# Old newspapers and magazines for the history buff **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 1, 2016, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-newspapers-and-magazines-for-the-history-buff/767341 "2016-10-01T06:18:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2016, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-newspapers-and-magazines-for-the-history-buff/767341/1 "2016-10-01T06:18:38Z")
I have a subscription to Time All Access and NY Times Times Machine, which give me access to every Time ever and every NY Times ever(actually, up until 2002 I believe). As far as I know, these are the only news publications to have their entire archives online. It’s a blast too, reading about things in the context of the time rather than in a history book. Plus you encounter small stories that were too insignificant for the history books, but which make you wonder how it turned out. One such story I came across today was a Time story dated Oct. 2, 1939. San Antonio Mayor Maury Maverick urged President Roosevelt to keep us out of war because he feared his son Maury Jr. was likely to die if the US wen to war. So of course i just had to know how poor Maury Jr. fared. According to wikipedia, Maury Jr. served in the Marine Corps and did indeed survive the war. He even ran for Senate in Texas, but finished fourth in the primary. He did serve in the Texas House. He died in 2003, an anti-Iraq war advocate. And that’s one of many reasons why these services are essential if you are interested in this kind of stuff. Cheap too, Time is $2.99. I forget how much NY Times is, something like $10/month. But the Times goes back to 1852 or so, so you can get Civil War stuff in there. Also a shout out to Facts on File, who unfortunately stopped publishing their Weekly World News digest in 2010 I believe(can’t find ANY explanation on the internet for why they stopped, or even an announcement that they were stopping). Facts on File started in 1941 with the goal of being a true fair and balanced news magazine and succeeded so well that only institutions bought their product because it was so dry. No pictures except maybe one on the first page if the event was REALLY huge, no opinions, no analysis, just straight up facts about what happened and who said what. I’ve been buying up their yearbooks from Amazon sellers as fast as I can acquire them. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2016, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-newspapers-and-magazines-for-the-history-buff/767341/2 "2016-10-01T07:39:18Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > As far as I know, these are the only news publications to have their entire archives online. I know some in Spanish and expect there will be other sources in other languages. Diario de Navarra have theirs, but it’s in Spanish; I remember hearing about a possible project to upload the materials from the defunct El Pensamiento Navarro as well, but I think that one isn’t complete. RTVE (Spain’s “PBS”) has a ton of their footage and of other graphic sources, such as [NODO](http://www.rtve.es/filmoteca/no-do/historia/) (the newsreels which used to go before movies in every theater in the country, for 38 years), but again in Spanish. They don’t have everything simply because there is so much of it, the project to upload it all is ongoing. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2016, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-newspapers-and-magazines-for-the-history-buff/767341/3 "2016-10-01T07:44:22Z")
Too bad I’m not that good at foreign languages, I’d love to read Spanish papers in the 1936-1939 period. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2016, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-newspapers-and-magazines-for-the-history-buff/767341/4 "2016-10-01T11:45:12Z")
There is a free newspaper database from the Library of Congress–[Chronicling America](http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/). While it doesn’t cover your time of interest, it covers hundreds of US newspapers from 1789-1922. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2016, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-newspapers-and-magazines-for-the-history-buff/767341/5 "2016-10-01T12:19:54Z")
[paperofrecord.com](http://paperofrecord.com) is also a good resource. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2016, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-newspapers-and-magazines-for-the-history-buff/767341/6 "2016-10-01T15:12:36Z")
Check your public library’s online resources. They may also have newspapers and magazines available online, perhaps through a company called EBSCO. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2016, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-newspapers-and-magazines-for-the-history-buff/767341/7 "2016-10-01T15:46:36Z")
I work at a medical library and we maintain an extensive print journal archive, some going back to the mid-1800s. My favorite down-time activity at work is skimming through the early 20th century journals and looking at the ads. ---
**Author:** ![Quintas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/48db29/32.png) [@Quintas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quintas)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2016, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-newspapers-and-magazines-for-the-history-buff/767341/8 "2016-10-01T18:02:09Z")
Every issue of LIFE Magazine is available: > **[LIFE](https://books.google.com/books/about/LIFE.html?id=N0EEAAAAMBAJ)** > > LIFE Magazine is the treasured photographic magazine that chronicled the 20th Century. It now lives on at LIFE.com, the largest, most amazing collection of professional photography on the internet. Users can browse, search and view photos of today’s... ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2016, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-newspapers-and-magazines-for-the-history-buff/767341/9 "2016-10-01T19:28:13Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > I have a subscription to Time All Access and NY Times Times Machine, which give me access to NY Times eve > r(actually, up until 2002 I believe). As far as I know, these are the only news publications to have their entire archives online. > > It’s a blast too, reading about things in the context of the time rather than in a history book. Plus you encounter small stories that were too insignificant for the history books, but which make you wonder how it turned out. > > One such story I came across today was a Time story dated Oct. 2, 1939. San Antonio Mayor Maury Maverick urged President Roosevelt to keep us out of war because he feared his son Maury Jr. was likely to die if the US wen to war. So of course i just had to know how poor Maury Jr. fared. > > According to wikipedia, Maury Jr. served in the Marine Corps and did indeed survive the war. He even ran for Senate in Texas, but finished fourth in the primary. He did serve in the Texas House. He died in 2003, an anti-Iraq war advocate. > > And that’s one of many reasons why these services are essential if you are interested in this kind of stuff. Cheap too, Time is $2.99. I forget how much NY Times is, something like $10/month. But the Times goes back to 1852 or so, so you can get Civil War stuff in there. > > Also a shout out to Facts on File, who unfortunately stopped publishing their Weekly World News digest in 2010 I believe(can’t find ANY explanation on the internet for why they stopped, or even an announcement that they were stopping). Facts on File started in 1941 with the goal of being a true fair and balanced news magazine and succeeded so well that only institutions bought their product because it was so dry. No pictures except maybe one on the first page if the event was REALLY huge, no opinions, no analysis, just straight up facts about what happened and who said what. I’ve been buying up their yearbooks from Amazon sellers as fast as I can acquire them. I corresponded with Maury’s grand-daughter in 08, after McCain had used a Democrat-old name in vain. She was unpleased ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2016, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-newspapers-and-magazines-for-the-history-buff/767341/10 "2016-10-01T21:45:00Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > I corresponded with Maury’s grand-daughter in 08, after McCain had used a Democrat-old name in vain. She was unpleased OK, you have to tell us what McCain said. We need to know…the rest of the story.😃 ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2016, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-newspapers-and-magazines-for-the-history-buff/767341/11 "2016-10-01T22:22:41Z")
Looking at old bound magazines and microfilm was one of my favorite things to do as an undergraduate. It’s not surprising I became a librarian. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2016, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-newspapers-and-magazines-for-the-history-buff/767341/12 "2016-10-02T02:22:55Z")
In the pre-internet days I would spend up to 40 hours a week in the library. Libraries don’t have the long hours they used to though. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2016, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-newspapers-and-magazines-for-the-history-buff/767341/13 "2016-10-02T02:28:47Z")
Again, check what online resources your library has. I’ll bet that you can access quite a few resources online, from home. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2016, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-newspapers-and-magazines-for-the-history-buff/767341/14 "2016-10-02T02:37:38Z")
The Cleveland Plain Dealer is online back to 1845. > **[Google](https://www.google.com)** > > Earth Day 2023! #GoogleDoodle [Newspapers.com](http://Newspapers.com) is a fairly inexpensive resource for papers all over the US. Fully searchable by text. They have 66 different papers from New York (both the state and the city). A quick glance down the list shows at least one from the late 1700s. Dennis ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2016, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-newspapers-and-magazines-for-the-history-buff/767341/15 "2016-10-02T03:11:04Z")
Awesome, more stuff to find, just as soon as I’ve read every Time, NY Times, Sports Illustrated, National Geographic, and Sporting News. In other words, gotta save this thread for my 420th birthday. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2016, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-newspapers-and-magazines-for-the-history-buff/767341/16 "2016-10-02T03:38:42Z")
The National Library of Australia has an ongoing project to digitize Australian newspapers; the collection is, appropriately, called Trove. I found this snippet of an article from 1912 interesting: [Coal Consumption Affecting Climate](http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/100645214). I hadn’t realised the link was known for so long. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2016, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-newspapers-and-magazines-for-the-history-buff/767341/17 "2016-10-02T03:43:19Z")
[Newspaperarchive.com](http://Newspaperarchive.com) overlaps with [newspapers.com](http://newspapers.com) but they are sufficiently different that both need to be consulted for any serious research. There’s also [newslibrary.com](http://newslibrary.com), but I’m not a member and don’t know its inner workings. [http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/](http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/) does the same for the UK. Many states now have free newspaper archives of papers in that state. California’s is pretty good. There are also Wyoming, South Carolina, South Dakota, Indiana, and many more. [Unz.org](http://Unz.org) has the contents of many periodicals, including many after 1923. I don’t understand their policy, since many articles are blocked by them for copyright reasons, but you’ll find stuff there not available anyplace else. Popular Science has an archive site, but everything there is available through Google Books and the interface is better. Google Books has enormous amounts of stuff that is not books. The [Pulp Magazine Archive](https://archive.org/details/pulpmagazinearchive) has all sorts of eclectic stuff on it beyond pulp magazines and it’s grown every time I’ve looked at it. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2016, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-newspapers-and-magazines-for-the-history-buff/767341/18 "2016-10-02T04:11:09Z")
> [@mixdenny](#): > > [Newspapers.com](http://Newspapers.com) is a fairly inexpensive resource for papers all over the US. Fully searchable by text. They have 66 different papers from New York (both the state and the city). A quick glance down the list shows at least one from the late 1700s. [Google’s archive](https://news.google.com/newspapers) is free and also has papers dating from the late 1700s. Ignore that one from Baltimore, they transposed the 7 & 9. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2016, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-newspapers-and-magazines-for-the-history-buff/767341/19 "2016-10-02T20:17:33Z")
Try looking up old Sears and Montgomery Wards catalogs. They really are a time capsule of fashions and trends for those years.