18th Century Studies Resources

Most texts included are from the 18th and 19th centuries.

The Bibliography of British and Irish History is the successor to the Royal Historical Society Bibliography of British and Irish History, available online from 2002 to 2009. The complete database now contains over 640,000 records.

Covers modern world history (excluding the United States and Canada which are covered in the database America: History and Life) from 1450 to the present. It currently indexes about 2,300 journals in 40 languages, with indexing also for some books and dissertations. Most of the article citations include abstracts of 75-100 words.

In addition to the principle English language sources in the field, it includes some (about 10%) in other languages, as well as some state and local history journals. All aspects of historical inquiry are represented: diplomatic, ecclesiastical, agricultural, cultural, economic, political, military and others. The index also provides citations to book and media reviews from about 100 journals and references to abstracts of dissertations in the field. All abstracts are in English.

The U.K. Parliamentary Papers are part of the historical record of Britain, its former Colonies and the world in general. They provide detailed primary sources for the study of history and for an understanding of legislation, policy making and the political environment.

Created from the Library Company of Philadelphia's acclaimed Afro-Americana Collection, this collection covers the West's discovery and exploitation of Africa; the rise of slavery in the New World along with the growth and success of abolitionist movements; the development of racial thought, including political protest and resistance to racism; descriptions of African American life -- slave and free -- throughout the Americans; and slavery and race in fiction and drama. Also featured are printed works of African American individuals and organizations.

Digital collection of the newspapers, pamphlets, and books gathered by the Reverend Charles Burney (1757-1817). The resource helps chart the development of the concept of 'news' and 'newspapers' and the "free press", and includes nearly 1 million pages and approximately 1,270 titles.

Irish Women Poets of the Romantic Period includes more than 80 volumes of poetry by approximately 50 Irish women writing between 1768 and 1842. Compiled and edited by Stephen Behrendt of the University of Nebraska, the database also offers numerous biographical and critical essays prepared by leading scholars specifically for the project. New content is added to the collection on a regular basis.

In addition to William Wordsworth, the resource also includes documents by Dorothy Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Thomas De Quincey and Robert Southey. There are also works by such artists as J.M.W. Turner, John Constable and Benjamin Robert Haydon. The documents (manuscripts, printed verse, correspondence, diaries, travel journals, autograph albums, guide books, fine art and maps) are digitized in color.

First published May 14, 1842, the Illustrated London News was the world's first pictorial weekly newspaper. Its founder, Herbert Ingram, was an entrepreneurial newsagent, who noticed that newspapers sold more copies when they carried pictures. The newspaper covered wars, royal events, scientific invention, and exploration. In 1855 it launched the world's first color supplement. Over the years the publication played host to distinguished contributors, including Robert Louis Stevenson, Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy, Wilkie Collins, Rudyard Kipling, and Agatha Christie; and artists such as Melton Prior, William Heath Robinson, F Matania, Mabel Lucie Atwell and H.M. Bateman.

Historical Newspapers includes indexes to The Times (London) up to 1905 and the New York Times from 1863 to 1922 (with a few missing years).

The titles correspond to the printed index to the New York Times which the library owns from 1851 to the present (Wells Library, Reference Department); and to Palmer's Index to the Times and The Official Index to the Times, both owned in a complete run (Wells Library, Reference Department).


Full text of both newspapers is also available on microfilm and online.

Digital collection of the newspapers, pamphlets, and books gathered by the Reverend Charles Burney (1757-1817). The resource helps chart the development of the concept of 'news' and 'newspapers' and the "free press", and includes nearly 1 million pages and approximately 1,270 titles.