Research Guides: HIST 3357: World War I: Find Primary Sources

What is a Primary Source?

Primary vs. Secondary Sources: A Guide to Understanding

Primary Sources in Library Databases

The Times Digital Archive, 1785 to 2014 This link opens in a new window "World's newspaper of record." Covers all major international historical events. Every page of every issue, from 1785 to 2014.
Illustrated London News Historical Archive, 1842-2003 This link opens in a new window Complete, full-color run of the worlds most iconic illustrated newspaper. Covers topics such as news, wars, royal events, scientific invention, exploration, fashion, and more.
Economist Historical Archive, 1843-2015 This link opens in a new window New content is added each year. Consult the resource itself for the most recent content available.
Every issue of The Economist from 1843 to 2015, including full-color images, multiple search indexes, and browsing facilities. Timely reporting, concise commentary, and comprehensive analysis of global news, including political, business, scientific, technological, and cultural developments and the connections between them.
ProQuest Historical Newspapers This link opens in a new window
Simultaneously search the Library's subscriptions to the historical archives of the Austin-American Statesman, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post.
British Periodicals I & II This link opens in a new window British periodicals, late 17th to early 20th centuries. History of Britain and its colonies, as well as a British view of events in America and the world.
National Geographic Magazine Archive, 1888-1994 This link opens in a new window Every page and every photograph of the official journal of the National Geographic Society, from the first issue to the mid-1990s.
America's Historical Newspapers 1690-1998 This link opens in a new window American and U.S. local newspapers from all 50 states, ranging from 1690 to 1998.
Accessible Archives (All Available Collections) This link opens in a new window
This database contains a collection of "American Military Camp Newspapers" covering the experience of American soldiers in WWI, from 1916 mobilization to 1919 occupation of Germany. Military camp newspapers kept soldiers informed about the home front, political questions of the day – including those relating to the war itself – progress of their training, and the state of the war abroad. Personnel, places and events are described, and non-war related items such as advertisements, poetry, short stories, memoirs, jokes, and cartoons are included, along with photographs and sketches of camp life.

World War I Sources Online: US Focus

Chronicling the U.S. Catholic Experience in the First World War
Hundreds of pages of photographs, letters, scrapbooks, and other documents. (Catholic Univ. of America)
Newspaper Pictorials of WWI (Library of Congress)
Recordings from World War I and the 1920 Election (Library of Congress)
Red Scare: Images from the Interwar Period Image database about the period in the history of the United States immediately following World War I. The dates are approximately from the Armistice in November of 1918 to the collapse of hyper-inflation in mid-1920. Seeks to document anti-red / anti-Communist hysteria as well as a wider range of experiences in this period. (Baruch College, CUNY)
Robert Lincoln O'Connell Papers Letters, postcards, photographs, and publications documenting the service of an Irish-American soldier who served as a combat engineer in the First Division of the American Expeditionary Force (A.E.F.) in the First World War. (Catholic Univ. of America)
Stars and Stripes: The American Soldiers' Newspaper of WWI, 1918-1919 (Library of Congress)
Veterans History Project The Veterans History Project of the American Folklife Center collects, preserves, and makes accessible the personal accounts of American war veterans so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand the realities of war. (Library of Congress)
Woodrow Wilson Papers Approximately 280,000 documents, containing personal, family, and official correspondence, White House executive office files, drafts and proofs of books, articles, speeches, academic lectures, scrapbooks, shorthand notes, and memorabilia. Dates range from 1786 to 1957, with the bulk of material falling in the period between 1876 and 1924. (Library of Congress)
World War I Panorama Photographs These long panoramic photographs show U. S. military personnel and camps, patriotic parades, and European battlefields and cemeteries related to WWI. (Library of Congress, via Flickr)
World War I Photograph Albums and Postcards Nearly 400 images reproducing two amateur albums of drawings and photographs by Americans serving in France; a series of German photographic postcards; and a French automaker's published album. (New York Public Library)
World War I Posters The collection is particularly strong in World War I French and American posters, and World War II American "home front" posters. (Univ. of North Texas)
WWI and WWII Propaganda Posters
520 posters from 1914-1945, the start of World War I to the end of World War II. (Washington State Univ.)
World War I: Video from the AP Archive

WWI Sources Online: European Focus

British Pathe WWI Newsreels
"British Pathé holds one of the finest and most comprehensive WW1 archives in the world."
Europeana, 1914-1918
"Explore the untold stories and official histories of World War I in 401,785 items from across Europe" (Eurpeana)
First World War Poetry Archive "Online repository of over 7000 items of text, images, audio, and video. The heart of the archive consists of collections of highly valued primary material from major poets of the period, including Wilfred Owen, Isaac Rosenberg, Robert Graves, Vera Brittain, and Edward Thomas. This is supplemented by a comprehensive range of multimedia artefacts from the Imperial War Museum, a separate archive of items contributed by the general public, and a set of specially developed educational resources." (Univ. of Oxford)
Great War (World War I) Archive
WWI poetry, photographs, audio, film, official documents, propaganda posters, memorabilia, etc. (Univ. of Oxford & European Commission)
The Jack Peirs Letters Hugh John Chevallier Peirs, "Jack" to his family, was born in 1886 in England, commissioned an officer in the 8th Battalion in 1914, served for three years on the western front, rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, earned the Distinguished Service Order, and was wounded twice. This digital archive makes available Peirs' numerous letters home, discussing the war, life in the trenches, and his men, with annotations and commentary by Gettysburg College staff and students. (Gettysburg College)
NARA World War I Centennial Site "As the largest repository of American World War I records, the National Archives invites you to browse the wealth of records and information documenting the U.S. experience in this conflict, including photographs, documents, audiovisual recordings, educational resources, articles, blog posts, lectures, and events." (NARA)
Western European Theater Political Pamphlet Collection Pamphlets published in Europe during and immediately after World War I on a broad range of topics, including the economy, the press, the military, arms, territorial disputes, and others. Collection also includes speeches, sermons, bulletins, calendars, and songbooks. Note: Each item description includes an orange button to "View Images." (Princeton Univ.)
World War I at Home - Photo Galleries
(BBC Four)
World War I Photograph Albums and Postcards Nearly 400 images reproducing two amateur albums of drawings and photographs by Americans serving in France; a series of German photographic postcards; and a French automaker's published album. (New York Public Library)
World War I Posters
The collection is particularly strong in World War I French and American posters, and World War II American "home front" posters. (Univ. of North Texas)
World War One - European Sources Historical sources from both sides of the conflict, contributed by institutions from across Europe. (British Library)
WWI - Portal of the Federal Archives to the First World War (Portal des Bundesarchivs zum Ersten Weltkrieg) 700,000 rare records and images from World War I, made available online by the German government at the 100th anniversary of the conflict's beginning. Includes private material as well as files of military and civilian authorities, records left by politicians and military officers, documentaries and propaganda films
WWI Propaganda
Nearly 100 digitized propaganda items from WWI. (British Library)
WWI Trench Maps and Aerial Photographs
(McMaster University)