Our collections

A wide range of primary source material, including printed and manuscript cookbooks, advertising ephemera, government reports, films and illustrated content. It reveals the evolution of food and drink within everyday life and the public sphere. The material in this collection has been sourced from across the globe to reflect a wide range of food cultures and traditions.

Unique and extremely rare eighteenth-century periodicals, each chosen to convey the eclecticism and evolution of the publishing world between 1685 and 1835. Highlights include a complete run of The Lady's Magazine, and rare titles missed out of other collections focused on the Eighteenth Century.

Revealing the voices and experiences of the men and women who served in the First World War, this rich and varied collection will be an invaluable source for anyone studying and researching the ‘Great War’. Material includes letters and diaries of service people, maps, photo albums, artwork, oral histories, official documents, newspapers, posters and much more, covering all aspects of the global conflict.

A digital collection of manuscript, visual and printed works that allows students and researchers to explore and compare a range of sources on the history of travel. Many come from private or neglected collections.

Explore domestic life, leisure and material culture of nineteenth- and twentieth-century America. This resource presents a wealth of highly illustrated primary source documents that highlight commercial tastes and consumer trends, and provide a valuable visual record for a breadth of interdisciplinary study.