Our collections

A varied array of records of traders, travellers, missionaries and diplomats, offering Western perspectives on many aspects of Chinese culture and society.

A vital resource for the study of Empire, the British Raj, and the history, culture and literature of the Indian subcontinent

A wide range of sources - from writers, diplomats, tourists, businessmen, missionaries and others - documenting the political, cultural and social history of Japan.

Explore the history of twentieth century broadcasting in America through the papers of early pioneer, David Sarnoff, and the Radio Corporation of America.

A range of important sources from Britain and America, covering key subjects within this field including a complete run of The Stock Exchange Official Year-Book for 1875-1945.

Covering the 18th and 19th centuries, China, America and the Pacific provides primary source materials for the study of the history of North American trade and cultural exchange with China. This collection also provides coverage of China’s and the United States' economic dealings with the whole of East Asia and the Pacific.

With documents encompassing events from the earliest English embassy to the birth and early years of the People’s Republic, this resource collects sources from nine archives to give an incredible insight into the changes in China during the period of 1793-1980.

The complete CO 5 files from the National Archives, UK, 1606-1822, Colonial America is a 'game changing' development for historians and researchers of early America, the Atlantic world, the Caribbean and the nascent British Empire. Colonial America enables online access to the vast archive of circa 70,000 documents of manuscript materials that tell the story of British involvement in North America.

Spanning five centuries and charting the rise and fall of empires around the world, Empire Online is a digital archive enabling research of colonial history, politics, culture and society. There is a focus on the British Empire, but documents also give information on other European empires and the experience of colonised people.

British Government Foreign Office files relating to Japan. An important resource due to the UK maintaining diplomatic ties to Japan for more of this period than many other nations, and the destruction of many Japanese Government records in 1945.

British Government Foreign Office files relating to the significant changes that took place in Southeast Asia during 1963-1980, including the creation of Malaysia and the response to this from the wider region.

Discover the histories of fifteen key commodities that changed the world through a wide range of manuscript sources, rare books, maps, advertising memorabilia, paintings, photographs and ephemera. Explore themes of exploration and discovery; imperialism and attempts at monopoly, trade Wars, translocation and economic geography, slavery, mass production, luxury, taste and the evolution of global branding.

From entertainment and technology to relationships and current affairs, explore everyday life and society on both sides of the Atlantic through popular and lesser-known periodicals.

The online version of the J Walter Thompson Company archive - the single most complete and informative corporate record of the history of modern advertising. It includes the account files of some of the world’s biggest brands, such as Kraft, Kodak, Oscar Mayer and Pan Am.

Primary sources on the history of tourism. Bringing together collections from multiple archives, including Thomas Cook, this resource presents an untapped multi-national perspective on the evolution of affordable tourism around the world.

Delve into the pseudo-psychological world behind the advertising of some of America’s biggest brands. What motivates women and men to buy and how can knowing that be used to sell?

Exploring the social and cultural history of shopping, the retail industry, and daily and working life.

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.

Explore life in early modern London through the lens of livery companies.