BBC handbooks, annual reports and accounts, 1927-2002This link opens in a new windowThis collection contains handbooks, annual reports and accounts published by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) between 1927 and 2002. In addition, the collection includes a review of each year’s public service broadcasting, with detailed schedules, audience research, performance and objective tables, commentaries, and editorials. Together, these documents provide students and scholars with a unique opportunity to examine the social and cultural forces that shaped Britain in the 20th century.
BBC Listener Research Department reports 1937-1950This link opens in a new windowThis collection contains Audience Research Reports compiled by the British Broadcasting Corporation’s (BBC) Listener Research Department (LRD) between 1937 and 1950. The reports analyse wireless listening habits on both a national and regional level, representing the BBC’s earliest foray into market research. Of particular interest are the reports covering the LRD’s wartime audience research. These demonstrate how the BBC became an invaluable source of information and point of influence for the government. This collection therefore provides a unique insight into the cultural preferences of the British public during the mid-20th century.
BFI PlayerThis link opens in a new windowOn demand service streaming acclaimed, landmark and archive films from across Britain and the world. The collection focuses on British and European independent films, as well as international releases. First time users need to sign up to access all subscription content for free. Returning users need to sign-in. See More.
To sign up
1. Go to https://player.bfi.org.uk/academic/subscribe and create an account OR sign in if you already have one by selecting 'Already have an account? Sign in'
2. Select university from the dropdown list
3. Authenticate subscription using your university credentials
Once you've set up your subscription, you can simply login on BFI Player for the remainder of this academic year.
British Cartoon ArchiveThis link opens in a new windowA national collection of socio-political cartoons from British newspapers and magazines, plus comic strips, newspaper cuttings, books and magazines, from 1904 onwards.
Communism and Popular Culture in the 20th CenturyThis link opens in a new windowContains Ivor Montagu's (1904-1984) personal, political, and professional papers. Montagu is best known for his work as a filmmaker, scriptwriter, and producer. He was also a trained naturalist, the founder of the International Table Tennis Federation, president of the Southampton F.C. Supporters’ Club, and an active member of the Communist Party of Great Britain.
Crime, Punishment, and Popular Culture 1790-1920This link opens in a new windowArchival material covering crime and popular culture in the long 19th century. Drawing on global sources, the collection includes trial transcripts, police and forensic documents, photographs, true crime literature and detective novels, and newspaper accounts.
Eighteenth Century DramaThis link opens in a new windowAn archive of almost every play submitted for licence between 1737 and 1824, and hundreds of documents, including playbills, theatre records and correspondence that provide social context.
Entertainment Industry Magazine ArchiveThis link opens in a new windowArchive of US and UK trade magazines from 1880-2015, covering film, music, broadcasting and theatre, together with film fan magazines and music press titles.
Gender: Identity and Social ChangeThis link opens in a new windowPrimary sources from the 19th to 21st century documenting women's lived experiences of suffrage, gender roles, the feminist movement, the mens movement, employment, education, the body, the family, and government and politics.
Interwar CultureThis link opens in a new windowInterwar 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.
John Johnson CollectionThis link opens in a new windowCollection of ephemera, including posters, broadsides, prints and advertising material from 18th, 19th and early 20th century Britain.
Listener Historical Archive 1929-1991This link opens in a new windowArchive 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 Stage: 1660-1800This link opens in a new windowThe London Stage is a key reference work documenting theatrical performances in eighteenth-century London. This information has been compiled from the playbills, newspapers and theatrical diaries of the period.
Picture Post Historical Archive, 1938–1957This link opens in a new windowComplete archive of the popular 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.
Popular Culture in Britain and America, 1950-1975This link opens in a new windowPopular Culture explores the dynamic period of social, political and cultural change between 1950 and 1975. The resource offers thousands of images of manuscript and rare printed material as well as photographs, ephemera and memorabilia.
Punch Historical Archive, 1841-1992This link opens in a new windowDigital archive of Punch, the satirical weekly magazine published from 1841–1992.
Underground and Independent Comics: Volume I and IIThis link opens in a new windowUnderground and Independent Comics, Comix, and Graphic Novels is the first ever scholarly, primary-source database focused on adult comic books and graphic novels. Here are the works of artists both celebrated and overlooked, alongside interviews, criticism, and journal articles that document the continual growth and evolution of this artform.
Victorian Popular CultureThis link opens in a new windowPrimary source material relating to popular entertainment in America, Britain and Europe in the period from 1779 to 1930.
Wellesley Index to Victorian Periodicals, 1824-1900This link opens in a new windowProvides 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 ArchiveThis link opens in a new windowArchive 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.
World's FairsThis link opens in a new windowExplore the phenomenon of world's fairs from the Crystal Palace in 1851 and the proliferation of North American exhibitions, to fairs around the world and twenty-first century expos. Through official records, monographs, publicity, artwork and artifacts.
Youth and Popular Culture Magazine ArchiveThis link opens in a new windowThis 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.
USA Popular / Mass culture
Amateur Newspapers from the American Antiquarian Society, Part 2This link opens in a new windowExpanding on Part 1, Part 2 of this collection includes newspapers created by amateurs including children and teenagers, from the American Antiquarian Society in the period 1776 to 1912. This collection offers a unique window into grass-roots American journalism.
Amateur Newspapers from the American Antiquarian Society, Part IThis link opens in a new windowThe Amateur Newspaper collection at the American Antiquarian Society consists of about 50,000 issues, covering the period 1825-1900. There are more than 5,500 titles, from every state except Alaska and Hawaii, as well as issues from fifteen foreign countries.
American Consumer CultureThis link opens in a new windowThis multi-title platform provides cross-searchable access to hundreds of thousands of pages of essential American history across the 19th and 20th centuries.
American PeriodicalsThis link opens in a new windowThis 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.
Broadcasting AmericaThis link opens in a new windowContains the papers of David Sarnoff, President of the Radio Corporation of America, as well as other allied industry papers. Coverage is mainly 1920s-1970s, with some extra content covering pre-1920s broadcasting developments, and the final years of RCA before its sale in 1986.
Crime, Punishment, and Popular Culture 1790-1920This link opens in a new windowArchival material covering crime and popular culture in the long 19th century. Drawing on global sources, the collection includes trial transcripts, police and forensic documents, photographs, true crime literature and detective novels, and newspaper accounts.
Entertainment Industry Magazine ArchiveThis link opens in a new windowArchive of US and UK trade magazines from 1880-2015, covering film, music, broadcasting and theatre, together with film fan magazines and music press titles.
FBI File: Hollywood and J. Edgar Hoover: Communists in the Motion Picture IndustryThis link opens in a new windowDocuments relating to the FBI's investigation of the Hollywood film industry for communist infiltration (1925-1961). The files chronicle the working of major film studios such as MGM, Paramount, RKO and Warner Brothers, and record investigations into various guilds, unions and individuals such as Charlie Chaplin and Frank Sinatra.
FBI File: Hollywood and J. Edgar Hoover: Investigations of Actors and DirectorsThis link opens in a new windowDocuments relating to the FBI's investigation into the Communist activities of various motion picture personalities, including actors, directors, producers, and writers. The file, spanning the years 1922-1961, contains surveillance and informer reports, FBI 'reviews' of mainstream films that were believed to contain Communist propaganda, correspondence, news clippings and transcripts.
Interwar CultureThis link opens in a new windowInterwar 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.
J. Walter Thompson Advertising AmericaThis link opens in a new windowAn archive of the the history, operation, policies and accomplishments of one of the world's largest and oldest advertising firms. Covering the late nineteenth century up until the late 1990s with the bulk representing the post-1945 world.
Popular Culture in Britain and America, 1950-1975This link opens in a new windowPopular Culture explores the dynamic period of social, political and cultural change between 1950 and 1975. The resource offers thousands of images of manuscript and rare printed material as well as photographs, ephemera and memorabilia.
Popular Medicine in America, 1800-1900This link opens in a new windowThis collection showcases the development of 'popular' medicine in America during the 19th century, through an extensive range of material that was aimed at the general public rather than medical professionals. It includes printed sources, including rare books, pamphlets, trade cards, and ephemera.
Robert Winslow Gordon and American Folk MusicThis link opens in a new windowCovers 1909-1932, but primarily 1922-32, giving access to Gordon's manuscripts, including correspondence and collections of folk songs.
Temperance and Prohibition Movement, 1830-1933This link opens in a new windowContains the records and publications of the principal organisations which sought to reduce and eliminate the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages in the United States. Includes records of the Anti-Saloon League of America and the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union. Papers of key leaders of the movement are included as well as journals and other publications. This collection contains almost all known records of the major national temperance organisations.
Thomas A. Edison PapersThis link opens in a new windowCovering 1850-1919, this collection includes Edison's laboratory notebooks, diaries, business records, correspondence, and related materials. Also includes a collection of motion picture catalogues published between 1894-1908, advertising films, equipment, related posters, slides, lectures, and phonographs.
Through the Camera Lens: The Moving Picture World and the Silent Cinema Era, 1907-1927This link opens in a new windowThe 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.
Transatlantic Civil Society in Periodicals, 1768-1925This link opens in a new windowContains 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: Volume I and IIThis link opens in a new windowUnderground and Independent Comics, Comix, and Graphic Novels is the first ever scholarly, primary-source database focused on adult comic books and graphic novels. Here are the works of artists both celebrated and overlooked, alongside interviews, criticism, and journal articles that document the continual growth and evolution of this artform.
Victorian Popular CultureThis link opens in a new windowPrimary source material relating to popular entertainment in America, Britain and Europe in the period from 1779 to 1930.
Vogue ArchiveThis link opens in a new windowArchive of the magazine American Vogue. Includes all editions from 1892 to the present. The collection provides an insight into US fashion, culture and society.
Women's Magazine ArchiveThis link opens in a new windowArchive 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.
World's FairsThis link opens in a new windowExplore the phenomenon of world's fairs from the Crystal Palace in 1851 and the proliferation of North American exhibitions, to fairs around the world and twenty-first century expos. Through official records, monographs, publicity, artwork and artifacts.
Youth and Popular Culture Magazine ArchiveThis link opens in a new windowThis 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.
