The Enlightenment

a guide to library reference and primary sources

1

Reference books have many uses in various stages of your research. Some selected titles are listed here grouped according to the function they fulfill. They are examples only. Effective use of library catalogs and research guides will reveal many more useful reference works.

Dictionaries, encyclopedias, handbooks - for overviews and quick information:

• General
  • The Blackwell Companion to the Enlightenment. Ref CB 411.B57 1992: mainly focused on 1720-1780
  • The Longman Handbook of Early Modern Europe. Ref D 209.C66 2001
  • An Encyclopedia of World History.Ref D 21.E578 2001
  • Facts on File Dictionary of European History, 1485-1789. Ref D 231.W54
  • European Political Facts, 1648-1789. Ref JN 9.B3 1984
  • Dictionary of Concepts in History. Ref D 13.R49 1986
• Countries and regions
  • The Oxford Companion to British History. Ref DA 34 .O93 1997
  • Columbia Companion to British History. Ref DA 34.H64 1997
  • Britain in the Hanoverian Age, 1714-1837. Ref DA 480.B75 1997
  • The London Encyclopedia. Ref DA 679.L78 1986
  • A Companion to Scottish History. Ref DA 757.9.D68 1989
  • Critical Dictionary of the French Revolution. Ref DC 148.D5313 1989
  • Dictionary of Modern Italian History. Ref DG 545.D53 1985
  • The Holy Roman Empire: a dictionary handbook. Ref DD 84.Z66
  • Dictionary of Scandinavian History. Ref DL 43.D53 1986
  • Historical Dictionary of Modern Spain: 1700-1988. Ref DP 192.H57 1990
• Topics
  • Encyclopedia of Social History. Ref HN 28.E53 1994 Essays on selected topics, with very selective bibl. refs.
  • The ABC-CLIO World History Companion to the Industrial Revolution. Ref D 359.7 .S74 1996
  • Harper Encyclopedia of Military History. Ref D 25.D86 1993
  • Encyclopedia of Crime and Justice. Ref HV 6017.E52 2002
  • Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Ref B 51.R68 1998
  • Encyclopedia of Medical History. Ref R 133.M34 1985
  • Companion Encyclopedia of the History of Medicine. Ref R.133.E5 1993
  • The Cambridge companion to Newton. QC 16.N7 C35 2002

Statistical summaries - for selected, condensed statistical data.

• International Historical Statistics,: Europe 1750-1988. Ref HA 1107.M5 1992
• Abstract of British historical statistics. Ref HA 1135.M52

Historical treatises: major, comprehensive surveys.

• New Cambridge Modern History. D 208.N4
• Cambridge Social History of Britain. 1750-1950. HN 385.C14 1990
• The Political History of England. 12 vols. DA 30.P7622
• The Economic History of Britain since 1700. HC 254.5.E27 1994
• The Cambridge World History of Human Disease. R 131.C233 1993
• Cambridge Economic History of Europe. HC 240.C312
• A New History of Ireland. (v.4 Eighteenth-century Ireland). DA 912.N48

Historical treatises: the eighteenth-century.

• Revolution & romanticism CB 411 .J66
• The eighteenth century: Europe in the age of enlightenment. CB 411 .C6 1969
• In search of humanity: the role of the Enlightenment in modern history. B 802 .C6 1960a
• The Atlantic civilization:  eighteenth-century origins. CB 411 .K7

Atlases and maps: Thematic atlases show history in graphic form.

• The Times Atlas of European History. Ref G 1797.21.S1T5 1994.
• The Times Atlas of World History. Ref G 1030.T54 1989
• British History Atlas. Ref G 1811.S1G5 1969
• Historical Atlas of Britain. Ref G 1812.4.S1H5 1987
• Historic Towns: maps and plans of towns and cities in the British Isles with historical commentaries... Ref G 1814.A1H5 1969a

Chronologies: lists of historical events in chronological order.

• The Timetable of History. Ref D 11.G78 1991
• Chronology of World History. Vol. 2: 1492-1775, Ref D 11.M39 1999
• The People's Chronology. Ref D 11.T83 1992
• The Women's Chronology. Ref HQ 1122.T73 1994
• Handbook of British Chronology. Ref DA 34.P6 1961
• Germany:1415-1972; a chronology and fact book. Ref DD 175.V49
• Breakthroughs: a chronology of great achievements in science and mathematics, 1200-1930. Ref Q 125.P327 1985.

Biography: brief information on persons may be found in the dictionaries, encyclopedias and handbooks listed above, and also in these sources.

• Dictionary of National Biography. - British citizens from earliest times. Ref DA 28.D48
• Cambridge Biographical Dictionary. Ref CT 103.C4 1990
• Who's who in history. Ref DA 28.W618 v.3 & v.4

2

Bibliographies: lists of publications on a subject (which may be specific or broad). General Historical Bibliographies

• A Bibliography of Modern History. Ref D 208.A1 R63 1968
• AHA Guide to Historical Literature. 3rd ed. Ref D 20.A1 A55 1995

British and European History Bibliographies

• The Eighteenth Century: a current bibliography Ref CB 411.A1E36 - library has vol.1,2,14 (1975,76,1988)
• The Western European Powers, 1500-1700. Ref D 228.A1C37 1971
• A Select list of works on Europe and Europe overseas, 1715-1815. Ref D 19.A1 B7 1956
• A Select Bibliography of British History, 1660-1760. Ref DA 435.A1G86 1969
• Writings on British History. Ref DA 34.A1W74 - 1901-33,37,38,40-45.
• Guide to the Printed Materials for English Social and Economic History. Ref HC 255.A1W7 1926 2 vols.
• Bibliographie zur Städtegeschichte Deutschlands. Ref DD 91.A1 K48 1969
• France (world bibliographical series). Ref DC 17.A1C52 1980

Topical Historical Bibliographies

• Bibliography of European Economic and Social History. Ref HC 240.A1 A4 1993
• Bibliography of British Economic and Social History. Ref HC 253.A1 C46 1984
• Society and economy in early modern Europe, 1450-1789: a bibliography of post-war research. Ref.HC 240.T356 1989. (exclusive of U.K.)
• The Process of Modernization: an annotated bibliography. Ref HM 101.A1 B7 1969.
• Women in Western European History. Ref HQ 1587 .F74 1982 + suppl.in 1986
• Women and Society: a critical review. Ref HQ 1399 .R67 1975

Many other bibliographies are in the Reference Area. Use the online catalog to find them, or browse.
Examples are: A Bibliography of Prostitution (Ref HQ 111.A1 B52 1977); Social Stratification: a research bibliography (Ref HM 821.A1 G55 1970); Alcohol Use and World Cultures (Ref HV 5035.A1 H43 1981); Research on Suicide: a bibliography (Ref HV 6545.A1 M38 1985), Bibliography of the History of Medicine (Ref R 131.A1 B5); ETC.

The history of European nations in the Library of Congress System:

Ref. Call #	Country	Ref. Call #	Country
D 901 - D 1075	Europe (General)	DG	Italy
DA	Great Britain, Wales, Scotland, Ireland	DH - DJ	Benelux
DB 1 - DB 879	Austria	DJK - DK	Eastern Europe & Russia
DB	Central Europe	DL	Scandinavia
DC	France	DP	Spain & Portugal
DD	Germany	DQ	Switzerland
DF	Greece	DR	Balkans & Turkey

Also note these other areas: Intellectual history and philosophy of the "Age of Reason" - B 800-802 ; History of Western Civilization - CB 245.

Guides to Reference Sources for History

• Sources of Information for Historical Research. Ref D 20.A1 S64 1994
• History : illustrated search strategy and sources. Ref D16 .F87 1995
• The American Historical Association's guide to historical literature. Ref D 20.A1 A55 1995 v.1-2

3

Primary Sources: Among the many types of primary sources of interest to historians are books, government records, personal memoirs, and other artifacts of civilization. Collections of important primary sources include libraries and archives. Directories help researchers locate pertinent collections. Examples of these directories are:

• Guide to the Contents of the Public Record Office. (U.K.) CD 1043.A553
• Sources of English Local History. Ref DA 32.5.A1 S8 1981
• Texts and Calendars: an analytical guide to serial publications. Ref DA 30. A1M8 1958
• Guide to Archives and Manuscripts in the United States. Ref CD 3022.A45
• Directory of Archives and Manuscript Depositories. Ref CD 3020.D49 1988
• Guide to the National Archives of the U.S. (Ref CD 3023.U54 1974)
• Guide to records in the New York State Archives. Ref CD 3404.N4
• Directory of Special Libraries and Information Centers. Ref Z 731.D57

Books: Attempts have been made to identify and list all early books published in English. These "catalogs" list the books by author, and note the libraries which report having a copy of the book.

• Short-Title Catalog. ("Wing") - 1641-1700. Ref Z 2002.W52
• Early English Books Online is a project to digitize these collections, and more. Early English Books Online (EEBO) will contain over 125,000 titles listed in Pollard & Redgrave's Short-Title Catalogue (1475-1640), Wing's Short-Title Catalogue (1641-1700), and the Thomason Tracts (1640-1661). A sample of this collection can be viewed at http://wwwlib.umi.com/eebo   ESTC - English Short Title Catalogue is an online listing of all recorded English books to 1800; availale at SLU.
• The Term Catalogues, 1668-1709 A.D. Ref PR 769.A1T4 1965. 3 vols. A catalog of books and other materials printed in Breat Britain during these years.

Diaries, Correspondence, and other Papers: private papers of sufficient interest may be published for the use of historians and other interested parties. Some examples (in English):

• The Diaries of John Evelyn. DA 447.E9A44. (1620-1706) Index in v.6
• The Diary of Samuel Pepys. DA 447.P4A4 (1633-1703). Vol.X-"Companion"; Vol.XI- "Index"
• The Complete Letters of Lady Mary Wortley Montague. DA 501.M7A48 (1708-1762) Index in Vol. 3
• Cato's Letters: essays on liberty, civil and religious, and other important subjects.. DA 499.T7 1971. (1720-1723)
• The Correspondence of George III with Lord North. DA 506.A2A2. (1768-1783)
• Correspondence of William Pitt. E 199 .P68 (1708-1778)
• The Political journal of George Bubb Dodington. DA 501.M5 A3 1965 (1691-1762)
• The Journals of James Boswell. PR 3325 .A823 1991 (1762-1795)
• A Diary (Napoleon). DC 203 .A12 1994 (1769-1821)
• The Correspondence of Edmund Burke. DA 506.B9 A18 (1729-1797)
• Lord Hervey's Memoirs. DA 501.A3H46 1963. (1727-1737)
• The Grasmere journals (Dorothy Wordsworth) PR5849 .A8 1991 (1771-1855)
• The Radical Duke: career and correspondence of Charles Lennox... DA 506.R5 O55 (1735-1806)
• The Yale editions of the private papers of James Boswell. PR 3325 .A94 (1740-1795)
• The Correspondence of Jeremy Bentham. B 1574.B34 A4 (1748-1832)
• The Collected letters of Mary Wollstonecraft. PR 5841.W8 Z48 2003. (1759-1797)
• Mozart's letters, Mozart's life. Crane ML 410.M9 A4 2000 (1756-1791)
• Historical Memoirs of the Duc de Saint-Simon. DC 130.S2A199 1967. (1675-1755)
• Poets in their letters. PR 107 .E5
• The Journal of John Wesley. BX 8495.W5 A224 1963 (1703-1791)
• Works and correspondence (David Ricardo). HB 161 .R4812 (1772-1823)
• Franklin in France. E249 .F832 (1706-1790)
• Life of Arthur Lee, LL.D., joint commissioner of the United States to the court of France.... 2 vol. E 249 .L49 1969 (1740-1792)
• Letters of the late Ignatius Sancho, an African... DA 685.W5 S23 1998 (1729-1780)

in other languages:

• Correspondance. (D. Diderot) PQ 1979.A8 1955 16 vols (1713-1784)
• Correspondance generale de J.J. Rousseau. PQ 2037.A1 1924. (1712-1778)

Collections of Historical Documents: selected documents and papers of historical interest

• English Historical Documents. - 12 volumes DA 26.E55. (v.8 - 1660-1714; v.9 - Amer. Colonial Docs to 1776; v.10 - 1714-1783)
• The Eighteenth Century (Sources of Western Civilization) CB 411.R8
• Parliamentary History of England, 1066-1803. 36 volumes J 301.H5
• The Eighteenth-century Constitution, 1688-1815, documents and commentary. JN 210 .W54
• European Society in the Eighteenth Century. HN 373.F64 1969b
• Social life in the reign of Queen Anne... DA 495 .A83 1904 (1702-1714)
• Select documents of European history. D101.L3 1929
• Readings in modern European history. 2 vols. D 209 .R85
• Documents of German History. DD3.S55 1975.
• Documents of European Economic History. 3 vols. HC 240.P5952
• Irish Historical Documents. DA 905.C8 1968b
• The Old regime and the French Revolution. CB 245 .U64 1987
• French Revolution Documents. DC 141.R62 (in French)
• A Documentary Survey of the French Revolution. DC 141.7.S8 1965 (in English)
• The Jew in the modern world: a documentary history. DS 102 .J43

Monographs often contain extracts from primary sources, either within the text or as an appendix. See for example Family, Sex, and Marriage in England, 1500-1800. HQ 615.S76 1977; and Hampstead: building a borough, 1650-1964. DA 685.H23T47

Another primary source is the accumulating record of thought and observation in the popular press - newspapers and magazines, as described below.

Periodicals: Writing and illustrations in periodicals are important historical artifacts. Wide circulation magazines in England date from around the end of the 17th century. Examples to be found in Crumb Library are:

In paper

• Defoe's Review, 1704-1713 (DA 490.D33), with an index volume.
• The Spectator, 1711-1714 (PR 1365.S7 1965), index in v.5.

In microfilm (these American magazines included much British content.)

• John Englishman, in defence of the English constitution. Microfilm AP2.A2A4 13:7 (1755)
• The Christian history. Microfilm AP2.A2A4 10:1 (1743-45)
• American Magazine and Historical Chronicle. Microfilm AP2 .A2A4 1:2 (1743-46)
• Boston Weekly. Microfilm AP2 .A2A4 8 (1743)

Online

• Internet Library of Early Journals - 18th and 19th century journals
• The Spectator Text Project - includes The Spectator; The Female Spectator. Parts require DjVu plug-in.

Systematic indexes to the contents of magazines came much later. Listed here are indexes which cover popular interest and news magazines (rather than professional historical journals), which enable you to look for articles by subject:

• Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature. 1890-date Ref AI 3.R48
• Poole's Index to Periodical Literature. 1802-1881 Ref AI 3.P7
• Wellesley Index to Victorian Periodicals. 1824-1900 Ref. Z 2005.H6

Newspapers: Newspapers are published everywhere in many languages. Back issues are almost always available only as microfilm. The most comprehensive list of foreign newspapers is Newspapers in Microform: Foreign Countries Ref PN 4855.A1L5 1948-83. Most newspapers available in microfilm can be obtained through Interlibrary Loan. Few newspapers have indexes to their contents, but some of the most important ones do.

Indexes to Newspapers: use these to search for stories on particular subjects

• Palmer's Index to the Times [of London ]. 1790-1905. Microfilm - at the end of the Times (London) Microfilm AP 4.T52. The Times itself is on microfilm at AP 4.T5 - for the years 1785-1997.
• Official Index to the Times [of London]. 1785-86, 1906-date. Ref AI 21.T46
• New York Times Index. 1851-date. Ref AI 21.N45
  

Internet Sites

• 18th Century Resources - "significant and reliable Internet resources"
• The European Enlightenment: internet resources - http://www.wsu.edu/%7Edee/WORLD.HTM
• Enlightenment Resources - http://www.historyguide.org/intellect/enlightenment.html
• Historical Atlas of Europe - http://home.wanadoo.nl/gerard.vonhebel/index.htm
• Internet Modern History Sourcebook Enlightenment - includes links to full and excerpted historical texts. - http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/modsbook10.html
• Exploring the French Revolution - http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/