LibGuides: English and Literature: Finding Primary Sources

Full Text Primary Sources

If you are looking for archives or rare books at Wesleyan, please visit Special Collections & Archives, located on the first floor of Olin Library. Following is a list of major online collections of primary sources available to Wesleyan users:

History Commons
American newspapers from the 18th & 19th centuries. Eras covered include the Colonial Period, the French & Indian War, the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, African-American History, Industrial Revolution, and Genealogy emphasizing eyewitness accounts of historical events, editorials, popular culture, and commerce during the 18th and 19th centuries in America.
Defining Gender, 1450-1910
Primary source material from British and European archives relating to gender studies with an emphasis on history, literature, sociology, education and cultural studies from a gendered perspective. Material dates back to the fifteenth century.
Early Encounters in North America
Descriptions of early interactions and encounters among various cultural groups in North America as well as its natural features using a variety of primary source materials. Early encounters between Native Americans, Europeans, Africans and Americans on the North American Continent from 1534
Early English Books Online
Digital facsimiles of works printed in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and British North America and works in English printed elsewhere between 1473-1700. From the first book printed in English by William Caxton, through the age of Spenser and Shakespeare and the tumult of the English Civil War.
Eighteenth Century Collections Online
Books, pamphlets, broadsides, and ephemera printed in the United Kingdom and Americas between 1701 and 1800 on the subjects including art, history, law, literature, music, and technology.
North American Immigrant Letters, Diaries, and Oral Histories
Primary source material from immigrants to the United States and Canada. Letters, diaries, pamphlets, autobiographies, political cartoons, and oral histories from 1890-1920.
North American Women's Letters and Diaries
Primary source material about personal and historical events written by women who lived in North America from 1675 to 1950. Materials include letters and diaries previously published in other sources as well as materials from unpublished manuscript sources.
Perseus Digital Library
Digitized texts and images of primary source materials for the humanities, primarily from classical Greece and Rome, but also including other collections such as the Renaissance and 19th century U.S.
Proquest One Literature
A cross-searchable database of literature and criticism, including full text works of poetry, prose, and drama in English.
Women and Social Movements, International - 1840 to Present
Primary source materials, writings of women activists, their personal letters and diaries, and the proceedings of conferences at which pivotal decisions were made.
Women and Social Movements in the United States, 1600-2000 (scholar's edition)
Digital library of high resolution images for instruction, study, and research in the arts, architecture, humanities and social sciences. The images have been contributed by museums, scholarly collections, photo archives, and artists' estates. Pre-history-21st century.

Other Primary Sources

If you are looking for the papers of a particular author or organization, try Archive Finder or a Google search for the author's name + papers or archives. Many archival repositories are putting descriptions of their collections online, even if the documents aren't available as full text online. Wesleyan's Special Collections & Archives has description of its collections in online Finding Aids. Please consult with a staff member for more information.