Library Guides: Art History: Archival Collections and Primary Sources

Archival Collections and Primary Sources

19th Century U.S. Newspapers This link opens in a new window
Images of both full pages and clipped articles for hundreds of 19th century U.S. newspapers. (Nineteenth Century U.S. Newspapers)
For each issue, the newspaper is captured from cover-to-cover, providing access to every article, advertisement and illustration.
Archives of American Art This link opens in a new window
Collection of primary source documentation on American visual arts.
Collection of primary source documentation on American visual arts.
Archive of Americana This link opens in a new window
Contains unique primary source material relating to nearly every aspect of United States history from over three centuries. [1639 - 1899]
A family of primary source collections providing references to books, pamphlets, broadsides (Early American Imprints, Series I and Series II), newspapers (Early American Newspapers) and government publications (American State Papers and U.S. Congressional Serial Set).
Archives of Sexuality and Gender: LGBTQ History and Culture since 1940 This link opens in a new window
Includes newsletters, organizational papers, government documents, manuscripts, pamphlets, personal correspondence and more related to LGBTQ communities around the world. Topics include the gay rights, lesbian activism, the HIV/AIDS crisis, and more (Formerly titled Archives of Human Sexuality and Identity) [1940-present].

Archives of Women Artists -- National Museum of Women in the Arts
The Archives of Women Artists is dedicated to collecting and preserving the papers and primary records of women visual artists and organizations that promote women’s contributions to the arts. The archive includes personal papers, correspondence, gallery guides, sketches, photographs and slides, and other unique materials.

Art Theorists of the Italian Renaissance (ATIR) This link opens in a new window
A collection of treatises on art and architecture printed and published between 1470 and 1775.
A collection of treatises on art and architecture printed and published between 1470 and 1775. Structured around the two Italian editions of Giorgio Vasari's Lives of the Artists. First or early editions have been preferred and translations are from the publication period. There are two exceptions to this policy for English translations. A 1912-1914 translation of Vasari's Lives and a 1907 translation of the introductory section On Technique are included because no reliable contemporary translations exist. The entire text of each work is included and the complete database contains approximately 4,000 images.
Asia Art Archive This link opens in a new window
Freely available and growing collection of material on the recent history of art from Asia.
The collection comprises a range of documentation, including the personal archives of significant artists, educators, and art professionals as well as key exhibitions and art spaces.
British Online Archives This link opens in a new window
Includes multiple archival collections relating to the politics and history of Britain and its colonized territories.
These documents include East India Company records, the records of missionaries from the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, Parliamentary Labour Party papers, the Anti-fascist newsletters of the International Transport Workers' Federation, the records of the Communist Party of Great Britain, and The British Union of Fascists' newspapers and secret files. Collections can be browsed or searched individually or collectively.
Calisphere This link opens in a new window
Digitized images including photographs, documents, newspaper pages, political cartoons, works of art, diaries, transcribed oral histories, advertising, and other unique cultural artifacts that reveal the diverse history and culture of California and its role in national and world history.
Gateway to digitized images from the libraries and museums of the University of California campuses, cultural heritage organizations in California, and UC-created websites and collections.
Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) This link opens in a new window
Brings together the riches of America's libraries, archives, and museums, and makes them freely available to the world.
It strives to contain the full breadth of human expression, from the written word, to works of art and culture, to records of America's heritage, to the efforts and data of science. DPLA aims to expand this crucial realm of openly available materials, and make those riches more easily discovered and more widely usable and used.
East India Company Archives This link opens in a new window
This is a digital archive of the India Office Records on the East India Company from its inception until it dissolution. [1600-1947]
The East India Company Archive is a collection of India Office Records from the British Library, London. Consisting of royal charters, correspondence, trading diaries, minutes of council meetings and reports of expeditions, among other document types, this resource charts the history of British trade and rule in the Indian subcontinent and all other areas the Company was active in from 1600 to 1947.
Environmental Design Archives This link opens in a new window
Provides primary source material for scholarly research, teaching support and preservation on the work of nearly 100 of the San Francisco Bay Region's historically significant architects, landscape architects and firms.
Europeana This link opens in a new window
Digital objects from European institutions.
Provides open access to more than 15 million digital objects, including film material, photos, paintings, sounds, maps, manuscripts, books, newspapers and archival papers from more than 1500 European institutions. Europeana -- the European digital library, museum and archive -- launched in 2008 and is funded by the European Commission and its member states. This current prototype is one of many parallel projects of The European Library.
Gale Primary Sources This link opens in a new window
Allows users to search across all of the Gale digital archives acquired by UC Berkeley Libraries.
International Historical Newspapers This link opens in a new window
ABC Madrid (1903-2010), Chinese Newspaper Collection (1832 - 1953), The Globe and Mail‎ (1844 - 2019), The Guardian and The Observer‎ (1791 - 2003), Hindustan Times‎ (1924 - 2000), The Irish Times and The Weekly Irish Times‎ (1859 - 2016), The Jerusalem Post‎ (1932 - 2008), The Korea Times‎ (1956 - 2016), London Evening Standard‎ (1827 - current), Observer Magazine (1964-2003), The Scotsman‎ (1817 - 1950), South China Morning Post (1903 - 2001), The Times of India (1838 - 2011), Waterloo Region Record (1893-2010).
Nineteenth Century Collections Online (NCCO) This link opens in a new window
Primary source material from the nineteenth century and beyond. Particularly strong in British politics and society, European literature, Asia and the West, British popular culture, and photography. (19th Century Collections Online) [19th Century]
Primary source material from the nineteenth century and beyond. Particularly strong in British politics and society, European literature from 1790-1840 (via the Corvey collection), Asia and the West, and British popular culture. Includes more than 1 million images from the "Photography: The World Through the Lens" collection.
North American Women's Letters and Diaries This link opens in a new window
Includes published letters and diaries by more than 1000 women represented are all age groups and life stages, all ethnicities, many geographical regions. Also includes biographies and an extensive annotated bibliography. [Colonial times - 1950]
Include approximately 150,000 pages of published letters and diaries by more than 1000 women. Represented are all age groups and life stages, all ethnicities, many geographical regions. Also includes biographies and an extensive annotated bibliography.
Online Archive of California (OAC) This link opens in a new window
Access to detailed descriptions of primary resource collections maintained by libraries, special collections, archives, historical societies, and museums throughout California including the 10 UC campuses.
A searchable and browseable resource that brings together historical materials from a variety of California institutions, including museums, historical societies, and archives. Contains over 120,000 images; 50,000 pages of documents, letters, and oral histories; and 8,000 guides to collections. Images are organized into thematic and institutional collections, such as historical topics, nature, places, and technology.
ProQuest History Vault This link opens in a new window
Search across all Proquest History Vault collections here. ProQuest History Vault unlocks a wealth of key archival materials with a single search. Researchers can access digitized letters, papers, photographs, scrapbooks, financial records, diaries, and many more primary source materials taken from the University Publications of America (UPA) Collections.
ProQuest Major Daily Newspapers (Historic & Current) This link opens in a new window
Access to national and regional newspapers from across the U.S.
Includes New York Times (full text, Historical, 1881-1985, with Index, 1851-1993 + 1980-current). Los Angeles Times (full text, Historical, 1881-2010 + 1985-current). Wall Street Journal (full text, Historical, 1889-1995 + 1984-current). Chicago Tribune (full text, Historical 1849-2010 + 1895- current). The Washington Post (full text, Historical, 1877-2002, 1987-current). Also indexes the New York Times Magazine (indexed from 1986-current, full text from 1997), the New York Times Book Review (indexed from 1986-current, full text from 1997), and the WSJ: the Wall Street Journal Magazine (full text from 2011-present).

Smithsonian Libraries' Art and Artist Files
Spread over seven branches, the vertical files contain information on artists and art collectives, galleries, and museums from around the world, but primarily from North America and Africa. There are over 150,000 files that contain ephemera such as exhibition announcements, newspaper and magazine clippings, press releases, brochures, reviews, invitations to gallery shows, illustrations, résumés, artists' statements, small catalogs, and/or reproductions.

South Asia Archive This link opens in a new window
A digital platform for culturally and historically significant literary material produced from within - and about - the Indian subcontinent. [1700-1953]
The South Asia Archive provides digital access to rare and out of print materials ranging from the mid-18th to mid-20th century in a mix of English and vernacular languages. Search across multiple document types, including government acts, books, calendars, catalogs, censuses, directories, gazette, journals, film pamphlets, legal documents, magazines, manuals, maps, proceedings, reports, and statistics. The material included is interdisciplinary, covering art history, economics, law, science, education, literature, and more.

A Treasury of World's Fair Art & Architecture A Digital Archive 1851 – 1986
A Treasury of World's Fair Art & Architecture represents a sampling of artifacts from the rich and varied World's Fair Collection in Special Collections, Hornbake Library, University of Maryland (UMD).

Victorian Popular Culture This link opens in a new window
Archival sources from 19th and 20th century Britain and North America related to Spiritualism, Sensation & Magic, Circuses, Sideshows & Freaks, Music Hall, Theatre & Popular Entertainment, and Moving Pictures, Optical Entertainments & the Advent of Cinema.
The resource includes both print and visual primary source materials, including books, periodicals, advertisements, postcards, films, photographs, memorabilia, scripts, sheet music, and much more.

Archive Directories

Archive Finder (including ArchivesUSA and NIDS UK/Ireland) This link opens in a new window
Directory describing primary source material. (Archives USA)
Describes tens of thousands of collections of primary source material housed in thousands of repositories across the United States, the United Kingdom and Ireland.
ArchiveGrid This link opens in a new window
Descriptions of historical documents from institutions worldwide. (archive grid)
Searchable descriptions of nearly a million historical documents, personal papers, and family histories kept in libraries, museums, and archives worldwide. Includes information on how to examine and order copies.

Archives Directory for the History of Collecting in America -- Frick
Resource created by the Center for the History of Collecting at The Frick Collection and Frick Art Reference Library to help researchers locate primary source material about American art collectors, dealers, agents and advisors, and the repositories that hold these records.
The Women Artists Archives National Directory (WAAND)
Web directory to U.S. archival collections of primary source materials by and about women visual artists active in the U.S. since 1945.

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Art History: Archival Collections and Primary Sources

Archival Collections and Primary Sources

Archive Directories