Archives: Digital Collections
Hartman Center Digitized Collections [Duke University Libraries' Digital Collections]: From the John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Marketing and Advertising History, includes over 44,000 textual and multimedia resources assembled to promote understanding of social, cultural, and historical impact of advertising, marketing, and sales (1910's to 1980's), including these collections:
- Ad*Access7,000+ advertisements from U.S. and Canadian newspapers and magazines (1911-1955)
- AdViewsA digital archive of vintage television commercials, 1950s to 1980s.
- Emergence of Advertising in America: 1850-1920Over 3,300 advertising items and publications dating from 1850 to 1920, illustrating the rise of consumer culture and the birth of a professionalized advertising industry in the United States.
- J. Walter Thompson NewslettersInternally produced newsletters from The J. Walter Thompson Company between 1916 and 1986.
- Medicine and Madison AvenueAbout 600 advertising items and publications dating from 1850 to 1920, illustrating the rise of consumer culture and the birth of a professionalized advertising industry in the United States.
- Resource of Outdoor Advertising Descriptions (ROAD)A portal to more than 30,000 images of outdoor advertisements from five different source collections.
Databases Licensed by Penn State:
- American Broadsides and Ephemera This link opens in a new window- Based on the American Antiquarian Society’s collection (from Readex, a division of NewsBank, Inc.)
- 30,000 items, searchable by genre, subject, place of publication, dated 1749-1900
- J. Walter Thompson: Advertising America [Adam Matthew Digital]- Online collection of the agency's development (1887-2014), including research and creative process behind brands, advertisements, marketing campaigns, and rise of new media
- JWT publications, reports, market and consumer research, memoranda and correspondence, meeting minutes, creative briefs, speeches, staff newsletters, and advertisements created by the staff, including brands such as Kraft, Kodak, Oscar Mayer and Pan Am - Market Research & American Business [Adam Matthew Digital]- Collection [1935-1965] examining the American consumer boom of the mid-20th century
- Includes market research reports and business correspondence of Ernest Dichter, industry pioneer focused on Motivational Research - Trade Catalogues and the American Home [Adam Matthew Digital]- Trade catalogues (1850-1950) of domestic America's products and services, including clothing and accessories, household goods and appliances, health and medicine, more
Other Online Collections:
- Adflip - archive of classic print ads- 6,000 print ads searchable by year, decade, category (1940-2001)
- Privately financed: allows guests limited access, full access to paid members - The Advertising Archives- British and American press advertisements, 1850-present
- 100,000+ images available, including British TV stills (user registration may be required)
- Established by private collectors Larry and Suzanne Viner - Printed Ephemera Collection: Three Centuries of Broadsides and other Printed Ephemera [Library of Congress]- 28,000+ primary-source items dating 1600's to present
- University of Illinois Advertising Exhibit- 17 themed categories of ads, plus 3 collections: Ad Council, D'Arcy Collection (1890-1970), Woodward Collection (1800's - 1980's)
- Snapshot of physical collection, online highlights of exhibit - Vintage Ad Browser- Over 100,000 vintage ads, 50+ categories (1800-2001)
- Collection created by Philipp Lenssen, released in 2010 - Marchand Archive Image Collection [University of California, Davis]- 15,000+ images with image details, searchable by theme, region, collection
- Alice Marshall Women's History Collection (AMC)- 150+ advertising trade cards featuring 19th- and 20th-century women as entrepreneurs
- Searchable by subject, location, keyword - Coca-Cola Advertisements [Library of Congress]- Over 1,100 online items: films, photos, prints, advertising, drawings, and more (1890-preset) featuring Coca-Cola
- The Geography of Slavery- 4,000+ searchable advertisements for runaway slaves and servants from VA and MD newspapers, 1736-1803 [via University of Virginia’s College at Wise]
- GLAAD Advertising Media Program- Nonprofit - Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) promotes fair, accurate, inclusive media representation
- Video and print ad library of over 4,000 LGBT-inclusive items - Inventing Entertainment: The Early Motion Pictures and Sound Recordings of the Edison Companies [Library of Congress]- Collection (1897-1910) of advertising films, motion pictures, disc sound recordings, photographs, original magazine articles, including inventions and products by Thomas Edison
- Philip Morris Advertising Archive- 55,000 searchable tobacco ads, 1909 forward
- Created by Philip Morris USA, Inc. as a stipulation of the master settlement agreement with tobacco industry - Prosperity and Thrift: The Coolidge Era and the Consumer Economy, 1921-1929 [Library of Congress]- Multiformat material from the 1920's, includes books, pamphlets, journals, photos, short films, audio, speeches, and more
- Work Projects Administration (WPA) Posters Collection [Library of Congress]- Over 900 WPA posters (1936-1943) advertising exhibits, community activities, theatrical productions, health and educational programs