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Imagining Lincoln (FYS Dr. Bittel)

What is a Primary Source?

 

Primary sources are materials that were produced during the period you are researching or by people who witnessed or were involved in events.

 

They include materials such as letters, diaries, speeches, company records, government documents, newspapers, films, photographs, artifacts, etc.

Recommended LMU Primary Source Collections

The following is a short list of primary resources recommended by Professor Bittel and the LMU Reference Librarians. These are intended as starting points, not resources that will provide exhaustive primary sources on your topic. Consult a reference librarian as needed!

Non-text sources

Citing a non-text primary source: a woodcut of Harriet Tubman

Harriet Tubman.

Image courtesy of Archives & Special Collections, William H. Hannon Library, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles.

Citation:
Bradford, Sarah H. "Harriet Tubman." Wood engraving. As published in Sarah H. Bradford, Scenes from the Life of Harriet Tubman, frontspiece. W.J. Moses, Auburn, New York. 1869.