Primary Sources
Prelinger Archives official site
Prelinger Archives on the Internet Archive: view the films! Use the Tag Cloud or Browse by Subject/Keywords
Search box near the top of the screen allows you to limit your search to the Prelinger Archives or search all Moving Images available via the Internet Archive
The default "any field" search includes comments field, shotlist, etc.
Truncation/wildcard symbol is * (child* = child, childs, children, childish, childhood...)
If you need two or more words to appear together (a phrase) use quotes
Boolean operators (AND, OR, AND NOT) must be in caps
Advanced search allows a bewildering array of possibilities, including limiting by date and "boosting" a term (increasing the relevance of a search term)
Media Resources Center lists of media: Commercials and Advertisements
Non Fiction Film and Television - including ephemera, propaganda, political debates and ads, etc.
Time Magazine archive, 1923-present.
Primary Source Databases
For a more extensive list of American primary source databases go here
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Ad*Access Project
Images and information for over 7,000 advertisements printed in U.S. and Canadian newspapers and magazines between 1911 and 1955. Ad*Access concentrates on five main subject areas: Radio, Television, Transportation, Beauty and Hygiene, and World War II, providing a view of a number of major campaigns and companies through images preserved in one particular advertising collection available at Duke University.
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American TV Ad History & Showcase
Site devoted to "classic" advertisements 1940-1970. Includes an archive television advertisements available for viewing online or downloading.
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Historical Newspapers (ProQuest)
Indexes articles from Chicago Defender (1905-1975), Chicago Tribune (1849-1986), Los Angeles Times (1881-1986), New York Times (1851-2004), San Francisco Chronicle (1865-1922), Wall Street Journal (1889-1990), and Washington Post (1877-1991).
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Images from the History of Medicine
Access to the nearly 60,000 images in the prints and photograph collection of the History of Medicine Division (HMD) of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM). Includes portraits, pictures of institutions, caricatures, genre scenes, and graphic art in a variety of media.
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James C. Hormel Gay and Lesbian Center
Gateway to collections documenting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered history and culture, emphasizing the San Francisco Bay Area. Part of the San Francisco Public Library
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Living Room Candidate: Historical Presidential Campaign Commercials
An archive of historic and current political advertisements from television and the internet. Most clips include transcripts.
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Nation Digital Archive
Full text access to The Nation, a weekly news magazine covering U.S. politics and society since 1865.
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Readers' Guide Retrospective
Covers more than 500 leading American magazines and journals from 1890 to 1982.
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Women and Social Movements in the United States, 1600-2000 (WASM)
Collects and analyzes more than 1,000 documents and almost 400 images on the history of women and social movements in the United States between 1600 and 2000. Also includes links to other websites and a dictionary of social movements and organizations.