Research Guides: English + Literature + Print History and Culture: Text and Reference Sources

Primary Texts and Book Collections

Early American Imprints, Series I: Evans, 1639-1800 This link opens in a new window
Provides full-text and full-page-image access to books, pamphlets and broadsides printed in America from 1639-1800. Based on the renowned American Bibliography by Charles Evans (14 vols., 1903-34, 1955-59); and subsequent bibliographic works by Roger Bristol, James Mooney and Clifford Shipton. Includes more than 36,000 printed works and 2.3 million pages.
Early American Imprints, Series II: Shaw-Shoemaker, 1801-1819 This link opens in a new window
Provides full-text and full-page-image access to books, pamphlets, and broadsides published in America in the early part of the 19th century. Based on the noted “American Bibliography, 1801-1819” by Ralph R. Shaw and Richard H. Shoemaker, offers more than four million pages from over 36,000 items. Complements Early American Imprints, Series I: Evans, 1639-1800.
Early English Books Online (EEBO) This link opens in a new window
EEBO contains over 100,000 books published in English since 1475. Based on Pollard & Redgrave's "Short Title Catalogue (1475-1640)" and Wing's "Short-Title Catalogue (1641-1700)," plus revised editions and supplements. Subjects covered include English literature, history, philosophy, linguistics, theology, music, fine arts, education, math, and science. Update: Texts continue to be added to the online version as they are scanned from the microfilm.
Eighteenth Century Collections Online This link opens in a new window
Use Eighteenth Century Collections Online to access the digital images of every page of books published during the 18th Century. With full-text searching of millions of pages, the product allows researchers new methods of access to critical information in the fields of history, literature, religion, law, fine arts, science and more.
EEBO TCP (Text Creation Partnership) This link opens in a new window
Contains some searchable and readable editions of Early English Books (texts published in English since 1475). Based on Pollard & Redgrave's "Short Title Catalogue (1475-1640)" and Wing's "Short-Title Catalogue (1641-1700)," plus revised editions and supplements. Subjects covered include English literature, history, philosophy, linguistics, theology, music, fine arts, education, math, and science. For more non-searchable full text of Early English Books, see EEBO.
Ebook Central This link opens in a new window
Ebook Central provides authoritative, full-text e-books in a wide range of subject areas along with powerful tools to find, use, and manage the information.

Black Book Interactive Project
Publication information on over 1,000 novels written by African Americans between 1853 and 1990.
DEEP: Database of Early English Playbooks
DEEP: Database of Early English Playbooks allows scholars and students to investigate the publishing, printing, and marketing of English Renaissance drama.
Digital Scriptorium
Digital Scriptorium is a growing consortium of American libraries and museums committed to free online access to their collections of pre-modern manuscripts.
The Early Caribbean Digital Archive
The Early Caribbean Digital Archive is an open access collection of pre-twentieth-century Caribbean texts, maps, and images. Texts include travel narratives, novels, poetry, natural histories, and diaries that have not been brought together before as a single collection focused on the Caribbean.
GW Libraries' Early Library of the Columbian College
Catalog records for the 400+ titles that are recognized as part of the early library of the Columbian College and that remain part of the GW Libraries' rare book collection today.
GW Libraries' Halperin Bible Collection
Catalog records for the Halperin Bible Collection of the GW Libraries. In addition to presenting a sampling of Bibles from major publishers, the Halperin collection illustrates the standardization of the King James text that occurred in the 19th century. The Halperin collection is of interest for providing examples of 19th century printing, book binding and ornamentation, and material culture. The finest Bibles in the collection have gilt edges, tooled leather bindings, and wood or steel engravings. Some also close with gold clasps. Dr. Halperin’s donation to George Washington University also includes notable European Bibles.
GW Libraries' Middle East Institute Rare Book Collection
Catalog records for the library's Middle East Institute rare book collection. The Middle East Institute Rare Book Collection is the original collection held in the The George Camp Keiser Library of the Middle East Institute, Washington, DC. The collection consists of some 700 volumes of orientalist literature and scholarship, addressing various aspects of the history, culture, politics, literature and languages of the Middle East, the Ottoman Empire, Central Asia, the horn of Africa, the Indian subcontinent, and the Islamic lands.
GW Libraries' The I. Edward Kiev Judaica Collection
Catalog records for all the titles considered part of the I. Edward Kiev Judaica Collection of the GW Libraries.
Library of Congress: African American Perspectives: Materials Selected from the Rare Book Collection

Reference Sources and Catalogs

English Short Title Catalogue (ESTC) This link opens in a new window
The English Short Title Catalogue (ESTC) indexes English or English-language letterpress materials published in Great Britain or its colonies or in English from 1473-1800, including Pollard and Redgrave (1473-1640), Wing (1640-1700), Eighteenth Century Short Title Catalogue, and Evans' Early American Imprints, Series I (1639-1800). Materials indexed in ESTC may be available in Early English Books Online or Literature Online, or in the microform STC collection on Gelman's third floor.
International Medieval Bibliography This link opens in a new window
Provides a comprehensive, current bibliography of articles in journals and miscellany volumes (conference proceedings, essay collections or Festschriften) covering Europe, North Africa and the New East (300-1500).
Oxford English Dictionary This link opens in a new window
Access to the definitive dictionary of the English language.
Oxford Scholarly Editions Online - Shakespeare This link opens in a new window
The New Oxford Shakespeare presents an entirely new consideration of all of
Shakespeare's works, edited from first principles from the base-texts
themselves, and drawing on the latest textual and theatrical scholarship.
World Shakespeare Bibliography This link opens in a new window
Citations to books, articles, book reviews, dissertations, theatrical productions, reviews of productions, audiovisual materials, electronic media, and other scholarly and popular materials related to Shakespeare. Includes international and non-English-language materials.

Anglo-Norman Dictionary
Database of Book Bindings (British Library)
This database is a finding aid to the British Library's bookbindings. It aims to provide information and images of selected bindings of books printed in western Europe from the fifteenth century to date.
A Dictionary of the Art of Printing
Glossary of Common Latin Terms Found in Imprints of Early Printed Books
Latin Place Names
Latin Place Names Found in the Imprints of Books Printed Before 1801 and their Vernacular Equivalents.
Palaeography: Reading Old Handwriting 1500-1800
Paleography Resources
The Newberry Library's Center for Renaissance Studies maintains a listing of online resources for those interested in paleography.