Primary materials need to be carefully read and interpreted. Some questions to ask include:
A primary source is:
Primary sources are the evidence left behind by participants or observers of a given event or during a particular period of time. Historians use primary sources to support their interpretation of the past.
Examples of primary sources include
The availability and kinds of primary sources vary with time period and topic. For example in times of low literacy, there will be fewer documents and those that exist will come from a certain class of people (those that are literate) or from a governing source. Primary sources for earlier periods of time will be more scarce than for recent times. Though many primary sources have been transcribed and published, primary sources are usually in the original language (though some have been translated into English) so most material from the Russian Revolution is in Russian rather than English.
For links to primary sources available in the UNLV Libraries (these include collections online, in print and on microfilm) as well as to primary source collections freely available on the web see:
Photographs, drawings and other images provide information you can't always get from a text source. Images can provide details of everyday life such as clothing or material culture.
It is important to keep in mind that photographs are not an unbiased reflection of reality -- the photographer chooses what and how to depict a certain scene.
Help: Making Sense of Documentary Photographs, Analyzing Photographs, Analyzing Political Cartoons, Analyzing Material Culture, Making Sense of Films, and Making Sense of Advertisements
Keep in mind that non-UNLV students must be in the UNLV Libraries to use any of the links that include a lock icon.
American Memory from the Library of Congress provides a wide range of primary source materials in all the categories above.
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.
Digitized diaries and oral histories of lesser-known women of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales providing narratives that reveal personal perspectives on race, gender, class, disability, sexuality, aging, and more.
Use the date range limit to narrow your search to a relevant time period.
1690-1923
Historical newspapers from every state in the U.S.
1732-1950
National and regional British newspapers representing different political and cultural views.
1789-1924
Historical newspapers from the Library of Congress, including Nevada newspapers.
1931-2010
Black newspaper from Georgia that was the first in the US to publish a daily edition.
1893-2010
Black newspaper from Maryland that was the first to have correspondents reporting on World War II, foreign correspondents, and female sports correspondents.
1909-2010
African American newspaper from Chicago, Illinois.
1849-2014
Major daily newspaper from Chicago.
1934-2010
Black newspaper from Ohio that played a prominent role in encouraging political participation, Black solidarity and self-reliance.
1934-2010
Black newspaper from California; the oldest and largest black newspaper in the West.
1881-2015
Historical California newspaper.
1939-2010
Black newspaper from Detroit that documents African American culture, history, politics, and the arts.
1922-2010
Black newspaper from New York that was the largest black community weekly in the United States. Contributors to the newspaper have included W. E. B. Du Bois, Roy Wilkins and Malcolm X.
1851-2020
Historical New York newspaper.
1916-2010
Black newspaper from Virginia known for in depth research.
1912-2010
Black newspaper from Pennsylvania that is the oldest continuously published Black newspaper in the US.
1911-2010
Black newspaper from Pennsylvania that had a circulation of over 250,000 subscribers.
1877-2007
Daily newspaper from Washington, DC.
1800-1900
American newspapers including the New York Herald, Lynchburg Virginian, The Hawaiian Gazette, Rocky Mountain News, Southern Illustrated News (VA), Daily Inter Ocean (Chicago), the Milwaukee Sentinel, and many more.
1603-1800
Newspapers, pamphlets, proclamations, and newsbooks from the British Library.
1672-1737
British newspapers, periodicals, pamphlets and broadsheets from the Bodleian Library.
1785-2019
The Times (London) newspaper.
free online collections (find more on Historic Newspapers page)
lists and search tips
Search for articles published in popular magazines and journals from different times in history.
1681-1920
Popular British periodicals mostly from the 19th century.
1843-2015
Issues of The Economist, a news magazine with a global scope published in London.
1903-1995. Film industry and fan publications.
1800-1900
Magazines revealing British life in the Victorian age and the events, lifestyles, values, and ideas that shaped their world.
1800-1900
Magazines by and for British imperial colonizers, settlers, missionaries, and travelers.
1902-2013
London Times Literary Supplement publishes essays, letters, poems and articles.
Collections of several types of primary sources curated around a topic or theme.
1850-1990s
Search three archival collections representing 20th century advertising and marketing from Adam Matthew Publishers.
1493-1945
Primary sources from the Gilder Lehrman collection about American history from the earliest settlers to the mid-twentieth century.
1400-1950s
Primary sources for American Indian history in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Manuscripts, artwork and rare printed books from pre-contact through the mid-20th century.
1830-1939
Pamphlets, maps, books, ephemeral material and rare printed sources related to the history of the American West.
1948-1980
British government files from the Foreign, Colonial, Dominion and Foreign and Commonwealth Offices documenting the history of South Africa's apartheid regime.
1940-present
Primary sources from more than 35 countries related to LGBTQ activism and the HIV/AIDS crisis.
281 collections of historical primary source documents, including government records and archival collections.
1901-2000
Records from the Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon administrations detailing the interaction between civil rights leaders and the federal government; includes FBI files on Martin Luther King Jr; records of the NAACP.
1817-1949
Academic and literary journals, journals of sinology, and missionary periodicals in English about China.
1858-1949
Primary source collection for the study of China and its relations with the West in the late Qing and Republican periods.
1606-1822
British government documents from the CO 5 series about administering the American colonies.
1834-1966
Primary source documents about African colonies generated by the Foreign and Colonial Offices of the British government between 1834 and 1966.
1833-1969
Government and agency records from the British National Archives concerning Central and South America and the French- and Spanish-speaking Caribbean.
1839-1969
Government and agency records from the British National Archives concerning the Levant and the Arabian peninsula, Iran, Turkey, Egypt and Sudan.
1824-1961
Government and agency records from the British National Archives concerning the United States, Canada and the English-speaking Caribbean, with some coverage of Central and South America.
1800-1920
Primary source material for the study of American social, cultural, and popular history in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
1919-1980
British Foreign Office files dealing with China, Hong Kong and Taiwan between 1919 and 1980.
1947-1980
Archival collection from the British Foreign Office focused on the political and social history of India, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
1919-1952
Archival collection from the British Foreign Office focused on Japan: sections on Japanese Imperialism and the War in the Pacific, 1931-1945; Occupation of Japan, 1946-1952; and Japan and Great Power Status, 1919-1930.
1971-1981
Archival collection from the British Foreign Office focused on the Middle East in the 1970s.
1880s-1990s
The J. Walter Thompson Company advertising agency archives include brand case studies and account files about campaigns for Kellogg’s, Kodak, Kraft, Oscar Mayer, Pan Am, the US Marine Corps, and more.
Primary research collection which explores the lives of seafarers in the Anglo-American maritime world during the period 1600-1900.
1957-1963
Archival collection from the British National Archives focused on Harold Macmillan’s government and selected policy committees.
1935-1965
Market research reports and supporting documents regarding the American consumer boom of the mid-20th century from the archives of Ernest Dichter and the Institute for Motivational Research.
1913-1965
Selected sets of documents from the archives of the NAACP.
1969-1974
Archival collection from the British Foreign Office focused on the Nixon presidency and impeachment (FCO 7 and FCO 82).
1900-2000. Campaign materials, periodicals, propaganda, government records, oral histories, and ephemera from fringe political movements on the right and the left.
1950-1975
Primary sources documenting music and popular culture in the US and Britain, 1950-1975, including manuscripts, video, photos, underground magazines and more.
1945-1950
Records from the National Archives of the UK reveal challenges facing Displaced Persons, refugees and humanitarian aid organizations in the aftermath of World War II.
1490-2007
Case studies documenting slavery in America, the Caribbean, Brazil and Cuba, along with material examining European, Islamic and African involvement in the slave trade.
1850-1950
Primary sources like catalogs, price lists, and brochures reflecting the history of consumer advertising and marketing and life and leisure in America. Includes department store catalogs, cosmetic advertisements, real estate brochures and much more.
1500-1930
Manuscripts, pamphlets and books about witch hunts, including anti-persecution writings, works by penologists, legal and church documents, exposés of persecutions, and philosophical writings and transcripts of trials and exorcisms.
1903-1962
Original documents from the National Archives on the suffrage question in Britain, the Empire and colonial territories.
Digitized collections of books published during different time periods.
1749-1900
Printed menus, advertisements, cards, playbills, poems and other printed items never intended to last.
1820-1922
Pamphlets with advice and opinions about all kinds of 19th century controversies.
1639-1800
Complete books, pamphlets and broadsides published in North America before 1800.
1801-1819
Complete books, pamphlets and broadsides published in North America between 1801 and 1819.
1701-1800
Books on all subjects published in English between 1701 and 1800.
1600-1926
Cross-search five Making of Modern Law databases: Making of Modern Law: Foreign, Comparative and International Law 1600-1926, Making of Modern Law: Foreign Primary Sources, Making of Modern Law: Primary Sources 1620-1926, Making of Modern Law: Treatises, 1800-1926, and Making of Modern Law: Trials 1600-1926.
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
Official government publications, including laws, treaties, and records of legislative proceedings.
United States
1789-present
Contains searchable full text of all U.S. bills and resolutions from 1789 to the present.
1751-present
Government reports, laws, legislative histories, ebooks and selected scholarly articles related to branches of the United States armed forces.
Great Britain
1834-1966
Primary source documents about African colonies generated by the Foreign and Colonial Offices of the British government between 1834 and 1966.
1833-1969
Government and agency records from the British National Archives concerning Central and South America and the French- and Spanish-speaking Caribbean.
1839-1969
Government and agency records from the British National Archives concerning the Levant and the Arabian peninsula, Iran, Turkey, Egypt and Sudan.
1824-1961
Government and agency records from the British National Archives concerning the United States, Canada and the English-speaking Caribbean, with some coverage of Central and South America.
1919-1980
British Foreign Office files dealing with China, Hong Kong and Taiwan between 1919 and 1980.
1947-1980
Archival collection from the British Foreign Office focused on the political and social history of India, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
1919-1952
Archival collection from the British Foreign Office focused on Japan: sections on Japanese Imperialism and the War in the Pacific, 1931-1945; Occupation of Japan, 1946-1952; and Japan and Great Power Status, 1919-1930.
1971-1981
Archival collection from the British Foreign Office focused on the Middle East in the 1970s.
1600-1926
Cross-search five Making of Modern Law databases: Making of Modern Law: Foreign, Comparative and International Law 1600-1926, Making of Modern Law: Foreign Primary Sources, Making of Modern Law: Primary Sources 1620-1926, Making of Modern Law: Treatises, 1800-1926, and Making of Modern Law: Trials 1600-1926.
1945-1950
Records from the National Archives of the UK reveal challenges facing Displaced Persons, refugees and humanitarian aid organizations in the aftermath of World War II.
Digitized photos, films and art images.
These links allow you to search across multiple databases at the same time.
281 collections of historical primary source documents, including government records and archival collections.
Freely available online collections
Microfilmed research collections