American Pamphlets, 1820-1922
From the New-York Historical Society
- Pamphlets capture the diverse attitudes and opinions of often-overlooked segments of society
- More than 25,000 rare items capture a century of activism and debate on topics as wide-ranging as slavery, suffrage and more
- An exceptionally valuable and little-used record of American history, culture and contemporary life
“With over 25,000 pamphlets available, dating from 1820 through 1922, the New York Historical Society, in collaboration with Readex, a Division of NewsBank, has unleashed a wealth of information that covers a multitude of topics. From the Cuban Revolution to rum to embroidery, the subjects are varied and provide a unique snapshot of contemporary societal thoughts and concerns….Useful to historians, academics, and students, American Pamphlets provides easy searching and a menagerie of ways to browse its content. From genre and subject to place of publication and language, the information can be sorted and searched with users’ ease and accessibility in mind….While many places have collections of pamphlets, this is the first large scale digitization of American pamphlets….The Readex American Pamphlets collection is an excellent database for researchers and university students. It provides a delightful snapshot of contemporaneous views and thoughts on a variety of topics from the cultural to the political.”
— Kevin Klesta, Metadata Archivist, State Archives of North Carolina, in Reference Reviews (Vol. 30, No. 5, 2016)
“Pamphlets are source material for studying contemporary opinions and events of history. … But they are notoriously hard to collect, arrange, and catalog ….The scope and variety of the materials included in this new online collection assembled by Readex in collaboration with the New-York Historical Society are very broad….Having more than 25,000 of these rare items available online for close inspection is a great thing."
— D. K. Blewett, College of DuPage in Choice (March 2016)
“With unique content combined with the superb quality and accessibility, American Pamphlets, Series 1, 1820–1922 is a remarkable product. It will serve researchers from high school to postdoctoral studies and beyond. Large public and university libraries will be interested, and other institutions serving scholars in American politics, history, culture, gender and ethnic issues, religion, and education should consider.”
—Library Journal (Nov. 1, 2015)
“Spanning more than 100 years, this collection of American pamphlets is a rich well of historical primary sources. Students and scholars will use these artifacts as focal points to illustrate larger social movements in the U.S. The direct appeals and strong opinions found in these scarce materials will spark interest and generate fresh interpretations and lively discussions.
“Pamphlets lend themselves to creative assignments like student-curated exhibits, in which students build context through further research. The ability to narrow searches by state is particularly valuable for connecting students to their local community's history and for teachers needing primary sources that connect with each state's unique curricular outcomes.”
— Priscilla Finley, Humanities Librarian, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
“American Pamphlets, 1820-1922, represents an interdisciplinary treasure trove for students and faculty in a host of academic fields, including history, literature, political science, sociology, and anthropology. Providing a unique window into America's past, these pamphlets will be highly useful to researchers trained in the New Historicism, cultural studies, and other methods."
— Mark Kamrath, Professor of English, University of Central Florida
“Pamphlets were used as a relatively inexpensive way to distribute diverse opinions and wide-ranging information to a large number of people. This new digital collection of thousands of searchable pamphlets will appeal to a broad audience interested in American political, social, educational, religious, and cultural history between 1820 and 1922. Students and researchers will find an enormous amount of unique and eclectic material related to ideas, events, institutions, and people of the time.”
— David Lincove, Professor, History, Political Science, Public Affairs & Philosophy Librarian, Ohio State University
“American Pamphlets, 1820-1922, a new Archive of Americana module, is an amazing collection of a highly desirable genre for research and teaching. Pamphlets are wonderful, cross-disciplinary primary sources. They are short, to the point and have their biases exposed. They reveal a great deal about the society of a time and a place, and many in the later 19th century include interesting illustrations as well. This newly digitized collection, beginning with Series 1 from the New-York Historical Society, will be heavily used. Faculty will employ them in the classroom, undergraduates will find them surprisingly accessible, and graduate students will mine them for their masters’ theses and dissertations.”
— Donna McCrea, Head of Archives & Special Collections, History Librarian / Associate Professor, University of Montana-Missoula
