Research Guides: Historiography of Art History: ARTH 5601: Search for Primary Sources/Archives

What Are Primary Sources?

Primary sources are original records created during the life of an artist, at the time historical events occurred or well after events in the form of memoirs and oral histories. They are the sources from where most secondary sources derive.

Types of primary sources include:

objects / artifacts / photographs
sketchbooks / journals / diaries
letters (correspondence)
memoirs
interviews
manuscripts
newspaper articles
exhibition reviews
social media

Primary Sources - Databases at Temple

WorldCat
WorldCat allows you search the collections of libraries in your community and thousands more around the world
Empire Online
Empire Online contains manuscript, printed and visual materials for the study of 'Empire' and its theories, practices and consequences. The materials span across the last five centuries and are accompanied by a host of secondary learning resources including scholarly essays, maps and an interactive chronology.
Index of Medieval Art (formerly Index of Christian Art)
The Index of Medieval Art includes images and descriptive data relating to works of art produced between early apostolic times and the sixteenth century. The collection now includes secular subjects as well as a growing number of subjects from medieval Jewish and Islamic culture.
Medieval Family Life
Medieval Family Life includes the full color images and fully searchable transcriptions of the following major family letter collections from 15th century England Paston Family Papers, Cely Family Papers, Plumpton Correspondence, Stonor Correspondence, Armburgh Family Papers.
Medieval Travel Writing
Medieval Travel Writing provides access to a collection of original medieval manuscripts that describe travel (real and imaginary) in the Middle Ages. Includes: Multiple manuscript sources detailing the journeys of famous travelers, translations and supporting materials, maps showing the routes of the travelers.

Sources and Documents in the History of Art
Books series at Temple Libraries. Compilations of primary source material.

Underground and Independent Comics, Comix, and Graphic Novels
Note: Access to Volumes II and III are guaranteed through May 2027
Underground and Independent Comics is a scholarly online collection for researchers and students of adult comic books and graphic novels. This collection contains graphic scenes of sex, violence, and drug use that some may find offensive.

Archives & Library Collections