Databases - Midterm Project to World Theatre, 1640-1890: THEA 1342 - Oakland Campus

Primary Sources

Archives, libraries, and museums continue to digitize and transcribe their collections of primary source materials and make them freely accessible online. Surrogates of original primary source materials may be considered equal substitutes for the originals; however, it is best to always evaluate a reproduction for credibility. See Lafayette College Library's guide for evaluating primary sources.

American Broadsides and Ephemera, Series I
Based on the American Antiquarian Society's landmark collection -- the most extensive in existence -- American Broadsides and Ephemera offers fully searchable facsimile images of approximately 15,000 broadsides printed between 1820 and 1900 and 15,000 pieces of ephemera printed between 1760 and 1900. Featuring many rare items, the pieces of ephemera include clipper ship sailing, theater and music programs, stock certificates and more.
American Periodicals Series Online 1740-1900
American Periodicals Series Online (APS Online) includes digitized images of the pages of American magazines and journals published from colonial days to the dawn of the 20th century. Some publications include Benjamin Franklin's General Magazine and the popular magazine Vanity Fair.
Early American Imprints, Series I: Evans Digital Edition
Series 1 is based on the renowned American Bibliography by Charles Evans and the collection has served as the definitive resource for information about every aspect of life in 17th- and 18th-century America. Series 2 is an unique Web-based collection that thoroughly chronicles the people, ideas and events behind the early political, social, cultural and geographic growth of the United States.
Early American Newspapers (1690-1922)
Early American Newspapers features cover-to-cover reproductions of hundreds of historic newspapers, providing more than one million pages as fully text-searchable facsimile images. Based largely on Clarence Brigham's "History and Bibliography of American Newspapers,1690-1820".

Secondary Sources

American National Biography Online
Provides biographical information on over 17,000 men and women -- from all eras and walks of life -- whose lives have shaped the nation.
Biography Reference Bank
Biography Reference Bank contains Wilson Biographies Plus Illustrated and Biography Index Plus, in one integrated database. Wilson Biographies Plus contains more than 95,000 biographies and obituaries and more than 26,000 photographs of the subjects. Many of the biographies are enhanced with full text, abstracts, and citations from H. W. Wilson databases.
Humanities International Index
Humanities International Index provides cover-to-cover indexing and abstracting for over 1,900 titles with coverage dating as far back as 1925. HII contains more than 1.6 million records and includes all data from American Humanities Index plus bibliographic records from a multitude of international journals, books and reference works.
Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre and Performance
This encyclopedia includes over 4,300 entries about theatre and performance from ancient Greek theatre to the latest developments in London, Paris, New York, and around the globe.

Plays

Eighteenth Century Collections Online (ECCO)
Eighteenth Century Collections Online digitally captures this influential period and provides new research opportunities in ways previously unavailable. Eighteenth Century Collections Online includes a variety of materials -- from books and directories, Bibles, sheet music and sermons to advertisements -- and works by many well-known and lesser-known authors.
North American Women's Drama
Currently contains 200+ plays by 67 playwrights but, when complete, will contain more than 1,500 plays, of which some 20% have never been published before. Includes some playbills, production information, and a few facts about specific theatres and companies.

University of Pittsburgh Library System

Course & Subject Guides

Midterm Project to World Theatre, 1640-1890: THEA 1342 - Oakland Campus: Databases

Project-Specific Subject Searching

Primary Sources

Secondary Sources

Plays