Primary Source Archives

Possible Research Themes - 19th Century British Culture & Primary Sources

Major areas of focus could include the intersection of culture and the working class, women’s rights and suffrage, imperialism and colonization, industrialization, mass politics, urban spaces, sports, class politics, and new bourgeoisie aesthetics.

Possible Research Themes – 19^th Century British Culture and Primary Sources

Working class movement/labor history (workers publications)
Suffrage movement – women’s rights and political culture
Imperialism/colonial contacts – images, photography, maps
Victorian popular culture: entertainment, circus, monsters
Material culture (toys, clothing, furniture)
Sports history
Music and sound
Newspapers and magazines
Early film
Photography (images, publications, photo-books)
Death portraiture
Novels in historical context (Austen, Stoker, Bronte, Dickins)
Bourgeoise culture
Advice books for men and women or boys and girls
Gender and sexuality in the nineteenth century
Royal household culture and mannerisms
“upstairs/downstairs” culture (households and servants)

The Library has access to many history databases, including digital archives with primary source material. History databases can be found under the "history" database guide located here: http://libguides.msubillings.edu/subjectdatabases/history

Sign-in with your NetID and password to use these databases from off-campus.

British Periodicals 1680s - 1930s
Contains 500 periodicals published from the 1680s to the 1930s. Topics covered include literature, philosophy, history, science, the fine arts and the social sciences.
Defining Gender, 1450-1910
60,000+ images and documents (both manuscripts and printed sources) of primary source material useful for investigations in many disciplines, including women’s and gender studies, history, literature, sociology and education. Includes a wide range of primary source material including ephemera, pamphlets, commonplace books, diaries, periodicals, letters, ledgers, manuscript journals, poetry, receipt books and conduct and advice literature that reveal attitudes towards gender.
Gerritsen Collection
Cross-cultural resource for information on women's history. It spans more than four centuries and 15 languages and includes over two million pages in full image. Users can trace the evolution of feminism within a single country, as well as the impact of that country's feminist movement on other countries and their movements.
Illustrated London News
The Illustrated London News Historical Archive, 1842-2003 includes every published issue, from the first in 1842 to the last in 2003. The Illustrated London News became the world's first fully illustrated weekly newspaper, marking a revolution in journalism and news reporting. The publication presented a vivid picture of British and world events -- including news of war, disaster, ceremonies, the arts, and science -- with coverage in the first issue ranging from the Great Fire of Hamburg to Queen Victoria's fancy dress ball at Buckingham Palace.
Nineteenth Century Collections Online
Digital archives of maps, photographs, newspapers, manuscripts, books, and other primary sources in both Western and non-Western languages documenting the history of the 19th century. Covers topics in science, technology, politics, society, literature and the arts, among others.
Victorian Popular Culture
Digital primary source archive containing modules on spiritualism, magic, circuses, sideshows, movies, and other popular entertainment.

History - HSTA 200 (19th Century British Culture): Historian as Detective: Primary Source Archives

Possible Research Themes - 19th Century British Culture & Primary Sources

Primary Source Archives