Thanks to the internet and searchable online archives, finding primary source material for research is a great deal easier than it was even a few years ago.
Some of the best archives with search capabilities:
Old Bailey Online
The Proceedings of the Old Bailey are the published transcripts from trials held at the Old Bailey from 1674-1913. They are searchable by date, subject matter and keywords.
Boston Public Library
America's Historic Newspapers 1690-1922 are a database of published newspapers, for 18th century purposes they contain published newspapers from many of the 13 colonies and can be searched by date, location of publication, type of article and keywords. Massachusetts residents are able to attain an online library card which enables full use of the archives.
Accessible Archives
For an annual membership these archives are keyword searchable with mainly18th century Pennsylvania newspapers and publications.
Lewis Walpole Library Digital Collection
A searchable collection by keyword or date, this is a treasure trove of 18th and 19th century British Prints.
Showing posts with label sources. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sources. Show all posts
Monday, February 28, 2011
Friday, February 25, 2011
Researching Cloaks and Everything Else
How did Sue Felshin find the documentation and resources used to write her article on short cloaks?
The first step is to recognize the various types of sources that provide information while studying historical costume. They can easily be broken down into two main categories, primary and secondary.
Primary sources are original uninterpreted information. For our purposes a newspaper advertisement, diary, inventory entry, ledger or artifact can be a primary source.
New Hampshire Gazette, June 29, 1774
This advertisement tell us that a black silk cloak with taffeta (smooth lightweight silk) on the outside and a persian lining (lightweight silk often used to line 18th century garments) is interlined with blue baize (a heavy woolen cloth) was lost in Newington, New Hampshire.
Reading a primary 18th century document can be a challenge. Creative and inconsistent spelling and odd abbreviations are the norm. Textile terminology can be often confusing and incomprehensible utilizing unfamiliar words in unusual ways, almost a new language and it is not English!
A dictionary is invaluable when studying a new language, and the best textile dictionary currently available to us is Florence Montgomery's, "Textiles in America 1650-1870", ISBN-10: 039373224X. Her comprehensive explanations combined with an easy alphabetical format makes looking up words such as "persian" a snap!
Secondary sources are written by those not directly involved with the primary event, such as analysis of and comments on primary sources. Sue's article on short cloaks, uses primary sources for information, but her conclusions while based on those primary sources becomes a secondary source.
The first step is to recognize the various types of sources that provide information while studying historical costume. They can easily be broken down into two main categories, primary and secondary.
Primary sources are original uninterpreted information. For our purposes a newspaper advertisement, diary, inventory entry, ledger or artifact can be a primary source.
New Hampshire Gazette, June 29, 1774
This advertisement tell us that a black silk cloak with taffeta (smooth lightweight silk) on the outside and a persian lining (lightweight silk often used to line 18th century garments) is interlined with blue baize (a heavy woolen cloth) was lost in Newington, New Hampshire.
Reading a primary 18th century document can be a challenge. Creative and inconsistent spelling and odd abbreviations are the norm. Textile terminology can be often confusing and incomprehensible utilizing unfamiliar words in unusual ways, almost a new language and it is not English!
A dictionary is invaluable when studying a new language, and the best textile dictionary currently available to us is Florence Montgomery's, "Textiles in America 1650-1870", ISBN-10: 039373224X. Her comprehensive explanations combined with an easy alphabetical format makes looking up words such as "persian" a snap!
Secondary sources are written by those not directly involved with the primary event, such as analysis of and comments on primary sources. Sue's article on short cloaks, uses primary sources for information, but her conclusions while based on those primary sources becomes a secondary source.
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