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York University Libraries > Help with Research > Guide to Finding Primary Resources > Primary Sources: Periodicals

Primary Sources: Periodicals

Newspaper, magazine and journal articles can be primary sources if they were written around the time of the event studied (for example, a newspaper article written in 1945 about the end of the war). The selected sources listed below are a selection of tools to use to find historical newspaper, magazine and journal articles.

Consult the Finding Newspaper Articles research guide for more modern newspaper sources.

See the How to Find Journal Articles guide for more information about locating journal articles.

Newspapers

Canada

  • Early Canadiana Online: Newspapers and magazines covering the time period of the early European settlers to the 20th century in Canada.
  • Toronto Star: Pages of the Past:Covering 1892-2001, this resource is a full-page searchable archive of the Toronto newspaper, the Toronto Star.
  • Globe & Mail – Canada’s Heritage from 1844:Covering 1844-2000, this resource is a full-page searchable archive of the Canadian newspaper, the Globe & Mail.
  • African-American Newspapers: The 19th Century: 19th century African American newspapers providing first hand accounts of the major events of the day including the Mexican War, Congressional Abstracts, Presidential and Congressional addresses. Also includes early biographies, vital statistics and creative writing all of which represents the African American experience and includes the Canadian newspaper, the Provincial Freeman.
  • Paper of Record: The collection consists of newspapers which dates back to the 17th century to the early 2000s from Canada, the United States, Britain, Mexico, Europe and the Bahamas. 

United States

  • 18th Century Journals – A portal to newspapers and periodicals, c.1685-1815: A collection of newspapers and rare journals from the 17th to 19th century that covers such topics like: colonial life, provincial/rural affairs, French and American revolutions, review of European fashion and literature and political debates.
  • C19 – The 19th Century Index: Indexes American and British magazines, journals, government documents and newspapers from 1709 – 1919.
  • 19th Century Masterfile: Indexes a range of printed materials from the 19th century including journals, magazines, newspapers, books and government documents. Documents included are mainly from the United States and United Kingdom. Coverage is from 1774 – 1920.
  • African-American Newspapers: The 19th Century:19th century African American newspapers providing first hand accounts of the major events of the day including the Mexican War, Congressional Abstracts, Presidential and Congressional addresses. Also includes early biographies, vital statistics and creative writing all of which represents the African American experience
  • Chicago Defender, 1905-1975: Full text of the Chicago Defender from 1905 to 1975, an African-American weekly newspaper
  • Historical New York Times: Full page and article images with searchable full text back to the first issue of the American newspaper, the New York Times (covers 1851-2003).
  • Everyday Life and Women in America: A collection of various items including periodicals on popular culture, social history, family life, race, class and employment in America from the 19th to 20th century.
  • Paper of Record: The collection consists of newspapers which dates back to the 17th century to the early 2000s from Canada, the United States, Britain, Mexico, Europe and the Bahamas. 

Britain

  • Making of the Modern World 1450-1850: A collection of books and serials on the study of early economics, politics, business and social history from 1450-1850.
  • Defining Gender: A collection of various items written by men and women, including periodicals on politeness and conduct, domesticity and family, consumption and leisure, education and sensibility and the body from 1450 to 1910 in Britain and Europe.
  • Empire Online: A collection of various items including periodicals focusing on Empire Studies such as cultural contacts, literature, religion, race, class, imperialism and colonialism in continents that include North America, South America, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Caribbean and Australasia from 1492 to 2007.
  • 18th Century Journals – A portal to newspapers and periodicals, c.1685-1815: A collection of newspapers and rare journals from the 17th to 19th century that covers such topics like: colonial life, provincial/rural affairs, French and American revolutions, review of European fashion and literature and political debates.
  • 19th Century British Library Newspapers: A collection that includes the 17th and 18th Century Burney Collection Newspapers and 19th Century Newspapers from the British Library that includes three hundred years of newspaper publishing in the U.K. on current topics, political currents and social problems.
  • C19 – The 19th Century Index: Indexes British and American magazines, journals, government documents and b from 1709 – 1919.
  • 19th Century Masterfile: Indexes a range of printed materials from the 19th century including journals, magazines, newspapers, books and government documents. Documents included are mainly from the United States and United Kingdom. Coverage is from 1774 – 1920.
  • Times Digital Archive, 1785-1985: A collection of the U.K. newspaper, the Times, that also has a searchable index with full-text from 1785-1985.
  • Paper of Record: The collection consists of newspapers which dates back to the 17th century to the early 2000s from Canada, the United States, Britain, Mexico, Europe and the Bahamas. 

Magazines

  • Making of the Modern World 1450-1850: A collection of books and serials on the study of early economics, politics, business and social history from 1450-1850.
  • Defining Gender: A collection of various items written by men and women, including periodicals on politeness and conduct, domesticity and family, consumption and leisure, education and sensibility and the body from 1450 to 1910 in Britain and Europe.
  • Empire Online: A collection of various items including periodicals focusing on Empire Studies such as cultural contacts, literature, religion, race, class, imperialism and colonialism in continents that include North America, South America, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Caribbean and Australasia from 1492 to 2007.
  • Early Canadiana Online: Newspapers and magazines covering the time period of the early European settlers to the 20th century in Canada.
  • C19 – The 19th Century Index: Indexes British and American magazines, journals, government documents and newspapers from 1709 – 1919.
  • American Periodicals Series Online 1740-1990 :P rovides full-text access to a wide range of American magazines and journals. Titles include Benjamin Franklin’s General Magazine, America’s first scientific journal Medical Repository, as well as popular magazines such as Vanity Fair and Ladies’ Home Journal.
  • North American Immigrant Letters, Diaries, and Oral Histories: Includes letters, diaries, pamphlets, autobiographies, oral histories and magazine articles about immigrants in Canada and the United States, 1840-present.
  • Libris Canadiana: Provides word, title, author and subject access to material published in a number of Canadian periodicals of historical significance including: Maclean’s Magazine, The Financial Post, The Monetary Times of Canada, Massey’s Magazine, The Canadian Bookman, The Canadian Magazine, Saturday Night and The University Magazine. The time period covered is the 19th and 20th centuries.
  • Readers’ Guide Abstracts:Contains indexing and abstracting of many popular general-interest periodicals published in Canada and the United States from 1983 forward. Select the Retro option to find articles written between 1890-1982.
  • Everyday Life and Women in America: A collection of various items including periodicals on popular culture, social history, family life, race, class and employment in America from the 19th to 20th century.
  • Periodicals Archives Online :P rovides access to 500 full-text periodicals mostly published in the US and UK. Also includes 65 foreign-language titles.

Journals

  • Making of the Modern World 1450-1850: A collection of books and serials on the study of early economics, politics, business and social history from 1450-1850.
  • Defining Gender: A collection of various items written by men and women, including periodicals on politeness and conduct, domesticity and family, consumption and leisure, education and sensibility and the body from 1450 to 1910 in Britain and Europe.
  • 18th Century Journals – A portal to newspapers and periodicals, c.1685-1815: A collection of newspapers and rare journals from the 17th to 19th century that covers such topics like: colonial life, provincial/rural affairs, French and American revolutions, review of European fashion and literature and political debates.
  • C19 – The 19th Century Index: Indexes British and American magazines, journals, government documents and newspapers from 1709 – 1919.
  • JSTOR: Archives arts,social sciences,humanities, business and natural science journals. Some journal issues are available from as far back as 17th century. Browse by discipline for journal titles and dates of coverage.
  • Periodicals Archives Online :P rovides access to 500 full-text periodicals mostly published in the US and UK. Also includes 65 foreign-language titles.
  • Everyday Life and Women in America: A collection of various items including periodicals on popular culture, social history, family life, race, class and employment in America from the 19th to 20th century.
  • Making of America: A collection that includes books and 50, 000 journal articles with 19th century imprints in subject areas such as education, psychology, American history, sociology, religion, science and technology.

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