Research Guides: HIS 562: British Histories/Global Histories, c. 1750-1950: Finding primary sources

The source-driven research paper

Often, the best work arises from close engagement with a primary source. As you read, you'll think of questions or begin to shape an argument. The hard part is to find a primary source that addresses the broad general area of interest. Here are some strategies for finding primary sources:

Check the footnotes, endnotes and bibliography of a good academic book on your topic.
Use the word sources or correspondence as a keyword when searching the Main Catalog.
Consult the subject guides at http://libguides.princeton.edu
Search the finding aids for collections in Special Collections and Mudd Manuscript Library.
Consult ArchiveGrid, ArchiveFinder, and SNAC

Primary Sources in the Library

PRINTED VOLUMES

Many primary source collections have been edited, printed and are housed in the library. Use the catalog to search by your topic and add the words "sources" or "correspondence."

MANUSCRIPTS AND SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

Princeton University libraries house many collections of primary sources, both in Firestone Library and at Mudd Manuscript Library. Search the collections here.

Digitzed primary sources: Britain

Archives Direct This link opens in a new window
Document collections from the UK National Archives.
Documents on British Policy Overseas This link opens in a new window
Digital edition of material from Britain's Foreign and Commonwealth Office, documenting British foreign policy from the mid-19th century to the 1970's. Based on the printed editions.
U.K. Parliamentary Papers This link opens in a new window
Includes the House of Commons Parliamentary Papers from 1715 to the present (with supplementary material back to 1688) and the House of Lords Papers from 1715-1910. Includes searchable full text and subject indexing. The Parliamentary Papers are an essential primary source for Britain, its colonies, and the wider world. They are the working documents of government for all areas of social, political, economic, and foreign policy. 1688+

National Archives of the United Kingdom -- many papers are digitized and available for free download

We invite you to browse through the databases related to modern European history -- there is likely one that has digitized collections related to your topic.

British Online Archives This link opens in a new window
Provides online access to several collections on the history of the Atlantic world, from British archives.

British newspapers

British Library Newspapers This link opens in a new window
Consists of major collections from the British Library which span over 300 years of newspaper publishing in the U.K.—17th and 18th Century Burney Collection Newspapers and 19th Century Newspapers provides a representative selection of papers from 17th-19th century Britain and includes national, regional and local newspapers from England, Scotland, Ireland & Wales. (1732-1950)
Times (London) Digital Archive 1785 - 2019 This link opens in a new window
Full text searchable digital edition of the London Times. Also, see the Sunday Times Digital Archive (1822-2016).

English
Current issues in Periodicals Reading Room
Times London(Lexis-Nexis Academic) (July 1, 1985+) see Newspapers at Princeton
Palmer's Full Text Online & Index to the Times (1790-1905)
Official Index to The Times (1906-1980)
RECAP MICROFILM S00827 (1788-2009)
Note: back issues of the Times of London are available through two different services. The first includes full text, and the second combines full text with an online version of the print index (Palmer's). Note that some readers prefer to consult the paper version of the index, which is shelved in Firestone Microforms Services (FilmB): AI21.T5.

UKPressOnline This link opens in a new window
Archive of important British newspapers published from 1835 to current, including digitized full runs of the Daily Express, Daily Mirror, and Church Times, plus historical runs of titles from the 19th and 20th centuries, including wartime publications issued 1933-45 and the Daily Worker (1930-45). Includes “war, peace, politics, religion, and all the daily details of life,” including popular culture.
Daily Mail Historical Archive This link opens in a new window
For the period after the coverage in the Gale Historical Archive, use Nexis Uni. 1896-2016
Guardian and Observer (ProQuest Historical Newspapers) This link opens in a new window
Use Nexis Uni for the Guardian and the Observer for the period after ProQuest Historical Newspapers. 1791-2003

English
Guardian (Lexis-Nexis Academic) (1984+) see Newspapers at Princeton
Observer (Lexis-Nexis Academic) (1992+) see Newspapers at Princeton
RECAP MICROFILM S00618 (1944-2011)

Illustrated London News Archive This link opens in a new window
Full text searchable digital edition of the Illustrated London News.

Scotsman (Factiva) (1981+) see Newspapers at Princeton
Scotsman (Lexis-Nexis Academic) (1993+) see Newspapers at Princeton

Newspapers from the Empire

Irish Times (ProQuest Historical Newspapers) This link opens in a new window
1859-2022
For coverage after the ProQuest Historical Newspapers use Nexis Uni.
Times of India (ProQuest Historical Newspapers) This link opens in a new window
1838-2011. For the most recent years, use Newsbank.
South China Morning Post (ProQuest Historical Newspapers) This link opens in a new window
1903-2001. For 1993+ see the Catalog.
Toronto Star (ProQuest Historical Newspapers) This link opens in a new window
1894-2021
NewspaperARCHIVE.com This link opens in a new window
Includes titles from Canada, Ireland, Jamaica, South Africa.

Periodicals (Britain and U.S.)

News, Policy and Politics Magazine Archive

Consists of the backfile of 15 major magazines (including the Newsweek archive), spanning areas including current events, international relations, and public policy. Covers history, political science, law and economics. 1918-2015

Periodicals Index Online
Periodicals Index Online is an index to a very substantial collection of periodicals in the humanities and social sciences. Either through PIO, or separately, the reader can also access two full-text collections, British Periodicals and Periodicals Archive Online, which provide searchable full-text and page images of hundreds of periodicals of the 19th and early 20th centuries.

INDEXES

Readers' Guide (1890+; Select Full Text 1992+)
Indexing and abstracting of the most popular general-interest periodicals published in the United States and Canada, plus the full text of selected periodicals from the late 20th century.

PAIS: Public Affairs Information Service (1915+) Citations to articles, books, reports, and select government documents on U.S. and international public policy issue. Generally considered to be a comprehensive index to policy literature.

British Periodicals This link opens in a new window
Searchable full-text and page images of several hundred British periodicals, primarily from the 19th century. 1681-2005
19th Century British Pamphlets This link opens in a new window
Collection of British pamphlets from the 19th century held in UK research libraries.

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