LibGuides: News Archives: Periodicals and Magazines

What are periodicals?

Periodicals are publications that are published on a regular (or periodical) basis. They can include newspapers, magazines and journal articles.

Periodical and Magazine Collections

The databases below contain a range of news and magazine collections.

19th Century UK Periodicals Online, Series 1 This link opens in a new window A selection of 19th Century British magazines providing insight into the emergence of modern British magazine publishing in the 19th century.
American Periodicals This link opens in a new window This database contains periodicals published between 1740 and 1940, including special interest and general magazines, literary and professional journals, children's and women's magazines and many other historically-significant periodicals.
British Periodicals I, II, III and IV. This link opens in a new window Searchable facsimile reproductions of British periodicals published from the 17th through the early 20th centuries.
Interwar Culture This link opens in a new window Interwar Culture showcases popular and lesser-known periodicals published during the interwar period (1919-1940) in Britain, the US, France and Australia. Articles cover culture, entertainment, fashion, home and family life, world current affairs, class, social and welfare issues.
LGBT Magazine Archive This link opens in a new window Archival runs of more than 40 of the most influential, longest-running serial publications covering LGBT interests. Includes the pre-eminent US and UK titles – The Advocate and Gay Times, respectively. Chronicles more than six decades of the history and culture of the LGBT community. In addition to LGBT/gender/sexuality studies, this material also serves related disciplines such as sociology, political science, psychology, health, and the arts. Some publications may contain explicit content.
Men's Magazine Archive This link opens in a new window A collection of mainly US men's interest magazine backfiles. Includes some of the earliest publications of this type (National Police Gazette and Argosy) and covers key topics such as fashion, sports, health, and arts/entertainment. Also includes the UK edition of Esquire. Dates vary between titles but the whole collection covers 1845-2015.
Periodicals Archive Online This link opens in a new window Periodicals Archive Online is a major archive that makes the backfiles of scholarly periodicals in the arts, humanities and social sciences available electronically, providing access to the searchable full text of hundreds of titles. The database spans more than two centuries of content, 37 key subject areas, and multiple languages.
Power to the People: Counterculture, Social Movements, and the Alternative Press This link opens in a new window Covering C19-C21, this collection covers mainly the US and UK, but also includes coverage of global events. It contains alternative press publications representing anti-establishment and countercultural ideas and movements through art, satire, humour, and alternative lifestyles. Publications include Bizarre, Viz and Fortean Times as well as pamphlet and poster collections.
Transatlantic Civil Society in Periodicals, 1768-1925 This link opens in a new window Contains a series of American journals, magazines, and trade papers published in the United Kingdom and continental Europe from 1768 to 1925. Subject matter covered includes art, literature, trade and commerce, leisure, tourism, émigré society gossip, politics, and white supremacy.
Underground and Independent Comics: Volumes I, II and III This link opens in a new window The first database containing both scholarly and primary-source materials focused on adult comic books and graphic novels. Discover the works of artists both celebrated and overlooked, alongside interviews, criticism, and journal articles. Time coverage: 20th century onwards.
Waterloo Directory of English Newspapers and Periodicals:1800-1900 This link opens in a new window A bibliography of newspapers and periodicals published published across the UK, Europe and the English speaking world in the 19th century. A useful tool to discover local and regional newspapers , and where copies of these newspapers can be found. Includes some European languages newspaper titles. Not full text. Date coverage: 1800-1900
Wellesley Index to Victorian Periodicals, 1824-1900 This link opens in a new window Provides an index to the authorship of articles in 45 Victorian periodicals, and a bibliography of articles written by each contributor, and using each pseudonym. Citations of evidence are provided to support attributions of authorship, along with brief biographical and vocational details. Poetry is not indexed, but links to full text in other databases are provided where available.
Women's Magazine Archive This link opens in a new window Archive of leading women’s interest consumer magazines from the late-19th century to 2005. Mainly US titles, but now expanded to include major UK titles as well. Subject coverage includes gender studies, social history, economics/marketing, media, fashion, politics, and popular culture. Collections I, II and III available.
Women's Periodicals: Social and Political Issues This link opens in a new window Covers 1786-1933 with content from the U.K. and the U.S. as well as some French, German and Icelandic publications. Includes titles published by men, for women; titles published by male editors with strong input from female assistant editors/; and titles conceived and published by women, for women.
Youth and Popular Culture Magazine Archive This link opens in a new window This archive includes 10 periodicals covering a variety of dates from 1940 - 2016, highlighting topics and trends of youth culture. The longest runs of content are from Teen magazine (US) and 19 magazine (UK), though other titles are included from both the UK and US.

Individual Magazine Titles

American Women's Club Magazine, 1925–1936 This link opens in a new window
Britannia and Eve, 1926-1957 This link opens in a new window Complete facsimile of the Britannia and Eve magazines (both separate and after they combined) from 1926-1957. This is one of the set of Illustrated London News 'sister' publications. Aiming itself at wealthy and conservative women, it aimed to cover fashion, beauty, and the home.
Bystander, 1903-1940 This link opens in a new window Full text facsimile issues of The Bystander, an illustrated weekly UK magazine, which focused on British “high society” and took a light-hearted tone. It appealed mainly to a conservative, affluent readership. It covered fashion, theatre, and sports, eventually merging with The Tatler, creating The Tatler and Bystander in 1940. Digitised page scans. Date coverage: 1903-1940
Country Life Archive This link opens in a new window Digital archive of Country Life magazine, from 1901 to 2005. The archive provides insight into upper-class British culture, lifestyle and history.
Economist Historical Archive This link opens in a new window Archive of the Economist, a UK weekly news publication that focuses on politics, current affairs and business. Digitised article and full page scans, and OCR text. Date coverage: 1843-2020
Harper's Bazaar Archive This link opens in a new window Full colour magazine archive covering from 1867 - current. A chronicle of American, British, and international fashion, culture, and society, offering unique insights into the events, attitudes, and interests of the modern era.
Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News, 1874-1970 This link opens in a new window A “sister” weekly news magazine to The Illustrated London News. Known as Sport and Country from 1943, and Farm and Country from 1957-1970. This UK magazine covered sports, hunting, and agriculture. It's strongest focus was farming, but it also printed articles on theatre, literature, and music, with contributions from some of the country’s most prominent writers and artists. Digitised page scans. Date coverage: 1874-1970
Krokodil Digital Archive This link opens in a new window Long-standing USSR satirical journal published between 1922 - 2008. Featuring a wide range of political opinions and commentary on Soviet bureaucracy and excessive centralized control, religion, US foreign and domestic policy, Western political leaders and events, and more.
Liberty Magazine Historical Archive, 1924-1950 This link opens in a new window Full text facsimile archive of Liberty, a weekly US magazine founded by the publishers of the Chicago Tribune and the New York Daily News. Presentation was heavily influenced by the emerging motion-picture industry and focused on the most sensational and popular issues. Digitised article and page scans, and OCR text. Date coverage: 1924-1950
Listener Historical Archive 1929-1991 This link opens in a new window Archive of the weekly periodical published by the BBC for radio listeners and later, TV viewers. Includes transcripts and commentary of broadcasts as well as articles and interviews.
London Life, 1965-1966 This link opens in a new window Launched in 1965 and owned by Illustrated London News, this magazine title succeeded The Tatler and aimed to capture 'all aspects of life in London'. All issues are included here in full facsimile pages.
Muslims of the Soviet East Digital Archive This link opens in a new window Established in 1968 by the Spiritual Administration of the Muslims of Central Asia and Kazakhstan, and in continuous publication until its closure in 1991, the journal Muslims of the Soviet East was the only Islamic periodical carrying the official seal of approval of the Soviet government. Published originally in Uzbek, the journal added Arabic (1969), French and English (1974), Farsi (1980), and Dari (1984).
Newsweek Archive This link opens in a new window Fully searchable archive of Newsweek, a weekly magazine published New York City (U.S.). Digitised page scans. Date coverage: 1933-2012
Picture Post Historical Archive, 1938–1957 This link opens in a new window Complete archive of the popular UK magazine Picture Post. It provides a visual snap-shot of British life from 1930 to the end of the 1950s, and covers major social and political issues of the time through the use of photojournalism. Digitised article and page scans, and OCR text. Date coverage: 1930-1957
Punch Historical Archive, 1841-1992 This link opens in a new window Digital archive of Punch, the satirical weekly magazine published from 1841–1992.
Sketch, 1893-1958 This link opens in a new window A publication from the Illustrated London News, this collection contains approx. 3500 complete issues of The Sketch. The publication is full of photographs and illustrations, featuring contributions on fashion, literature, and gossip. It focused on aristocratic and celebrity culture, aiming itself at a wealthy audience.
Soviet Woman Digital Archive This link opens in a new window English language archive of the Russian magazine. Published by the Soviet Women’s Anti-Fascist Committee and the Central Council of Trade Unions of the USSR to counter anti-Soviet propaganda, and introduce Western audiences to the lifestyle, role and achievements of Soviet women. Publication spans from 1945 to 1991.
SUR, 1931-1992 This link opens in a new window Complete archives of the Latin American literary magazine SUR. Also includes manuscripts from the first issue and an unpublished set of letters by the founder Victoria Ocampo. Spanish language, with searching available in Spanish or English.
Tatler, 1901-1965 This link opens in a new window Complete facsimile of The Tatler magazine from 1901-1965, which was one of the magazines owned by The Illustrated London News. It covered news and gossip about fashion, theatre and sports (especially cricket and golf).
Through the Camera Lens: The Moving Picture World and the Silent Cinema Era, 1907-1927 This link opens in a new window The archive of the Moving Picture World magazine - the industry standard trade publication during the silent cinema era in the U.S.. The magazine reviewed current releases and published news, features, and interviews relating to all aspects of the industry.
Vogue Archive This link opens in a new window Archive of the magazine American Vogue. Includes all editions from 1892 to the present. The collection provides an insight into US fashion, culture and society.