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Primary sources for historical research: Women's history
This guide lists important collections of primary sources on women's history held by the Princeton University Library. It covers microform, print and digital collections. Microforms listed in this guide are housed in Firestone Library Microforms Service on C floor. Printed guides to these collections are usually also housed in Microforms Service and have call numbers beginning "FilmB." A few collections held by Princeton Theological Seminary or by the Center for Research Libraries are also listed in this guide. Please consult a librarian for help if you would like to use these collections. For further information, please see Guides to primary sources for historical research: introduction.
Table of Contents
| History of women [microform]: from the Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College, the Schlesinger Library at Radcliffe College |
| Microfilm 12129 |
1248 reels |
Printed guide: Firestone Microforms Z7965 .H57 1983 |
| Massive compilation of several important collections of materials on the history of women to 1920. Arranged chronologically and by format (monographs, pamphlets, periodicals, manuscripts, photographs.) The printed guide has useful indexes by subjects and names, and a list of periodical titles. A link to the guide can also be found at http://microformguides.gale.com/SubjectLst.html |
| Gerritsen Collection - Women's History Online (1543-1945) |
| Major source for the study of women's history worldwide, especially feminism and the movement for women's rights. The collection includes the full text of books, pamphlets and periodicals spanning four centuries and 15 languages. |
| Everyday Life & Women in America, c1800-1920 |
| Comprises rare books, periodicals, pamphlets, tracts, and broadsides concerning such areas as American home life, 1800-1920, the history of women, and the history of childhood. |
| Defining Gender, 1450-1910 |
| Wide range of original sources including ephemera, pamphlets, commonplace books, diaries, periodicals, letters, ledgers, manuscript journals, poetry, receipt books and conduct and advice literature |
| Women and medicine [microform]: remedy books, 1533-1865 |
| Microfilm 11860 |
35 reels |
Printed guide: Firestone Microforms RS131.28 .W66 2004 |
| Reproduces medical and other recipe and household books written by women, from the Wellcome Library in London. |
| Witchcraft in Europe and America [microform] |
| Microfilm 05401 |
104 reels |
Printed guide: Firestone Microforms BF1566.R47 |
| Reproduces books on witchcraft from the collections of Cornell University, the Lea Library at the University of Pennsylvania, and elsewhere. Good coverage of all aspects of witchcraft, including many trial accounts. Note: much of the material in English may also be found in Early English Books Online and Eighteenth Century Collections Online. |
| Aristocratic women [microform]: the social, political and cultural history of rich and powerful women |
| Microfilm 10536 |
25 reels |
Printed guide: Firestone Microforms HQ1593 .A747 |
| Reproduces the correspondence of Jemima, Marchioness Grey (1722-97) and her circle; the correspondence and diaries of Charlotte Georgiana, Lady Bedingfeld (formerly Jerningham), c1779-1833; and the letters of Anna Seward, c1791-1804 and Lady Stafford, c1774-1837.
|
| Bibliography of American women [microform] |
| Microfilm 05117 |
14 reels |
Printed guide: none |
| "Encompassing fifty thousand titles, this systematic listing for monographs in women's history covers works in all fields of study published from 1600 to 1904. Compiled by Dr. H. Carleton Marlow of Brigham Young University, it is arranged on film in chronological, alphabetical, and subject order." [From the Library of Congress web site, http://www.loc.gov/rr/microform/wmnmicro.html] |
| Twentieth Century Advice Literature |
| Digital collection of advice manuals, etiquette books, how-to-guides, professional manuals, textbooks, and government and association publications that provide insight into social and economic issues including race, sex, gender, and family life in 20th century America |
| Publications on the Status of Women |
| Full text database of reports and publications issued by local and state commissions on the status of women. When complete, these publications will document women's issues in all 50 states and include an array of ephemeral materials, charts, graphs, and tables. c. 1960. |
| Women Working (1800-1930) |
| Access to digitized historical, manuscript, and image resources selected from Harvard's library and museum collections that explore women's roles in the US economy between the Civil War and the Great Depression. |
| Sexual politics in Britain [microform] |
| Microfiche 915 |
517 fiche |
Printed guide: Firestone Microforms Z7164. S42S49 |
| Consists of periodicals published by, and records of, women's and gay rights organizations. Covers 1967-1982.
|
| Twentieth century trade union woman [microform] |
| Microfiche 665 |
41 fiche |
Printed guide: none |
| Consists of oral history interviews with women active in trade unions in the U.S. |
| Cornell University collection of women’s rights pamphlets on microfiche |
| MICROFICHE 163 |
124 fiche |
Printed guide: Firestone Microforms HQ1423.C6 |
| Consists of pamphlets on women's rights, 1814-1912, collected by Cornell University. Arranged chronologically, but indexed by author. Printed guide includes brief abstract for each item. |
| Helen Blackburn pamphlet collecton from Girton College [microform] |
| Microfilm 11988 |
29 reels |
Printed guide: Firestone Microforms JN979 .H44 1987 |
| Blackburn (1842-1903) was a British feminist. This collection consists of pamphlets from Britain, the U.S. and many European countries on suffrage, education, employment, and other issues. On Blackburn, see http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/31905 |
| Webster vs. Reproductive Health Services. Section IX, Amici curiae briefs [microform] |
| Microfiche 1560 |
84 fiche |
Printed guide: Firestone Microforms KF228.W38W33 1990 |
| Documents from the landmark Supreme Court case of 1989 on the constitutionality of a Missouri state statute regulating abortion. Includes the 80 amicus curiae briefs filed by organizations in this case. |
| Women and law [microform] |
| Microfilm 05626 |
40 reels |
Printed guide: Firestone Microforms KF478.A5 B37 |
| Consists of newspaper and magazine clippings, research papers, and ephemera documenting the women's rights movement, primarily in the U.S. but also worldwide, in the 1970's. Compiled at the Women’s Law Library of the Women’s History Research Center. Organized by topic, e.g. law, politics, employment, education, rape/prison/prostitution, and Black/Third World. |
| Proletarische Frauenbewegung [microform]: of the 19th & early 20th centuries |
| Microfiche 1925 |
1413 microfiches |
Printed guide: Firestone Microforms Z7964.G3 P764 1999q |
| A rich collectin of material from the German proletarian women's movement. In German. Online guide at http://firestone.princeton.edu/hellenic/Frauenbewegung.pdf |
| Records of The National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs, 1895-1992 [microform] |
| Microfilm 09022 |
41 reels |
Printed guide: Firestone Microforms E185.86 .R426 |
| Consists of correspondence and reports documenting the activities of the NACWC, which advocated for civil rights and addressed issues such as health and education. |
| Papers of the Association Against the Prohibition Amendment and the Women’s Organization for National Prohibition Reform [microform] |
| Microfilm 05209 |
17 reels |
Printed guide: Firestone Microforms HV5089.G84. |
| This collection documents the activities of the WONPR, which was founded in 1929 to work for the repeal of Prohibition. |
| Bureau of Social Hygiene project and research files, 1913-1940 [microform] |
| Microfilm 05108 |
31 reels |
Printed guide: Firestone Microforms HV99.N6B853 |
| The Bureau of Social Hygiene was a research institute founded by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and charged with investigating social problems and crime, especially prostitution. The project files are arranged by topic. Covers primarily 1928-1935, with some earlier and later material. |
| Archives of the Fabian Society [microform] |
| Microfilm S00836 |
15 reels |
Printed guide: Firestone Microforms HX241.F333 F343 |
| The Fabian Society is a British socialist organization established in 1884. Pt. 5 of the microfilm of their archives includes the Papers and records of the Fabian Women’s Group, 1919-1951. |
| Papers of the League of Women Voters, 1918-1974 [microform] |
| Microfilm 08602 |
97 reels |
Printed guide: Firestone Microforms JK1881 .P363 |
| Documents the activities of the League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan group advocating participation in the democratic process. The League addressed issues such as women's rights and U.S. foreign policy, and provided a path to political involvement for women. The papers of the League are held by the Library of Congress. |
| Association of Southern Women for the Prevention of Lynching papers, 1930-1942 [microform] |
| Microfilm 05551 |
8 reels |
Printed guide: Firestone Microforms E185.61.C655 |
| Comprises correspondence, newspaper clippings, minutes, memos and pamphlets documenting the activities of the Association. |
| National Woman’s Party papers. Suffrage years, 1913-1920 [microform] |
| Microfilm 04446 |
97 reels |
Printed guide: Firestone Microforms Z7965.N37 |
| The National Woman's Party was formed to lobby for the passage and ratification of the constitutional amendment that gave women the right to vote. The papers consist of correspondence, files and reports, plus publications and newspaper clippings. The guide includes a brief history of the NWP and an index to the correspondence. |
| National Womans Party papers. Part 1, National Woman's Party papers, 1913-1974 |
| Microfilm 11771 |
50 reels |
Printed guide: Firestone Microforms Z7965.N37 Z7965.N37 |
| See above. Documents the activities on the NWP after the passage of the 19th Amendment, including the party's struggle for the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment. Note: we have only the first Series, Correspondence, of this collection. |
| Records of the Women’s Bureau of the Department of Labor, 1918-1965 [microform] |
| Microfilm 10548 |
23 reels |
Printed guide: Firestone Microforms HD6095 .R426 |
| Established in 1920, the Women's Bureau documented the condition of women workers in the U.S. The collection consists of reports, surveys, material from conferences, and speeches and articles by Women's Bureau staff. Princeton holds only Part 1 of this microfilm collection. |
| President’s Commission on the Status of Women [microform] |
| Microfilm 11818 |
13 reels |
Printed guide: Firestone Microforms HQ1421 .P737 |
| From 1961 to 1963, the Commission addressed many issues faced by women in the U.S. workplace, including pay, child care, and labor law. This collection documents with work of the Commission and includes letters, meeting minutes, and reports. |
| Grassroots Feminist Organizations [microform] |
| Received but not yet cataloged, January 2009 |
96 reels |
Printed guide: none |
| Material from Boston area Second Wave Organizations and the San Francisco Women’s Center. |
| Women’s periodicals [microform]: 18th century to the great Depression. |
| Microfilm 11993 |
149 reels |
Printed guide: Firestone Microforms HQ1180 .W6753 1991 |
| Collection of women's magazines. Primarily U.S. and British material, but some international coverage. The material is grouped by topic: economics, fashion, literature and the arts, religion, and social and political issues. |
| Popular women’s magazines at the British Library, London [microform] |
| MICROFILM 06832 |
See below |
Printed guide: Firestone Microforms HQ1591 .S623 ser.2 |
| Reproduces a group of widely-read women's magazines: Woman, 1890-1912 (reels 1-21); Englishwoman’s review and drawing room journal, 1857-1859, and Myra’s journal of dress and fashion, 1875-1912 (reels 22-42); The Ladies’ pocket magazine, 1826-1839, The Ladies’ treasury, 1858-1869; and La Belle assemblée, 1806-1832 (reels 62-70). |
| Radical and reforming periodicals for and by women [microform] |
| Microfilm 05336 |
38 reels |
Printed guide: Firestone Microforms HQ1591 .S623 ser.1 |
| Selected women's periodicals from the British Library. Covers 1870-1928. Reflects a range of political points of view, and also includes some women's professional magazines. |
| European women’s periodicals [microform] |
| MICROFILM S01900 |
85 reels |
Printed guide: Firestone Microforms HQ1586 .E88 1992 |
| Selected women's magazines from the International Institute of Social History and other archives. Unit 2 consists of periodicals from France. Unit 3 consists of periodicals from Germany. Covers 1840-1940. We do not have Unit 1 (Austria & Belgium). |
| Herstory [microform] |
| Microfilm S00485 |
|
Printed guide: Firestone Microforms HQ1154.H4 |
| Collection of women's newsletters and periodicals from the Women's History Library at Berkeley. Covers the early 1970's, primarily U.S. but also some international and some material as early as 1945. Individual titles are listed in the Main Catalog; do a Guided Search for "herstory" as Series Title to identify all the titles. |
| Some important mass-market American women's magazines |
Princeton holds microfilm copies of several influential American women's magazines, covering much of the 20th century and offering insight into women's history and popular culture:
- Ladies Home Journal 1883-1965 [MICROFILM S00487]
- Good Housekeeping 1885-1979 [MICROFILM S00269]
- Vogue 1892-1950 [MICROFILM S01478]
- McCall's 1894-1979 [MICROFILM S01889]
- Redbook 1903-1979 [MICROFILM S01890]
|
| The collected correspondence of Lydia Maria Child, 1817-1880 |
| Microfiche 517 |
97 fiche |
Printed guide: Firestone Microforms E449.C534152H64 |
| Child was an American journalist and abolitionist who corresponded widely with important political and literature figures of the 19th c. U.S. See also http://www.anb.org/articles/15/15-00127.html |
| The papers of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony [microform] |
| Microfilm 06966 |
45 reels |
Printed guide: Firestone Microforms HQ1412 .P364 |
| Compilation of the public and private papers of the two leaders of the American women's suffrage movement in the late 19th c. The papers are held in a number of archives and private collections. Includes diaries, letters, news clippings and scrapbooks, and legal papers. The printed guide has a detailed subject/name index. See also http://www.anb.org/articles/15/15-00021.html and below. |
| Emma Goldman papers [microform]: a microfilm edition |
| Microfilm 11725 |
69 reels |
Printed guide: Firestone Microforms HX843.7.G65E43 1995 |
| Goldman (1869-1940) was an anarchist and feminist who was deported from the U.S. to the newly created Soviet Union in 1919; after 1921, she moved through several European countries and Canada. The collection consists of correspondence, published material by and about Goldman, and government surveillance documents from the U.S., Britain, Russia, and elsewhere. See also http://www.anb.org/articles/15/15-00276.html |
| The papers of Margaret Sanger [microform] |
| Microfilm 09965 |
145 reels |
Printed guide: none |
| Sanger (1879-1966) was an American advocate of birth control and an activist in many related areas. Her papers document her public and private activities and include the records of a number of organizations in which she was involved, including Planned Parenthood. The collection comprises material from the Library of Congress. See also http://www.anb.org/articles/15/15-00598.html |
| Margaret Sanger papers. Documents from the Sophia Smith Collection and college archives, Smith College (Series 2) [microform] |
| Microfilm 11675 |
83 reels |
Printed guide:Firestone Microforms HQ764.S3 S263 ser. 2 |
| See above. |
| Margaret Sanger papers. Collected documents series [microform] |
| Microfilm 11676 |
18 reels |
Printed guide: Firestone Microforms HQ764.S3 S263 ser. 3 |
| See above. |
| Papers of Emily Greene Balch, 1875-1961 [microform] |
| Microfilm 11999 |
26 reels |
Printed guide: Firestone Microforms JZ5540.2.B34 P37 1988 |
| Balch was a sociologist and peace activist who receive the Nobel Peace Prize in 1946. See http://www.anb.org/articles/15/15-00032.html |
| Papers of Mary Church Terrell [microform] |
| Microfilm 11885 |
34 reels |
Printed guide: Firestone Microforms |
| Terrell (1863-1954) was an African-American social activist and a founder of the National Association of Colored Women. Her papers are at the Library of Congress. See http://www.anb.org/articles/15/15-00686.html |
| Mary McLeod Bethune papers [microform]: the Bethune-Cookman College collection, 1922-1955 |
| Microfilm 10234 |
13 reels |
Printed guide: Firestone Microforms E185.97.B34 A3 |
| Bethune (1875-1955), an important figure in the civil rights movement, founded what became the Bethune-Cookman College in 1904 to educate African-Americans. She was active in the federal government and in many African-American organizations. This collection consists of the records of the college. See also http://www.anb.org/articles/06/06-00042.html |
| Mary McLeod Bethune papers: Bethune Foundation collection [microform]: |
| Microfilm 11958 |
19 reels |
Printed guide: Firestone Microforms E185.97.B34 A2 1996 |
| See above. This collection consists of Bethune's correspondence and other personal papers, plus material on the Bethune Foundation, which she founded in 1953. |
| Papers of Edwin Doak & Lucia Ames Mead, 1876-1936 [microform] |
| Microfilm 11985 |
11 reels |
Printed guide: Firestone Microforms Z6464.Z9 M35 1991 |
| Mead and Doak were peace activists; Mead was also active in the women's rights movement. |
| Charlotte Eugenia Hawkins Brown papers, 1883-1961 [microform] |
| Microfilm 11986 |
4 reels |
Printed guide: Firestone Microforms LA2317.B598 A3 1999 |
| Brown was an African-American educator and founder of the Palmer Institute. See http://www.anb.org/articles/09/09-00117.html. |
| Papers of Hannah Clothier Hull, 1889-1958 [microform] |
| Microfilm 11987 |
6 reels |
Printed guide: Firestone Microforms Z6464.Z9 H85 1991 |
| Hull was a peace activist, especially through her involvement with the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. See http://www.anb.org/articles/20/20-00492.html |
| Fannie Lou Hamer, 1917-1977 [microform]: papers, 1966-1978 |
| Microfilm 11839 |
17 reels |
Printed guide: Firestone Microforms E185.97.H35 A3 2005a |
| Hamer was an African-American civil rights activist. See http://www.anb.org/articles/15/15-00821.html |
| American women’s diaries [microform] |
| Microfilm 08665 |
55 reels |
Printed guide: Firestone Microforms CT3260 .A437 |
| Part 1 reproduces 8 women's diaries from New England, from the collections of the American Antiquarian Society. Part 2 includes 32 diaries by Southern women. The material covers the late 18th c. through the early 20th c. |
| Manuscript Women's Letters and Diaries |
| Collection of previously unpublished letters and diaries by women of the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries documenting the details of their lives and illuminating the roles women played within their families, their communities, and the social and political movements of their times. The collection is drawn entirely from the extensive holdings of the American Antiquarian Society. |
| Southern women and their families in the 19th century [microform]: papers and diaries |
| Microfilm 06950 |
411 reels |
Printed guide: Firestone Microforms HQ1458 .S687 |
| Consists of diaries and letters written by women in the American South in the 19th century. Covers a rich variety of topics including the Civil War, slavery, marriage and childbearing, religion and politics. |
| New England women and their families in the 18th and 19th centuries [microform]: personal papers, letters and diaries |
| Microfilm 10625 |
148 reels |
Printed guide: Firestone Microforms HQ1438.N35 N483 |
| Consists of diaries and letters written by women in New England. From the collections of the American Antiquarian Society and the Newport Historical Society. Subject indexes in the guides for each part of the series. |
| Miriam Y. Holden Collection |
| Miriam Holden, wife of Arthur Holden '12, assembled a significant collection of books on the history and achievements of women, which was donated to Princeton University around 1980. Part of the collection is housed in the Holden room on B floor; other parts are in Rare Books and Special Collection. See http://libweb5.princeton.edu/visual_materials/pulc/pulc_v_41_n_2.pdf for a description of the collection at that time, and also the finding aid to Holden's personal papers at http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/d504rk359 |
| Women's World Banking Records, 1964-1996 |
| Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library, Public Policy Papers, MC198 |
| "Women's World Banking (WWB), one of the world's leaders in microenterprise financing, is a not-for-profit international financial institution founded in 1979 to facilitate the participation of poor women entrepreneurs in the modern economy at the local level." (from the Finding Aid, which can be accessed from http://diglib.princeton.edu/ead/index.html) |
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