1808-1980.
Good for: Finding newspaper articles about news and events in California, particularly the entertainment industry.
Contains: Newspaper articles.
Dates covered: 1881-2016.
Good for: Finding newspaper articles about national and international news and events.
Contains: Newspaper pages.
Dates covered: 1851-2021.
Good for: Finding newspaper articles about historical events before 1922.
Contains: Newspaper pages.
Dates covered: 1841-1922.
Good for: Finding articles from The Times (London).
Contains: The Times newspaper.
Dates covered: 1785-2019.
Good for: Finding newspaper articles about news and events in Washington, D.C. and beyond.
Contents: Newspaper pages.
Dates covered: 1877-2007.
search tips
Search for articles published in popular magazines and journals from different times in history.
Good for: Gaining insights into British home life and leisure reading in the Victorian age.
Contains: Magazines.
Dates covered: 1800-1900.
Good for: Evidence of the activities and interests of British imperial colonizers, settlers, missionaries, and travelers.
Contains: Magazines.
Dates covered: 1800-1900.
Good for: Searching periodicals published by African American churches, educational and service institutions.
Contains: Newspapers and magazines.
Dates covered: 1816-1922.
Good for: Searching articles published in popular 19th century magazines, newspapers, and journals in the United States.
Contains: Periodicals.
Dates covered: 1684-1912.
Good for: Searching American magazines and journals published mostly before 1900.
Contains: Magazines and journals.
Dates covered: 1740-1940.
Good for: Studying Hispanic culture in the United States.
Contains: Publications in Spanish and English.
Dates covered: 1750-present.
Good for: Searching articles in magazines about British culture and society.
Contains: Popular British periodicals, mostly from the 19th century.
Dates covered: 1681-1920.
Good for: Reading articles with perspective on historical events and trends from The Economist magazine.
Contains: Issues of The Economist.
Dates covered: 1843-2015.
Good for: Finding out about 18th-century British and Irish culture through magazines and newspapers.
Contains: Literary, satirical, political, religious and theatrical publications from England, Ireland, Scotland, India and the Caribbean.
Dates covered: 1685-1835.
Good for: Studying the music, film, broadcasting, and theater industries.
Contains: Trade publications including Variety, Billboard, and The Hollywood Reporter.
Dates covered: 1880-2015.
Good for: Reading firsthand accounts of 19th-century American society, history and culture.
Contains: PDF images and scanned text of articles from the popular magazine.
Dates covered: 1830-1898.
Good for: Studying changes in American fashion, culture, and society.
Contains: Harper's Bazaar magazine.
Dates covered: 1867-present.
Good for: Reading essays, letters, poems, and articles from the London Times Literary Supplement.
Contains: Essays, letters, poems, and articles.
Dates covered: 1902-2013.
Good for: Researching fashion and culture.
Contains: Images and text from Vogue Magazine.
Dates covered: 1892-present.
Good for: Searching North American women's magazines and their historical context.
Contains: Women's magazines including Better Homes and Gardens, Chatelaine, Good Housekeeping, Ladies' Home Journal, Parents Magazine, Seventeen, Cosmopolitan and Essence.
Dates covered: 1887-2005.
Collections of several types of primary sources curated around a topic or theme.
Good for: Evidence about the lives of African Americans in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Contains: Government records of individuals including military service records, court documents, and emancipation and manumission papers.
Dates covered: 1792-1941.
Good for: Studying African American communities in Atlanta, Chicago, New York, and North Carolina.
Contains: Primary sources.
Dates covered: 1860s-1980s.
Good for: First hand accounts of European exploration, trade and colonization worldwide using primary sources.
Contains: Manuscripts, maps, illustrated documents, diaries, and ship logs.
Dates covered: 1420-1920.
Good for: Searching multiple American history primary source collections.
Contains: Archival collections from Adam Matthew Publishers.
Dates covered: 1493-1975.
Good for: Searching historical product catalogs and exploring advertising and marketing campaigns.
Contains: Archival records of ad agencies, marketing campaigns and catalogs.
Dates covered: 1850-1990s.
Good for: Exploring primary sources related to American history from the earliest settlers to the mid-twentieth century.
Contains: Archival collections of correspondence, diaries, government documents, business records, books, pamphlets, newspapers, broadsides, photographs, artwork, and maps.
Dates covered: 1493-1945.
Good for: Examining primary sources collected to document the history of the American West.
Contains: Pamphlets, maps, books, ephemeral material, and rare printed sources.
Dates covered: 1830-1939.
Good for: Scholarly articles, reference and historical sources for Black Studies.
Contains: Journal articles, historical newspapers, and essays.
Good for: Exploring the socio-cultural history of the United States in the 19th century through children's literature.
Contains: Rare books, games, ephemera, and artwork.
Dates covered: 1790s-1930s.
Good for: Studying China's relations with the West in the 19th and early 20th century.
Contains: Academic and literary journals and missionary periodicals in English about China.
Dates covered: 1817-1949.
Good for: Exploring Chinese life and culture over the past 300 years.
Contains: Primary source documents like printed books, pamphlets, paintings, manuscripts, diaries, newspapers, and periodicals.
Dates covered: 1750-1980.
Good for: Understanding the perspective of Anglican missionary administrators and workers on cultural encounters around the world.
Contains: Newspapers, journals, and reports.
Dates covered: 1804-2009.
Good for: Evidence of changing views about gender, themed around conduct, domesticity, consumption and leisure, education, and the body.
Contains: Primary sources like correspondence, advice literature, periodicals, ephemera and government documents.
Dates covered: 1500s-1920.
Good for: Examining scripts of plays submitted for license in England before 1824.
Contains: Archive of plays, diaries, playbills, theatre records, and correspondence.
Dates covered: 1737-1824.
Good for: Exploring colonial history, politics, culture and society from British and European perspectives.
Contains: Primary sources from archival collections.
Dates covered: 1492-1969.
Good for: Studying American social, cultural, and popular history in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Contains: Primary sources like periodicals, pamphlets and books.
Dates covered: 1800-1920.
Good for: Studying European colonization in North America, Africa, and Australasia.
Contains: Primary sources like expedition records, letters, diaries, and government records.
Dates covered: 1650-1920.
Good for: History of 19th century New York City.
Contains: Community histories, atlases, and other primary sources.
Dates covered: 1801-1900.
Good for: Studying the changing representations and lived experiences of gender roles and relations, like women's suffrage, the feminist movement, the men’s movement, employment, education, family and the body.
Contains: Primary sources like personal papers, diaries, and organizational records.
Dates covered: 1800-present.
Good for: Examining primary sources that tell the story of global trade in chocolate, coffee, cotton, fur, opium, oil, porcelain, silver and gold, spices, sugar, tea, timber, tobacco, wheat, and wine and spirits.
Contains: Archival collections.
Dates covered: 1500-present.
Good for: Exploring firsthand travel accounts of British tourists in Europe before 1850.
Contains: Travel accounts.
Dates covered: 1550-1850.
Good for: Finding primary source records of Native American and indigenous groups in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
Contains: Manuscripts, artwork, and rare printed books.
Dates covered: 1400-1950s.
Good for: Studying 20th-century American advertising through the archives of a prominent ad agency.
Contains: Primary sources like brand case studies and account files.
Dates covered: 1880s-1990s.
Good for: Exploring American Jewish history through organizational records and archival collections.
Contains: Archival collections from the American Jewish Historical Society in New York.
Dates covered: 1654-1954.
Good for: Studying the works of Hispanic-American writers and activists.
Contains: Primary sources.
Dates covered: 1800-1960.
Good for: Studying the history of tourism.
Contains: Archival material from Thomas Cook travel agency.
Dates covered: 1850-1980.
Good for: Documents revealing the history of the book trade and printing/publishing community.
Contains: Primary sources from the Stationers Company in London.
Dates covered: 1554-2007.
Good for: Studying 19th-century London street culture.
Contains: Primary sources like ballads, slang dictionaries, brothel guides, and posters.
Dates covered: 1800-1910.
Good for: Studying historical medical advances during warfare.
Contains: Primary sources.
Dates covered: 1850s-1930s.
Good for: Studying Japan and its relations with the West.
Contains: Publications, papers, journals, and diaries of Edward Sylvester Morse.
Dates covered: 1850s-1930s.
Good for: Studying migration from Great Britain, Ireland, mainland Europe, and Asia to the New World and Australasia.
Contains: Personal accounts, correspondence, maps, plans, and photos.
Dates covered: 1800-1924.
Good for: Evidence of the relationship between the U.S. government and Native American individuals and communities.
Contains: Treaties, correspondence, photos, census rolls, Dawes packets, and enrollment cards.
Dates covered: 1792-1940.
Good for: Finding primary sources about the development of urban centers and of the restructuring of society that took place during the Industrial Revolution in Great Britain.
Contains: Government and archival collections.
Dates covered: 1750-1916.
Good for: Finding primary source documentation related to the European “Scramble for Africa,” colonial conquest and the legacy of slavery, missionaries, explorers, economics, world politics, and international strategy.
Contains: Books, manuscripts, government records and newspaper accounts.
Dates covered: 1800-1906.
Good for: Studying the history of the John Murray publishing company and the publication history of authors like Byron, Austen, Darwin, and Bird.
Contains: Letters, literary works, and financial records.
Dates covered: 1768-1900s.
Good for: Theatre history research examining firsthand evidence of 19th century stage productions
Contains: Prompt books, playbills, photos, and theatre company records, plus biographical and thematic essays
Dates covered: Late 1600s-1960s
Good for: Exploring the industry around 19th-century American commercial health products.
Contains: Advertising pamphlets, trade cards, posters, and promotional work.
Dates covered: 1800-1900.
Good for: Exploring changing attitudes towards human sexuality, gender identities, and sexual behaviors.
Contains: Archival research collections.
Dates covered: 1800s-2010s.
Good for: Researching the trade in enslaved people in America, the Caribbean, Brazil, and Cuba using material examining European, Islamic, and African involvement in the slave trade.
Contains: Case studies and primary source documents.
Dates covered: 1490-2007.
Good for: Studying consumer advertising, marketing, and life in America.
Contains: Catalogs, price lists, and brochures.
Dates covered: 1850-1950.
Good for: Exploring travel writing and its history.
Contains: Manuscripts, diaries, correspondence, drawings, guidebooks, and photographs.
Dates covered: 1818-1974.
Good for: Finding primary sources related to popular entertainment in America, Britain, and Europe.
Contains: Books, posters, scrapbooks, and optical toys.
Dates covered: 1779-1930.
Good for: Gaining an in-depth look at the women's suffrage movement in the US.
Contains: Newspaper collections.
Dates covered: 1849-1913.
Good for: Documents recording the experiences of colonized women.
Contains: Primary sources.
Dates covered: 1820-present.
Good for: Studying women's reform activities.
Contains: Books, images, historical documents, scholarly essays, commentaries, and bibliographies.
Dates covered: 1600-2000.
Good for: Primary sources collected from world's fairs, exhibitions, and expos.
Contains: Official records, monographs, publicity, artwork, and artifacts.
Dates covered: 1851-2000s.
Digitized collections of books published during different time periods.
Good for: Accessing historical books, pamphlets, and broadsides published in North America.
Contains: PDFs of monographs, pamphlets, broadsides, government documents, and ephemera.
Dates covered: 1639-1923.
Good for: Exploring printed menus, advertisements, cards, playbills, poems, and other ephemeral items from the past.
Contains: Printed ephemera.
Dates covered: 1749-1900.
Good for: Exploring 19th-century controversies through published advice and opinions.
Contains: Pamphlets.
Dates covered: 1820-1922.
Good for: Searching or reading early American publications.
Contains: Books, pamphlets, and broadsides.
Dates covered: 1801-1819.
Good for: Reading primary sources that document the evolution of feminist consciousness and the women's rights movement.
Contains: Books and periodicals.
Dates covered: 1543-1945.
Good for: Access to nearly any public domain (pre-1929) book owned and scanned by a library.
Contains: Digitized books.
Good for: Finding primary source materials on exploration, trade, colonialism, slavery and abolition, the western movement, Native Americans, military actions, and more.
Contains: Historical books, pamphlets, serials and other documents about North America, South America, Central America and the Caribbean.
Dates covered: 1500-1926.
Digitized photos and art images.
Good for: Texts on the invention and early history of photography, collections of photographs, photograph albums, and early books illustrated with photos.
Contains: Books, photographs.
Dates covered: 1800s-early 1900s.
Good for: Finding and using digital images for research and teaching.
Contains: Art digital images and related data.
Good for: Finding images held by the Library of Congress.
Contains: Images.
These links allow you to search across multiple databases at the same time.
Good for: Searching across all primary source collections from Adam Matthew Publishers.
Contains: Archival collections.
Good for: Searching all ProQuest U.S. historical newspaper collections simultaneously.
Contains: Newspapers.
Dates covered: 1841-2014.
Good for: Searching historical periodicals.
Contains: Magazine and journal articles.
Dates covered: 1740-1940 with some more recent.
Good for: Searching across historical newspapers and books for primary sources about American life and culture.
Contains: American historical newspapers, printed books, pamphlets, and ephemera.
Dates covered: 1639-1922.
