Magazines on Google Book Search

The Google Book Search Project has recently added a number of American magazine titles, including Ebony, Jet, Popular Mechanics, and many others to its database. All are full -text searchable and have great imaging, including advertisements. Read more about these magazine archives at the Official Google Blog.

Historian Jill Lepore on colonial American newspapers

Jill Lepore, Professor of History at Harvard is also a staff writer at the New Yorker Magazine. Her latest essay for the magazine, titled "Back Issues: The day the newspaper died," is a fascinating look at the history of American newspapers in colonial America and the early republic.

In the course of her essay, she discusses a variety of newspapers, including the New-England Courant and the Boston Gazette, both of which are available in full-text through the database America's Historical Newspapers.

Historic American Sheet Music

Sheet music can be an excellent source for images and lyrics relating to popular culture.

The Duke University Library has compiled an excellent guide to many collections of historic sheet music; the Chicago Jazz Archive at the University of Chicago Library has compiled a similar list. The following are links to some notable digital collections:

Historic American Sheet Music (Duke University Library)

E. Azalia Hackley Collection (Detroit Public Library; African-American sheet music)

Templeton Sheet Music Collection (Mississippi State University Libraries)

University of Oregon historic Sheet Music Collection (University of Oregon Library)

Iowa Digital Library Historic Sheet Music Collection (University of Iowa Libraries)

19th Century California Sheet Music (Mary Kay Duggan, UC-Berkeley)