American Periodical Series Online
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About American Periodicals Series Online

Contents

APS Title List [June 2006]
APS Online spans over 1,500 titles and 7 million pages of content, from the first American magazines, published in 1741, to the World War II period-200 years of American history as recorded in magazines, journals, and newspapers. A complete title list is available for downloading in Excel format with dates of coverage and OpenURLs: APS Title List.

APS MARC Records [March 2006]
MARC records are now available for all titles complete in APS by early 2005. An upgrade of records for the remaining titles that were added to APS throughout 2005 will become available later this year. Download APS MARC records

American Periodicals Series Online, 1740-1900
This unique and valuable collection contains digitized images of the pages of American magazines and journals that originated between 1741, when Andrew Bradford's American Magazine and Benjamin Franklin's General Magazine were launched, and 1900. Deriving from the acclaimed American Periodicals Series microform collection, APS Online features over 1,100 periodicals spanning nearly 200 years-from colonial times to the advent of American involvement in World War II. Titles range from America's first scientific journal, Medical Repository, to popular magazines like Vanity Fair and Ladies' Home Journal.

American Periodicals Series Online chronicles the development of America across 200 years. The journals in this collection cover three broad periods:

  • 89 journals published between 1740 and 1800 offer insights into America's transition from a British colony to an independent nation. The journals support research for a range of academic fields. Titles include Massachusetts Magazine, which published America's first short stories, and Thomas Paine's Pennsylvania Magazine, which reported on inventions. One of the first mass printings of the Declaration of Independence, a letter by George Washington on the crucial Battle of Trenton, and the thoughts of Benjamin Franklin are among the highlights of content from this period.

  • More than 900 titles from the first 60 years of the nineteenth century showcase "the golden age of American periodicals." General interest magazines, children's publications, and more than 20 journals for women are among the historically-significant content that also includes the serialization of Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin in National Era. Like most great literary works of the nineteenth century, this piece first appeared in a magazine. Also available are hard-to-find materials, such as Edgar Allan Poe's contributions to the Southern Literary Messenger, as well as the first appearances of Nathaniel Hawthorne's stories in New England Magazine, and Margaret Fuller's contributions to the Dial.

  • 118 periodicals published during the Civil War (1861-1865) and Reconstruction (1865-1877) eras reflect the nation in turmoil and growth, and titles from the 1880s through 1900 capture the settling of the West and the emergence of modern America. Early professional journals, including Publications of the American Economic Association and American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Proceedings, popular titles such as Scribner's Monthly and Lippincott's issued by publishing houses, celebrations of Americana in Ladies' Home Journal, thoroughly-researched investigative journalism in McClure's, and the incisive political and social commentary of Puck illustrate the variety of the American experience. Titles like Forum (1886-1930) and Forum and Century (1930-1940), and Littell's Living Age (1844-1896) and Living Age (1897-1941), expand the range of primary source material in APS across 200 years.

Because the database contains digitized images of periodical pages, researchers can see all of the original typography, drawings, graphic elements, and article layouts exactly as they were originally published.

In addition, a Search for Periodicals function in APS Online leads to bibliographic information and a summary of the historical significance of all the periodicals represented in the database. Extensive primary source content in its original context and a history of American magazine publishing are made available in APS Online.

The American Periodical Series Microform Collection
Description of the original microform collection.

Digitizing the American Periodicals Series (APS) Microform Collections
Description of the APS Online digitization process.

Using APS Online

Whatever your interests are, APS Online has something for you:

The arts…
Search Author: Poe
Results: Over 30 fiction, poetry, and non-fiction pieces by Poe, including

  • The Raven; Edgar Allen Poe; Southern Literary Messenger (1834-1845), Richmond; Mar 1845; Vol. 11; pg. 186, 3

  • The philosophy of furniture; Edgar A Poe; Burton's Gentleman's Magazine and American Monthly Review (1839-1840), Philadelphia; May 1840; Vol. 6, Iss. 5; pg. 243, 3 pgs

Search Keyword: Poe
Results: Pieces by and about Poe, including

  • The late Edgar A. Poe; J R T; Southern Literary Messenger; Devoted to Every Department of Literature, and the Fine Arts (1848-1864), Richmond; Nov 1849; Vol. 15, Iss. 11; pg. 694, 4 pgs

Adventure…
Search Keyword: piracy
Results:

  • Art. IV.--The piracy of Captain Kidd; Anonymous; The Merchants' Magazine and Commercial Review (1839-1870), New York; Jan 1846; Vol. 14, Iss. 1; pg. 39, 13 pgs

  • Daring act of piracy on the coast of Cuba; Anonymous; Army and Navy Chronicle (1835-1842), Washington; Jun 11, 1840; Vol. 10, Iss. 24; pg. 384, 1 pgs

  • Privateering--and piracy; Anonymous; Niles' Weekly Register (1814-1837), Baltimore; Apr 17, 1819; Vol. 4, Iss. 8; pg. 129, 2 pgs

Search Author: Peary
Results:

  • MOVING ON THE NORTH POLE.--OUTLINES OF MY ARCTIC CAMPAIGN.; By LIEUTENANT ROBERT E. PEARY, U.S.N.; McClure's Magazine (1893-1926), New York; Mar 1899; Vol. VOL.XII., Iss. 0; pg. 417, 10 pgs

War…
Search Keyword: Battle of Trenton
Results:

  • General Washington's account of the battle of Trenton, dated Headquarters, Newtown, December 26, 1776; G Washington; The American Museum; or, Repository of Ancient and Modern Fugitive Pieces & c. Prose and Poetical (1787-1788), Philadelphia; Apr, 1789; Vol. 5; pg. 403, 2 pgs

  • The Columbian Parnassiad. Addressed to General Washington, in the year 1777, after the battles of Trenton and Princeton; Emelia; The Columbian Magazine (1786-1790), Philadelphia; Jan 1787; Vol. 1, Iss. 5; pg. 245, 1 pgs

Weird Science…
Search Keyword: Phrenology
Results:

  • Phreno-Geology: The Progressive Creation of Man indicated by Natural History, and confirmed by discoveries which connect the organization of the brain with the successive geological periods; Anonymous; Medical Examiner (1854-1856), Philadelphia; Jan 1855; Vol. 18, Iss. 121; pg. 29, 8 pgs Art. XXVII.

  • Phrenology examined; P Flourens; The American Journal of the Medical Sciences (1827-1924), Philadelphia; Apr 1846, Iss. 22; pg. 437, 1 pgs

  • An Examination of Phrenology. In two lectures / Letter of John Quincy Adams to Dr. Thomas Sewall; Anonymous; Literary Examiner and Western Monthly Review (1839-1839), Pittsburgh; Aug 1839; Vol. 1, Iss. 4; pg. 289, 12 pgs

Hard Science….
Search Keyword: Earthquake
Results:

  • Art. I.--On earthquakes--their causes and effects; Isaac Lea; American Journal of Science and Arts (1820-1879), New Haven; 1825; Vol. 9, Iss. 2; pg. 209, 7 pgs

  • Information concerning the earthquakes which have prevailed in the United States since December, 1811; particularly in the States and Territories; Stanley Griswold; The Medical Repository of Original Essays and Intelligence, Relative to Physic, Surgery, Chemistry, and, New York; 1813; Vol. 16, Iss. 3; pg. 304, 6 pgs

Food and Medicine…
Search Keyword: Rhubarb; Article Type: Recipe
Results:

  • Rhubarb pie; Anonymous; Plough, the Loom and the Anvil (1848-1857), Philadelphia; Jun 1852; Vol. 4, Iss. 12; pg. 762, 1 pgs

  • Rhubarb Pies; Anonymous; The Farmers Cabinet and American Herd Book, Devoted to Agriculture, Horticulture, and Rural and Domestic Affairs (1836-1848), Philadelphia; Aug 1, 1836; Vol. 1, Iss. 2; pg. 27, 1 pgs

Statistics…
Search Keyword: Population Article Type: Statistics
Results:

  • Population of Chicago; Anonymous; The Merchants' Magazine and Commercial Review (1839-1870), New York; Feb 1863; Vol. 48, Iss. 2; pg. 189, 1 pgs

  • Ratio per cent of population and certain products in the states to the total of the United States; Anonymous; Plough, the Loom and the Anvil (1848-1857), Philadelphia; Dec 1854; Vol. 7, Iss. 6; pg. 327, 1 pgs

Fashion…
Search Keywords: Fashion and clothes
Results:

  • WILL SKIRTS DISAPPEAR?; A Thirty-year Prophecy by the Paris Arbiter of Fashion; PAUL POIRET; Forum (1886-1930), New York; Jan 1927; Vol. Vol. LXXVII, Iss. 0, pg. 30, 13 pgs

  • Fashions for March 1864; Anonymous; The Southern Literary Messenger; Devoted to Every Department of Literature, and the Fine Arts (1848-1864), Richmond; Mar 1864; Vol. 38, Iss. 3; pg. 192, 1 pgs

  • The Rule of Fashion; M A Spafard; The Columbian Lady's and Gentleman's Magazine, Embracing Literature in Every Department: Embellished with the Finest Steel and Mezzotint Engravings, Music, and Colored Fashions (1844-1849), New York; Feb 1849; Vol. 10, Iss. 2; pg. 74, 4 pgs

Updated: June 2006

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