Collections
19th Century Schoolbooks
A full-text collection of over one hundred textbooks published in the 1800s; includes two surveys of historic schoolbooks by Dr. John A. Nietz, the founder of the Nietz Old Textbook Collection.
Contributor: University of Pittsburgh
Abner Shimony Papers
An American philosopher of science and physicist, Abner Shimony focused much of his work on the interaction between quantum mechanics and relativity theory. He did substantial research on complemantarity in multiparticle quantum interferometry and in quantum entanglement, and wrote books and research articles on the foundations of quantum mechanics.
Contributor: University of Pittsburgh
Aerial Photographs of Pittsburgh
Visual images from the 1923-1937 document aerial views of Downtown Pittsburgh, Mount Washington, the North Side, the Point, Oakland, and Homestead.
Contributor: University of Pittsburgh
African American Chamber of Commerce of Western Pennsylvania
The mission of the African American Chamber of
Commerce of Western Pennsylvania (the Chamber) is to continuously improve business and professional opportunities for African American Business owners and professionals. The material available in this online collection documents some of the history of the AACCWP through past announcements on programs and events.
Contributor: African American Chamber of Commerce of Western Pennsylvania
African American Jazz Preservation Society of Pittsburgh Oral History Project Records and Recordings
This oral history collection consists of transcripts, cassette tapes, project working files and background organizational records of the interviews conducted during the African American Jazz Preservation Society of Pittsburgh (AAJPSP) Oral History Project (1995-1999). The project documents individual African American Jazz Musicians in Pittsburgh as well as their efforts to organize. The content of the interviews span from 1904 to 1999.
Contributor: University of Pittsburgh
African American Construction Workers of Pittsburgh Photographs
Visual images depict African American construction workers in Pittsburgh in 1957-1960, and from efforts by African American leaders like Ellis R. McGruder, Jr. and Nate Smith in the 1960s and 1970s to bring about greater employment opportunities for African Americans in the building trades in Pittsburgh.
Contributor: University of Pittsburgh
Alexander Addison Papers
Contains correspondence to Alexander Addison, the president judge of the Fifth District Court of Pennsylvania (1791-1802), from Hugh Henry Brackenridge, William Findley and Charles Nisbet regarding political events in the U. S. and Europe, particularly the Constitutional Convention, Jay and Pinckney Treaties, Indian wars, and the Whiskey Rebellion.
Contributor: University of Pittsburgh
Alexander Cumming Papers
Collection of correspondence and lecture notes written by Alexander Cumming from 1893-1896 that document his experiences as a student and editor during this time.
Contributor: University of Pittsburgh
Alexander Lowy Papers
Consists of 14 of 16 patents that Dr. Lowy secured for his research, some memorabilia from his college years, and materials related to the dedication of the Alexander Lowy Memorial Seminar Room in Langley Hall on May 25, 1959.
Contributor: University of Pittsburgh
Allegheny Observatory Records
Visual images from the 1890s-1930s depict the construction and equipment, experiments, inventors and directors of the Allegheny Observatory located in Pittsburgh’s Northside neighborhood.
Contributor: University of Pittsburgh
Allen Family Papers
William P. Allen, member of an Irish nationalist society know as Fenians, was hanged November 23, 1867 at New Barley Prison, Salford, England, for his participation in the Fenian attack at Manchester on a prison van containing Fenian prisoners. Collection contains correspondence, newspaper clippings, and other memorabilia from 1867.
Contributor: University of Pittsburgh
American Left Ephemera Collection
A wide-range of primary source textual and visual material documents left-wing organizations in the U.S. during the 20th century.
Contributor: University of Pittsburgh
An Attempt to Describe the Future of the United States
Collection consists of six bound sections of a partial manuscript written aboard the steamship Emily B. Souder in 1865 by an unknown author; discusses author's views on the American Civil War, self-governance, and slavery.
Contributor: University of Pittsburgh
Archives of Industrial Society Photograph Collection
Images visually document a wide range of topics relating to the history of Pittsburgh including neighborhoods, infrastructure, and landscape selected from the AIS vertical files.
Contributor: University of Pittsburgh
Archives of Scientific Philosophy
Philosophy has always been influenced by scientific work, and its deliberations have frequently followed scientific models. In recent decades the University of Pittsburgh has established itself as a leader in scientific philosophy, one of the 20th century's most important intellectual currents. To further stimulate research and publication, the University has committed itself to assembling archival resources for investigating the history of scientific philosophy. Most materials are housed in the Special Collections Department of the University's Hillman Library.
Contributor: University of Pittsburgh
Arlen Specter Senatorial Papers
Press releases and speeches documenting the career of U.S. Senator Arlen Specter, who served as Pennsylvania’s longest-tenured Senator from 1981 to 2011. Topics include information on Supreme Court nomination hearings, local appropriations news, and reactions to Presidential statements, among many others.
Audubon's Birds of America
Consists of a complete double elephant folio set (435 plates) of Audubon’s Birds of America and his Ornithological Biography. Also available on a dedicated website (audubon.pitt.edu).
Contributor: University of Pittsburgh
Autograph Files of H. Edmund Friesell
Friesell's autograph collection reflects a variety of collecting interests, including contemporary and historical political figures, prominent women, athletes, and writers of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Contributor: University of Pittsburgh
Barry Rosensteel Japanese Print Collection
Woodblock prints from 1760-1956 by over 40 artists depict Japanese culture through detailed depictions of portraits, landscapes and theatrical performances, taking into account some of Japan's rich history.
Contributor: University of Pittsburgh
Beazel Family Papers
Papers hold the accounting records and personal and business correspondence between 1809-1888 related to the Beazel family, who lived in Westmoreland County and Washington County, Pennsylvania.
Contributor: University of Pittsburgh
Bedford County Township Tax Receipts
Contains tax receipts from various townships in Bedford County, Pa. (1763-1838); each tax receipt includes a list of names of taxpayers along with the amount paid to the township.
Contributor: University of Pittsburgh
Birmingham United Church of Christ Records
Collection contains a constitution and journal, history, minute books, lists of members, memorial publications, baptismal, marriage, burial, and financial records from 1843-1977 of the Birmingham United Church of Christ.
Contributor: University of Pittsburgh
Bruce Drisbach-American Steel & Wire Company Photographs
Visual images from 1915-1917 depict the construction of the American Steel & Wire Company building, equipment, and worker housing construction in Donora (Pa.).
Contributor: University of Pittsburgh
Bruno De Finetti Papers
An Italian probabilist and statistician noted for the "operational subjective" conception of probability, de Finetti provided significant contributions to the theory and the foundations of probability; his work laid the foundation for the modern subjectivist interpretation of probability (1924-2000).
Contributor: University of Pittsburgh
Burd-Shippen Family Papers
Contains personal and business correspondence, legal documents, business records, and manuscripts from the Burd and Shippen families, who were prominent lawyers, business owners, and public servants in eastern Pennsylvania during the colonial era.
Contributor: University of Pittsburgh
Bureau of Building Inspection, Department of Public Safety, Pittsburgh, Pa. Records
Contains yearly dockets of building permits and monthly reports of issued building permits by the Bureau of Building Inspection (City of Pittsburgh), including three volumes which span 1894-1908 of Allegheny City, Pennsylvania, prior to annexation by the City of Pittsburgh.
Contributor: University of Pittsburgh
CONSOL Energy, Inc. Mine Maps and Records
Visual images from the 1930s-1940s depict the Consolidation Coal Company (the forerunner of CONSOL Energy Inc.) and its operations, including miners at work, mine construction, interiors of shafts, mine cars, barges carrying coal, and railroad cars filled with coal. Also includes hand-drawn above-ground maps and annual reports.
Contributor: University of Pittsburgh
Carl Gustav Hempel Papers
A philosopher of science who played a central role in the development of logical positivism, Hempel is primarily associated with the concept of deductive-nomological explanation and with the Raven paradox.
Contributor: University of Pittsburgh
Carnegie Museum of Natural History Archives
Visual images from the 1960s-1970s document bird-banding activities and various landscapes of Powdermill Nature Reserve.
Contributor: Carnegie Museum of Natural History Archives
Charles C. McGovern Papers
Contains speeches given by Charles C. McGovern between 1924-1948. They include Square Deal Party speeches made during the McGovern/Barr for County Commissioners re-election campaign and WJAS weekly broadcast speeches.
Contributor: University of Pittsburgh
Charles R. Martin Photographs
Visual images depict the march in Pittsburgh on the National Day of Mourning on April 7, 1968, three days after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Contributor: University of Pittsburgh
Charles Richardson Photographs
Visual images by Charles Richardson which depict life in Pittsburgh, including Downtown, steel mills, and neighborhoods between 1952-1954.
Contributor: University of Pittsburgh
Chartres: Cathedral of Notre-Dame
Comprehensive collection of visual images and detailed descriptions of Chartres Cathedral (France).
Contributor: Professor Emerita M. Alison Stones, Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh
China's Cultural Revolution in Memories: The CR/10 Project
This collection contains video interviews with people who experienced China’s Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (1966-1976). The CR/10 (Cultural Revolution: 10) Project also includes interviews with young Chinese people born after the Cultural Revolution, who discuss how they learned of this historical incident. The Cultural Revolution lasted 10 years, and each interview lasts approximately 10 minutes, hence the name of the project, CR/10. Most interviews were conducted and recorded in person, while some were recorded via Skype. Most of the interviews were collected in the United States, while others were recorded in China, Canada, or elsewhere. Collection of interviews began in 2015 and continues to the present.
Chinese Land Records
Records reflect the land ownership in different historical periods, land tenure changes and land management system of China between 1584-1978.
Contributor: University of Pittsburgh
Chinese Marriage Documents
Contains Chinese marriage documents from 1909 to 1997, including marriage certificates, wedding and engagement invitations, child bride agreements, uxorilocal marriage documents, remarriage agreements, divorce certificates and documents of marriage law.
Contributor: University of Pittsburgh
Chinese Overseas Student Newsletters
Contains Chinese student newsletters from 1970 to 1998. The majority were published by overseas Chinese students in the United States, with a few published in Canada, Hong Kong, and several other countries. Most of the newsletters are written in Chinese.
Contributor: University of Pittsburgh
Chinese Political Prisoner Photograph Collection
Visual images include small photographs of 104 Chinese political prisoner taken between 1924 and 1946. The names of the prisoners are written on the back in French.
Contributor: University of Pittsburgh
Christopher Gist's Journals by William M. Darlington
Contains manuscript drafts of William Darlington's book, Christopher Gist's Journals, published posthumously in 1893 by J.R. Weldin & Co. in Pittsburgh, Pa.
Contributor: University of Pittsburgh
City Directories
The City Directories contains directories published between 1815 and 1945 by J.F. Diffenbacher and R.L. Polk & Company. While most of the directories cover Pittsburgh and Allegheny City, a portion includes Homestead and nearby boroughs.
City of Pittsburgh Geodetic and Topographic Survey Maps
Maps prepared by the City of Pittsburgh Department of Planning staff beginning in 1923 and maintained into the 1960s. Relief shown by contours and spot heights. Includes grid index and legend.
Contributor: University of Pittsburgh
Communist Collection of A.E. Forbes
Contains hand-rendered and mimeographed broadsides, newsletters, and flyers that present a local snapshot of Pittsburgh's radical politics during the 1930s and 1940s.
Contributor: University of Pittsburgh
Conference between the Six Nations and the Quakers Minutes
Records partially document a conference in April of 1756 in Philadelphia between the Six Nations of the Iroquois and the Quakers in an attempt to create peace for innocent inhabitants during the French and Indian War.
Contributor: University of Pittsburgh
Coroner's Office Records, Allegheny County, Pa.
Inquest files dating between 1887 and 1976, which reflect coroner’s verdicts for over ninety years.
Contributor: University of Pittsburgh
Daniel Brodhead Papers
Contains copies of orders sent by Colonel Daniel Brodhead, who commanded the Western Department from his headquarters at Fort Pitt from 1779-1781, to various military officers, including those stationed at Forts Armstrong, Wheeling, Tuscarora, and Laurens; they reveal the recurring difficulties posed by food shortages, lack of money, uncooperative officers, and raids conducted by hostile Indian tribes, which contributed to settlers abandoning their property.
Contributor: University of Pittsburgh
Darlington Autograph Files
Consists of documents created or signed by various historical figures between 1610-1914 collected by the Darlington family. Many of the items are from such notable individuals as Benjamin Franklin, Napoleon Bonaparte, William Penn, Robert Fulton, Robert R. Livingston, King George III, and Patrick Henry as well as prominent citizens of the Pittsburgh area, such as Mary Croghan Schenley, James O'Hara, William Wilkins, and Richard Butler.
Contributor: University of Pittsburgh
Darlington Digital Library
The Darlington Digital Library was created from the first major collection of books, manuscripts, atlases, maps and artwork donated to the University of Pittsburgh. Most of the credit for assembling the Darlington Collection rightly goes to William M. Darlington, an attorney by profession who was born in Pittsburgh in 1815.
Contributor: University of Pittsburgh
Darlington Family Papers
Comprises financial, personal and legal papers, and documentation of collecting activities and ephemera related to William M. Darlington and his family, including ledger books, research notes, manuscripts, personal diaries, photographic prints and negatives, letters, and artwork.
Contributor: University of Pittsburgh
Daughters of Erin Court #9 Records
Contains the minutes of the monthly meetings of the Daughters of Erin, Court #9, Pittsburgh, Pa., 1956-1976.
Contributor: University of Pittsburgh
Dick Thornburgh Papers
Material documenting Thornburgh’s life and public service career, including his years as Governor of Pennsylvania, Attorney General of the United States, and Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, among other notable positions. Also see the Dick Thornburgh Papers website (thornburgh.pitt.edu) for more information.
Contributor: University of Pittsburgh
