Primary Sources

Hosted inside the Internet Archive, the Prelinger Archive is a collection of films relating to U.S. cultural history, the evolution of the American landscape, everyday life, and social history.

In the pre-TV era, people saw the news every week in their neighborhood movie theaters. Newsreels were shown before every feature film and in dedicated newsreel theaters located in large cities. Universal Newsreel, produced from 1929 to 1967, was released twice a week. Each issue contained six or seven short stories, usually one to two minutes in length, covering world events, politics, sports, fashion, and whatever else might entertain the movie audience.

Motion Pictures from 1894 to 1915.

LIFE Magazine is a photographic magazine that chronicled the 20th Century. A large collection of professional photography on the internet. Users can browse, search and view photos of today’s people and events. Free access to share, print and post images for personal use.