Research Guides: British History: Primary Sources

Library Collections

Early English Books Online (EEBO) This link opens in a new window
Early printed books, English literature, fine arts, history, religion, etc. (includes listings in STCI, STCII and Thomason Tracts). Publication dates: 1473-1700
Provides partially searchable digital images of books printed in England, Scotland, and Ireland, as well as works in English printed elsewhere. Based on the Pollard and Redgrave Short Title Catalogue (1475-1640), the Wing Short-Title Catalogue (1641-1700), the Thomason Tracts (1640-1661) collection and the Early English Books Tract Supplement.
Eighteenth Century Collections Online (ECCO) This link opens in a new window
Primary sources related to history, literature, religion, law, fine arts, science, etc. of the eighteenth century.
Nineteenth Century Collections Online (NCCO) This link opens in a new window
Primary sources, including books and monographs, newspapers and periodicals, diaries and personal letters, manuscripts, photographs, pamphlets, maps, and etc. Publication dates: 1780-1910
Includes Asia and the West: Diplomacy and Cultural Exchange, British Politics and Society, British Theatre, Music, and Literature: High and Popular Culture, Children's Literature and Childhood, Europe and Africa: Commerce, Christianity, Civilization, and Conquest, European Literature, 1790-1840: The Corvey Collection, Mapping the World: Maps and Travel Literature, Photography: The World through the Lens, Religion, Society, Spirituality, and Reform, Science, Technology, and Medicine: 1780-1925, and Women: Transnational Networks.
British and Irish Women's Letters and Diaries This link opens in a new window
Primary sources with biographies and further reading. Time period: 18th - 20th centuries.

Online Collections

EuroDocs: Online Sources for European History
Links connect to European primary historical documents that are transcribed, reproduced in facsimile, or translated. Includes video or sound files, maps, photographs or other imagery, databases, and other documentation.
Europeana
An online portal to digitized collections from across Europe. Includes curated collections based on location or event.
British History Online
British History Online is a digital library of key printed primary and secondary sources for the history of Britain and Ireland, with a primary focus on the period between 1300 and 1800.
Digital Bodleian
Digitized collections from the Bodleian Library at Oxford University.
Digital Collections of Trinity College Library Dublin
A collection of 119,238 treasures including
books, maps, paintings, manuscripts and photographs.
Online Gallery of the British Library
Digitized collections and online exhibits from the British Library.
British National Archives
Records from The National Archives and over 2,500 archives across the UK
19th Century British pamphlets
Pamphlets were a significant form of publication in the 19th Century and they can complement other publications such as books, newspapers and periodicals. They were often published by individuals, parties or pressure groups with strongly held views, so they can be particularly valuable in aiding our understanding of the debates of their age.

HathiTrust Digital Library This link opens in a new window
Books, journals, newspapers, and other print materials scanned by many of the largest research libraries in the US.
Collection is full text searchable. Materials in the public domain are available for reading online. Copyrighted materials are not available in full text, but often indicate page numbers where words occur. Includes many US government documents. hathi trust

News Sources

17th-18th Century Burney Collection Newspapers This link opens in a new window
Early English primary sources, including newspapers, pamphlets and books. seventeenth and eighteenth century burney
Times Digital Archive (London; 1785-2008) This link opens in a new window
Full-text, searchable digital copy of The Times of London. Includes every headline, article, editorial, announcement, image and advertisement.
Online Newspaper Directory for the World This link opens in a new window
Listing of 10,000 newspapers from around the world, searchable by country and then by publication. Includes access to many U.S. and Maine newspapers.
Periodicals Archive Online This link opens in a new window
Arts, humanities, social sciences journals with full text. Publication dates: 19th-20th century.

Crime and the Law

HeinOnline This link opens in a new window
Law reviews, U.S. and international law, treaties, Supreme Court documents, and other collections related to the law. hein online
Includes:
Law Journal Library (over 2300 law, political science, criminology, and other law related journals all back to inception)
Indigenous Peoples of the Americas: History, Culture & Law (American Indian Law Collection)
World Constitutions (the constitutions of every single county plus much more)
Legal Classics
U.S. Presidential Library
Religion & the Law
Women & the Law
Federal Register/CFR
U.S. Statutes at Large
U.S. Federal Legislative History Library
United States Code
U.S. Presidential Library
U.S. Attorney General and Department of Justice Collection
Treaties and Agreements
History of International Law
Foreign Relations of the United States
U.S. Supreme Court Library
Brennan Center for Justice Publications from NYU School of Law

The Proceedings of the Old Bailey, 1674-1913
A fully searchable edition of the largest body of texts detailing the lives of non-elite people ever published, containing 197,745 criminal trials held at London's central criminal court.
The Workhouse
A public site documenting details of Victorian workhouses.
Hansard Parliament 1803–2005
Digitized editions of Commons and Lords Hansard, the Official Report of debates in the UK Parliament.