Research Guides: ARH & ARS : Art & Architecture: Primary Sources

Finding Primary Sources

Archival Collections
Digital Collections

Archive Grid
Collection descriptions and finding aids from libraries, museums, historical societies, and archives in the US.
Artists' Paper Register
A location register of archival documents relating to artists, designers and craftspeople in publicly-accessible collections in the UK and Ireland.
Smithsonian Institution Research Information System
Searching gateway for the Archives of American Art catalog, National Inventory of American Paintings Executed before 1914, Inventory of American Sculpture, Archives of American Gardens catalog, and other resources.
Women Artist Archives National Directory (WAAND)
"Web directory to US archival collections of primary source materials by and about women visual artists active in the U.S. since 1945"

Grand Tour [AM Digital] This link opens in a new window
Manuscript & printed works, c1550-1850, highlighting the influence of continental travel on British art, architecture, urban planning, literature & philosophy.

Historic Northampton Online Research
Searchable digital collections, including photos (esp. the Howes Brothers Collection), objects, artifacts & maps; the Historic House Inventory, indexed plot map of the Old Burial Grounds & full-text of The Hampshire Gazette, 1786+ (in progress).

London Lowlife [AM Digital] This link opens in a new window
Color digital images of rare books, ads, cartoons, ephemera, maps and other materials relating to 18th, 19th and early 20th century London.
The Making of the Modern World [Gale] 1450-1945 This link opens in a new window
Covers social history, early commerce, trade, colonization, industry, political systems, revolutions, slavery, exploration, philosophy, and more.
Siku Quanshu (proprietary software required, see details below) This link opens in a new window
3,460 works of history, astronomy, geography, politics, economics, and others from ancient China. Compiled 1773-1782, by edict of Emperor Qianlong. The proprietary software is installed on library computers. You can also download the software to your own computer, see instructions.
Smithsonian I: Worlds Fairs and Expositions [Gale] 1840-1940 This link opens in a new window
Primary source documents on major expositions. Covers architecture, fine & decorative arts, technology, industrial design, science, entertainment, urban planning, manufacturing, cultural history, etc.
Victorian Popular Culture [AM Digital] This link opens in a new window
Primary source material on popular entertainment in America, Britain & Europe, 1779-1930, including spiritualism, circuses, music halls & theater, optical entertainments/early cinema, etc.

Vogue Archive
A complete searchable archive of American Vogue, from the first issue in 1892 to the current month, reproduced in high-resolution color page images. Every page, advertisement, cover and fold-out has been included, with indexing enabling you to find images by garment type, designer, brands, and even photographers and illustrators.

Help with Primary Sources

Find Primary Sources Links to collections at Smith, in the Five Colleges, on the web, and via the library's many subscription databases.

A primary source is a record of an event, an occurrence, or a time period produced by a participant or observer at the time. Typically, primary sources include:

unique documents or manuscripts (letters, diaries, journals, writings, speeches, photographs, scrapbooks, etc.)
historic records of an organization (correspondence, memoranda, minutes, annual reports, etc.).
government documents & maps
artwork & artifacts
music & audiovisual materials (film, audio and video tape)
electronic computer files

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ARH & ARS : Art & Architecture

Finding Primary Sources

Help with Primary Sources