Dictionaries, Directories, and Guides

17th and 18th Century Paleographic (and Other) Resources Online, from Yale’s Beinecke Library.

American Studies at the University of Virginia website provides links to useful resources in sections titled “Cultural Maps,” “Yellow Pages” and more.

Antiques Roadshow Online supports the popular PBS television show. The website also provides an informative “Resources” section that includes a glossary and Experts’ Library bibliography. The site also provides a searchable Roadshow Archive of selected appraisals from past shows.

Archives Directory for the History of Collecting in America helps researchers locate primary source material about American collectors and dealers. This project originates from the Center for the History of Collecting in America at the Frick Art Reference Library.

DoHistory is an interactive research case study based on the work of historian Laurel Thatcher Ulrich and her examination of a 200-year-old diary of Maine midwife Martha Ballard, born in 1735. See the History Toolkit for advice on historical research, a guide to reading 18th century handwriting, more.

Historical Thesaurus of English (Univ. of Glasgow) enables users to explore the range of meanings of words throughout history from Old English to the present day.

MESDA Craftsman Database is a collection of primary source information gathered on 85,000 artisans practising 127 trades in the early South. Find it under the Research section.

National Register of Historic Places from the National Parks Service includes a searchable database of properties listed in the register.

Plastics Collection, Syracuse University Library includes information on people and corporations significant to the history and use of plastic from the 19th century to the present. An object collection includes over 2,000 artifacts. Library collections of books and periodicals and archival collection finding aids are also searchable.

Teaching History with 100 Objects is a resource compiled to assist British educators in teaching national history. Objects were selected from the British Museum and other UK collections. The project aims to harness the power of objects to motivate young people’s interest in history and to provide teachers with resources to inspire their students’ study of events and people in the past.

Timeline of Art History, presented by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, features art history timelines covering the period from 20,000 BC to the present.

Vernacular Architecture Forum Bibliography is a public Zotero group of citations for books and articles. This bibliography is an important resource for researchers of vernacular architecture and material culture.

Wisconsin Decorative Arts Database documents more than 1,000 examples of Wisconsin’s material heritage from the collections of dozens of museums, historical societies and private individuals across the state. This digital resource reflects Wisconsin’s wide variety of immigrant and indigenous traditions, encompassing a broad range of artifacts including furniture, ceramics, metalwork, quilts and needlework as well as beadwork, basketry, woodcarving and marquetry made in Wisconsin between 1820 and 1930.

World Quilts: The American Story is a multi-media guide produced by the International Quilt Study Center & Museum at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.