Primary Source Collections - A.M. Explorer

Explore five centuries of journeys across the globe, scientific discoveries, the expansion of European colonialism, conflict over territories and trade routes, and decades-long search and rescue attempts in this multi-archive collection dedicated to the history of exploration.

The digital archive of the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, which holds one of the outstanding collections on American History. It is full of spectacular individual items, but it also has rich veins of manuscript research material. This makes it ideal for teaching survey courses on American History, but equally valuable as a platform for undergraduate essay work and postgraduate research.

From early topographical sketches and pioneers’ accounts, to photographs of Buffalo Bill and his ‘Wild West’ stars, explore the fact and the fiction of westward expansion in America from the early eighteenth to the mid-twentieth century. Browse a wide range of rare and original documents including printed books, journals, historic maps, broadsides, periodicals, advertisements, photographs, artwork and more.

This digital collection casts new light on Britain's relationship with the EEC, Anglo-American ties, the Cold War, Decolonisation, and issues of public and political morality.

Apartheid South Africa makes available British government files from the Foreign, Colonial, Dominion, and Foreign and Commonwealth Offices spanning the period 1948 to 1980.

Covering the 18th and 19th centuries, China, America and the Pacific provides primary source materials for the study of the history of North American trade and cultural exchange with China. This collection also provides coverage of China’s and the United States' economic dealings with the whole of East Asia and the Pacific.

With documents encompassing events from the earliest English embassy to the birth and early years of the People's Republic, this resource collects sources from nine archives to give an incredible insight into the changes in China during this period.

The Confidential Print series originated from a need for the British Government to preserve the most important papers generated by the Foreign and Colonial Offices. Some of these were single page letters or telegrams, others were large volumes or texts of treaties. All items marked 'Confidential Print' were printed and circulated immediately to leading officials in the Foreign Office, to the Cabinet, and to Heads of British missions abroad. This resource brings together materials relating to events in Africa. It includes files on most countries and territories of Africa, both independent and those ruled by colonial powers.

The Confidential Print series originated from a need for the British Government to preserve the most important papers generated by the Foreign and Colonial Offices. Some of these were single page letters or telegrams, others were large volumes or texts of treaties. All items marked 'Confidential Print' were printed and circulated immediately to leading officials in the Foreign Office, to the Cabinet, and to Heads of British missions abroad. This resource brings together materials relating to events in Latin America.

The Confidential Print series originated out of a need for the Government to preserve the most important papers generated by the Foreign and Colonial Offices, from one-page letters or telegrams, to large volumes or texts of treaties. All items marked "Confidential Print" were printed and circulated immediately to leading officials in the Foreign Office, to the cabinet, and to heads of British missions abroad. This collates the Confidential Print for the countries of the Levant and the Arabian peninsula, Iran, Turkey, Egypt and Sudan. Beginning with the Egyptian reforms of Muhammad Ali Pasha in the 1830s, the documents trace the events of the following 150 years, including the Middle East Conference of 1921, the mandates for Palestine and Mesopotamia, the partition of Palestine, the 1956 Suez Crisis and post-Suez Western foreign policy, and the Arab-Israeli conflict.

The Confidential Print series originated out of a need for the Government to preserve all of the most important papers generated by the Foreign and Colonial Offices. Some of these were one page letters or telegrams, others were large volumes or texts of treaties. All items marked 'Confidential Print' were printed and circulated immediately to leading officials in the Foreign Office, to the Cabinet, and to Heads of British missions abroad. This resource brings together materials relating to Canada, the United States and the Caribbean.

Unique and extremely rare eighteenth-century periodicals, each chosen to convey the eclecticism and evolution of the publishing world between 1685 and 1835. Highlights include a complete run of The Lady's Magazine, and rare titles missed out of other collections focused on the Eighteenth Century.

Spanning five centuries and charting the rise and fall of empires around the world, Empire Online is a digital archive enabling research of colonial history, politics, culture and society. There is a focus on the British Empire, but documents also give information on other European empires and the experience of colonised people.

Revealing the voices and experiences of the men and women who served in the First World War, this rich and varied collection will be an invaluable source for anyone studying and researching the ‘Great War’. Material includes letters and diaries of service people, maps, photo albums, artwork, oral histories, official documents, newspapers, posters and much more, covering all aspects of the global conflict.

Formerly restricted British Foreign Office files dealing with China, Hong Kong and Taiwan between 1919 and 1980.

Survey the high politics of Independence and Partition, social and cultural interchange after 1947 and the ramifications that these changes continue to have throughout South Asia today.

British Government Foreign Office files relating to Japan. An important resource due to the UK maintaining diplomatic ties to Japan for more of this period than many other nations, and the destruction of many Japanese Government records in 1945.

British Government Foreign Office files relating to the Middle East. From invasions and civil wars to revolutions and revolts, explore a rich period of Middle Eastern history.

Through a large array of unique documents, this multi-archive collection captures the lives, experiences and colonial encounters of people living at the edges of the Anglophone world from 1650-1920. It ranges across the various colonial frontiers of North America before touching on the settlers of Southern Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

Discover the histories of fifteen key commodities that changed the world through a wide range of manuscript sources, rare books, maps, advertising memorabilia, paintings, photographs and ephemera. Explore themes of exploration and discovery; imperialism and attempts at monopoly, trade Wars, translocation and economic geography, slavery, mass production, luxury, taste and the evolution of global branding.

The National Library of Scotland has wonderful collections documenting this history from the foundation of the East India Company in 1615 to the granting of independence for India and Pakistan in 1947. They are made available online through this collection.

The online version of the J Walter Thompson Company archive - the single most complete and informative corporate record of the history of modern advertising. It includes the account files of some of the world’s biggest brands, such as Kraft, Kodak, Oscar Mayer and Pan Am.

The digital version of the Stationers' Company Archives, London. Explore the history of printing, publishing and bookselling dating from 1554 to the 20th century. Includes a complete run of the Stationers' Register, an essential resource for book history and a record publications prior to 1927.

From salacious ‘swell’s guides’ to scandalous broadsides and subversive posters, the material sold and exchanged on London’s bustling thoroughfares offers an unparalleled insight into the dark underworld of the Victorian city.

Delve into the pseudo-psychological world behind the advertising of some of America’s biggest brands. What motivates women and men to buy and how can knowing that be used to sell?

Explore the history of illness, treatment and disease on international front lines from 1850 to 1949.

A selection of original documents that tell the story of European and Asian migration to North America, Australia and New Zealand during the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. Official records from governments, shipping lines and agencies are found alongside the letters, oral histories and diaries of the migrants themselves. The resource includes material on life for successive generations, refugees and displaced persons, and those who were transported as criminals.

British Government documents on North America during Nixon's presidency.

A wide range of material, from government documents to fanzines, video content to posters and scrapbooks, tells the story of a time of music, political unrest, fashion and new technology.

Contains an extensive range of both rare and well-known wartime publications for soldiers serving in major theatres around the world. Publications are included from many key nations involved in the conflict, such as the US, Canada, New Zealand, India, Germany, and elsewhere in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

This resource brings together documents and collections from libraries and archives across the Atlantic world covering an extensive time period from 1490. Close attention has been given to the varieties of slavery, the legacy of slavery, the social justice perspective and the continued existence of slavery today.

Sourced from the British Film Institute (BFI), this collection of documentary, newsreel and feature films reveals the world as seen by Soviet, Chinese, Vietnamese, East European, and Latin American filmmakers. Ranging from the early 20th century to the 1980s, material encapsulates the themes of war, revolution, news, current affairs, culture and society.

Explore domestic life, leisure and material culture of nineteenth- and twentieth-century America. This resource presents a wealth of highly illustrated primary source documents that highlight commercial tastes and consumer trends, and provide a valuable visual record for a breadth of interdisciplinary study.

Material covers the founding and economic development of Virginia as seen through the papers of the Virginia Company of London, 1606-1624. It is also a crucial source for London's economic history in the Early Modern era and will be of interest to social and religious historians.

A finding aid to the collections of The National Archives, UK, at Kew. Also includes a selection of rare documents relating to women's suffrage in the UK and the British Empire.

Primary source material from hundreds of fairs, including London’s Great Exhibition of 1851, American fairs of the 19th and 20th centuries and 21st century EXPOs. A vital resource for students, teachers and researchers of a huge range of subjects including imperialism, race relations, gender studies, science and technology, consumer culture, architecture and design.