Selected Historical Collections
Selected Historical Collections. The following are selected digital collections of historical materials and other resources of use to legal researchers. Locate additional digital collections including electronic book and text collections using Find E-Resources, a component of E-Research @ Harvard Libraries. Click the Subject tab to browse resources by subject and type. Click the Keyword tab to search for resources by keyword, subject and type. Visit HLS Library Special Collections for information on digital collections produced by the HLS Library.
Help. Please contact the Langdell reference desk, (617) 495-4516, located just off the reading room on the fourth floor of Langdell Hall with any questions.
American Broadsides and Ephemera
- American Broadsides and Ephemera, Series 1, 1760-1900
American Broadsides and Ephemera, Series 1, 1760-1900, a component of the Readex Archive of Americana, is a digital collection of approximately 15,000 broadsides printed between 1820 and 1900 and 15,000 pieces of ephemera printed between 1760 and 1900. Subjects of these broadsides range from contemporary accounts of the Civil War, unusual occurrences and natural disasters to official government proclamations, tax bills and town meeting reports. Featuring many rare items, the pieces of ephemera include clipper ship sailing cards, early trade cards, bill heads, theater and music programs, stock certificates, menus and invitations documenting civic, political and private celebrations. (Harvard University ID and PIN required.)
American Memory
- American Memory: Historical Collections from the National Digital Library
American Memory, produced by The Library of Congress National Digital Library, is a digital collection of primary source materials relating to the history and culture of the United States. American Memory offers digitized documents, photographs, recorded sound, moving pictures and text from historical collections in a broad range of topics, including advertising, African American history, architecture and landscape, cities and towns, culture and folk life, environment and conservation, government and law, immigration and American expansion, literature, maps, Native American history, performing arts and music, Presidents, religion, sports and recreation, technology and industry, war and the military, and women's history. Government and law collections include Documents from the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention, 1774-1789, A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774-1875, Slaves and the Courts, 1740-1860, and papers of Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and Abraham Lincoln.
American Periodicals Series Online
- American Periodicals Series Online, 1740-1900
American Periodicals Series Online, 1740-1900 is a digital collection of American magazines and journals that originated between 1741, when Andrew Bradford's American Magazine and Benjamin Franklin's General Magazine were launched, and 1900. American Periodicals Series Online includes over 1,100 periodicals spanning nearly 200 years-from colonial times to the advent of American involvement in World War II. Titles range from America's first scientific journal, Medical Repository, to popular magazines like Vanity Fair and Ladies' Home Journal. (Harvard University ID and PIN required.)
American State Papers
- American State Papers, 1789-1838 (Archive of Americana)
American State Papers (American Memory)American State Papers, 1789-1838, a component of the Readex Archive of Americana, is a digital collection of approximately 6280 numbered publications, largely Congressional but also containing Executive Department materials. The American State Papers (Special Collections Rare 57 21.8) were originally issued from 1832-1861 in 38 folio volumes organized in ten classes: I Foreign Relations in six volumes; II Indian Affairs in two volumes; III Finance in five volumes; IV Commerce and Navigation in two volumes; V Military Affairs in seven volumes; VI Naval Affairs in four volumes; VII Post-office Department in one volume; VIII Public Lands in eight volumes; IX Claims in one volume; and X Miscellaneous in two volumes. American State Papers is also available through American Memory. (Harvard University ID and PIN required.)
Archive of Americana
- Archive of Americana
The Archive of Americana is a set of comprehensive digital collections of books, pamphlets, broadsides, newspapers, government publications and ephemera including American Broadsides and Ephemera, Series 1, 1760-1900, Early American Imprints, Series I: Evans, 1639-1800; Early American Imprints, Series II: Shaw-Shoemaker, 1801-1819; America’s Historical Newspapers, 1690-1922; American State Papers, 1789-1838; U.S. Congressional Serial Set, 1817-1980; House and Senate Journals, Series I, 1789-1817; and Senate Executive Journals, Series I, 1789-1866. (Harvard University ID and PIN required.)
Early American Imprints
- Early American Imprints, Series I, Evans, 1639-1800
Early American Imprints, Series II, Shaw-Shoemaker, 1801-1819Early American Imprints, a component of the Readex Archive of Americana, is a digital collection of books, pamphlets and broadsides issued in America from 1639 to 1819. Early American Imprints, Series I is based on the American Bibliography by Charles Evans and the Supplement to Charles Evans’ American Bibliography by Roger P. Bristol. Early American Imprints, Series II is based on American Bibliography: A Preliminary Checklist for 1801-1819 by Ralph R. Shaw and Richard H. Shoemaker. Early American Imprints is also available in microfiche: Early American Imprints, First Series, 1639-1800 (Lamont Microforms Microfiche W 2571) and Early American Imprints, Second Series, 1801-1819 (Lamont Microforms Microfiche W 4532). Early American Imprints provides for simple and advanced searching, and for browsing by a variety of subject terms, genre, author, and printer and publisher. Searchable, OCR-generated ASCII text is associated with each page image. (Harvard University ID and PIN required.)
Early English Books Online
- Early English Books Online, 1473-1700
Early English Books Online (EEBO) is a digital collection of virtually every work printed in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and British North America and works in English printed elsewhere from 1473-1700 covering a broad range of subjects such as literature, history, music, art, linguistics and religion. The EEBO collection is based on titles listed in the Short-Title Catalogue of Books Printed in England, Scotland, & Ireland and of English Books Printed Abroad, 1475-1640 first compiled by A. W. Pollard & G. R. Redgrave and the Short-Title Catalogue of Books Printed in England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and British America, and of English books printed in other countries, 1641-1700 compiled by Donald Wing, as well as the complete Thomason Tract Collection of pamphlets, books, newspapers and manuscripts issued from 1640-1661 and the Early English Books Tract Supplement. (Harvard University ID and PIN required.)
Eighteenth Century Collections Online
- Eighteenth Century Collections Online
Eighteenth Century Collections Online is a digital collection of over 150,000 books published during the 18th Century in such fields as history and geography, fine arts, social sciences, medicine, science and technology, literature and language and religion and philosophy. (Harvard University ID and PIN required.)
Eighteenth Century Journals
- Eighteenth Century Journals
Eighteenth Century Journals is a selection of rare journals printed between 1714 and 1799 illuminating all aspects of eighteenth century social, political and literary life. Many are ephemeral, lasting only for a handful of issues, others run for several years. (Harvard University ID and PIN required.)
HeinOnline English Reports
- HeinOnline English Reports
The HeinOnline English Reports provides full-text access to the original bound reprint edition of the English Reports together with the Indexes and Book of Charts. Special navigation tools include the Case Locator, Chart Tool, and Advanced Search. The HeinOnline English Reports may be browsed by volume, by index and by the Book of Charts. The English Reports is a 178 volume set containing more than 100,000 early English cases published between 1220 and 1865 and is located in the basement north stacks of Langdell Hall at KD 270 1220 .E5x . The English Reports is not a chronological publication. It is a reprint of hundreds of nominate reports, which are case reporters of specific courts referred to by their creator's name. Each case in the English Reports has two citations, an English Reports citation and a nominative citation. The English Reports on CD-ROM is available on the Library’s public network. (Harvard University ID and PIN required.)
HeinOnline Law Journal Library
- HeinOnline Law Journal Library
The HeinOnline Law Journal Library provides full-text access to law reviews and journals. Coverage begins with a journal's first volume but does not usually include its most recent issues. (Harvard University ID and PIN required.)
HeinOnline Legal Classics Library
- HeinOnline Legal Classics Library
The HeinOnline Legal Classics Library is a digital collection of many of the most highly regarded works written on the law. The Legal Classics Library collection is based on titles listed in the Bibliography of Early American Law by Morris L. Cohen. Additional titles have been selected from the AALS Law Books Recommended for Libraries, plus a number of additional early British and Commonwealth titles. (Harvard University ID and PIN required.)
HeinOnline Treaties and Agreements Library
- HeinOnline Treaties and Agreements Library
The HeinOnline Treaties and Agreements Library provides full-text access to several important treaty series, including official and unofficial U.S. treaty publications, treaty guides and indexes, various treaty collections, books and texts, and other useful materials. (Harvard University ID and PIN required.)
HeinOnline U.S. Presidential Library
- HeinOnline U.S. Presidential Library
The HeinOnline U.S. Presidential Library provides full-text access to a wide variety of sources of Presidential Documents, Messages and Papers, including A Compilation of Messages and Papers of the Presidents compiled by James D. Richardson (Volumes 1-20, 1789-1916, George Washington to Woodrow Wilson); A Compilation of Messages and Papers of the Presidents (New Series) compiled by James D. Richardson (Volumes 1-22, 1789-March 1929, George Washington to Herbert Hoover) and other Presidential sources including Code of Federal Regulations: Title 3 (1936-2001, includes Proclamations, Executive Orders and other Presidential Documents including Administrative Orders and Reorganization Plans); Inaugural Addresses of the Presidents of the United States (1789-1989); Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents; Economic Reports of the President; List and Index of Presidential Executive Orders, 1789-1941 edited by Clifford L. Lord; and Presidential Executive Orders edited by Clifford L. Lord (Volumes 1-2, 1862-1938). (Harvard University ID and PIN required.)
HeinOnline World Trials Collection
- HeinOnline World Trials Collection
The HeinOnline World Trials Collection provides full-text access to transcripts and accounts of trials from around the world. Also included are works that analyze and debate famous trials and biographies of well-known trial lawyers. (Harvard University ID and PIN required.)
House and Senate Journals
House and Senate Journals, Series I, 1789-1817 (Archive of Americana)
House Journal (American Memory; 1st-43rd Congress, 1789-1875)
Senate Journal (American Memory; 1st-43rd Congress, 1789-1875)
House and Senate Journals, Series I, 1789-1817, a component of the Readex Archive of Americana, is a digital collection of the Journals of the United States House of Representatives and Senate covering the first 14 Congresses of the United States. The Journals contain the minutes of floor actions noting matters considered and votes and other actions taken. The Journals do not record the actual debates in the House and Senate. The House Journal and the Senate Journal are also available through American Memory. (Harvard University ID and PIN required.)
Index to Legal Periodicals Retrospective
Index to Legal Periodicals Retrospective, 1908-1981
The Index to Legal Periodicals Retrospective (ILPR) provides access to over 750 legal periodicals and covers the period 1908-1981. Geographical coverage includes the United States, Australia, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland and New Zealand. ILP is available in print in the Library at Reference K 33 .I54 and ILS RR K 33 .I54. See Jones & Chipman for coverage of 1786-1922 and print coverage up to 1937. (Harvard University ID and PIN required.)
Jones & Chipman's Index to Legal Periodical Literature
- Jones & Chipman's Index to Legal Periodical Literature, 1786-1922
Jones & Chipman's Index to Legal Periodical Literature covers the content of about 235 British legal periodicals and 67 Law Report titles from 1786-1922. It is available through 19th Century Masterfile, a collection of indexes covering 19th-century periodicals and newspapers. Jones & Chipman is also available in print in the Library at Reference K 33 .I53. (Harvard University ID and PIN required.)
JSTOR
- JSTOR
JSTOR, a not-for-profit organization, is dedicated to the development of a digital library in support of the arts and sciences. JSTOR comprises the full-text of more than 200 academic journals covering a very wide range of disciplines. JSTOR allows browsing by issue and full-text searching by discipline, by individual titles, or of the entire collection. Coverage of a journal begins with its first volume. However, current volumes are embargoed for a period of 1 to 7 years and are unavailable on JSTOR. (Harvard University ID and PIN required.)
Legal Portraits Online
- Legal Portraits Online
Legal Portraits Online is a digitized collection of more than 4,000 portrait images of lawyers, jurists, political figures, and legal thinkers dating from the Middle Ages to the late 20th-century drawn from the Harvard Law School Legal Portrait Collection. These prints, drawings and photographs depict legal figures prominent in the Common Law as well as those associated with the Canon and Civil Law traditions. Visit HLS Library Special Collections for information on other digital collections produced by the HLS Library.
LexisNexis Congressional
- LexisNexis Congressional
LexisNexis Congressional is a major source of information about the members of Congress and their legislative activities and a primary resource for accessing the many publications of the U.S. Congress from 1789 to present. LexisNexis Congressional provides coverage of Congressional publications including House and Senate Committee Reports, Committee Hearings, Committee Prints and Documents. LexisNexis Congressional provides extensive legislative histories for acts passed from 1969 to present. All Congressional publications from 1970 to present, except bills and resolutions and the Congressional Record, are available in a companion microfiche service located in the Langdell Microform Room beginning at Drawer 479. Pre-1970 Congressional publications are available in separate microfiche collections located in Lamont Library Government Documents. The CIS Serial Set (1789-1969) microfiche collection is located in the Langdell Microform Room beginning at Drawer 467. LexisNexis Congressional provides access to a digital collection of the United States Statutes at Large (1789 to present) and Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports (1916 to present). LexisNexis Congressional provides coverage of recent bills and bill-status, floor votes, Public Laws and the current U.S. Code. LexisNexis Congressional provides coverage of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations. LexisNexis Congressional provides coverage of the Congressional Record and Rules of Congress. LexisNexis Congressional provides news coverage and issue analysis of the activities of Congress drawn from the Hill, Roll Call, the Washington Post and other national and regional news sources. (Harvard University ID and PIN required.)
LLMC Digital
- LLMC Digital
The LLMC Digital collection, produced by the Law Library Microform Consortium, includes both historical and current legal literature and government documents in full-text. It is organized into the following categories: Common Law Abroad-British Canada; Military Law; U.S. Federal-Executive; U.S. Federal-Legislative; U.S.-Federal-Judicial; and U.S. States-Michigan. Although LLMC Digital is in its early stage of development, it provides access to a significant amount of material from the United States federal legislative, executive and judicial branches. Eventually, LLMC plans to make available online its entire backfile of filmed materials, as well as all future filming. The LLMC website provides updates on the progress of the project. For a list of collections and summaries of online holdings see Content Status Table. For a short title list, see Collections. See also the LLMC Digital Newsletters. The Law Library owns some LLMC microfiche collections. (See Microfiche Titles.) Search HOLLIS Catalog for specific titles. (Harvard University ID and PIN required.)
Making of Modern Law: Legal Treatises 1800-1926
- Making of Modern Law: Legal Treatises 1800-1926
The Making of Modern Law: Legal Treatises 1800-1926 is a digital collection of 19th and early-20th century legal treatises compiled largely from Harvard Law School Library Special Collections. Texts were selected by consulting a number of bibliographies, and a few advisors, including David Ferris, Curator of Rare Books and Manuscripts. Making of Modern Law comprises over 21,000 fully searchable works from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries on British Commonwealth and American law, with 14,900 titles from the nineteenth century and 7,100 titles from the years 1900 to 1926. Making of Modern Law covers nearly every aspect of law, encompassing a range of analytical, theoretical, and practical literature, some very rare. The monographs and materials in Legal Treatises include casebooks, local practice manuals, books on legal form, works for lay readers, pamphlets, letters, and speeches. Other contributing libraries included Yale, York University in Toronto, and Columbia University. (Harvard University ID and PIN required.)
Making of Modern Law: U.S. Supreme Court Records and Briefs 1832-1978
- Making of Modern Law: U.S. Supreme Court Records and Briefs 1832-1978
The Making of Modern Law: U.S. Supreme Court Records and Briefs 1832-1978 is a digital collection of more than 350,000 separate documents from over 150,000 Supreme Court cases. Search by keyword, author (counsel or organization), case name, court term year and document filing date, and U.S. Reports citation. U.S. Supreme Court Records and Briefs is derived from the collections of the Jenkins Memorial Law Library in Philadelphia and Library of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. Document types include Appellant's Brief; Appellee's Brief; Application for Review; Application for Writ; Brief in Opposition; Brief of Real Party; Intervenor's Brief; Jurisdictional Statement; Letter Brief; Opposition for Review; Oral Transcript; Petition; Petition for Rehearing; Petitioner's Brief; Petition for Writ of Certiorari; Relator's Brief; Supplement to Petition; and Transcript. (Harvard University ID and PIN required.)
Making of the Modern World
- Making of the Modern World: The Goldsmiths'-Kress Library of Economic Literature
Making of the Modern World The Goldsmiths'-Kress Library of Economic Literature is a digital collection of economic literature selected from the collections of the Goldsmiths' Library of Economic Literature at the University of London Library and the Kress Library of Business and Economics at the Harvard Business School along with supplementary materials from the Seligman Collection in the Butler Library at Columbia University and from the libraries of Yale University. The Making of the Modern World digital collection focuses on economics as well as such related topics as political science, history and sociology and includes special collections on banking, finance, transportation and manufacturing. (Harvard University ID and PIN required.)
Nineteenth Century Masterfile
- Nineteenth Century Masterfile
Nineteenth Century Masterfile provides access to historical research prior to 1925. Nineteenth Century Masterfile brings together over 60 subject indexes to periodicals, newspapers, books, U.S. and U.K. government documents, and U.S. patents. (Harvard University ID and PIN required.)
Senate Executive Journal
- Senate Executive Journals, Series I, 1789-1866 (Archive of Americana)
Senate Executive Journal (American Memory; 1st-43rd Congress, 1789-1875)Senate Executive Journals, Series I, 1789-1866, a component of the Readex Archive of Americana, is a digital collection of the Executive Journal of the United States Senate covering the 1st Congress through the first session of the 39th Congress. The Executive Journal records Senate executive proceedings related to the confirmation of Presidential nominees and consenting to treaties. The Senate Executive Journal is also available through American Memory. (Harvard University ID and PIN required.)
U.S. Congressional Serial Set
- U.S. Congressional Serial Set, 1817-1980 (Archive of Americana)
U.S. Congressional Serial Set (American Memory; selected documents, 23rd-64th Congress, 1833-1917)The U.S. Congressional Serial Set, 1817-1980, a component of the Readex Archive of Americana, is a digital collection of reports, documents and journals of U.S. Congress. The U.S. Congressional Serial Set constitutes an incomparably rich collection of primary source material on all aspects of American history. Use this resource for researching political history, military history, explorations, social history, ethnic history, genealogy, cultural history, international relations, commerce and industrial development. The U.S. Congressional Serial Set is available on microfiche in the Langdell Microform Room beginning at Drawer 467. The U.S. Congressional Serial Set is also available through American Memory. (Harvard University ID and PIN required.)
Compiled and edited by Michael Jimenez.