The University of Pittsburgh ULS Digital Collections has digitized collections from many sources including birth records, death records, other Archives & Special Collections and Center for American Music as well as several Pitt Faculty members and regional partner institutions. 

 

Popular Collections include:

 

Below is a small sampling of some collections for family history research. Be sure to Search Digital Collections for more resources!

 

Birth Marriage and Death records #OnGenealogy

Birth, Marriage, & Death Records

 

Birth Indexes & Birth Records

 

Marriage Indexes & Marriage Records

 

 

 

Death Indexes & Death Records

 

 

 

Cemeteries

  • First Congregational Church, Etna, Pa. Records – Records of First Congregational Church, Etna, Pa. consist of baptisms, confirmations, marriages, deaths, cemetary maps, and lot owners; anniversary books (1919, 1939, 1949, 1989); newspaper clippings; services (1970-1975); and church history.
  • Birmingham United Church of Christ Records
    • Interment Book, c1880-1900, Birmingham United Church of Christ Records
    • Lot Owners, 1874-c1920, Birmingham United Church of Christ Records
    • Lot Owners, 1929-1950, Birmingham United Church of Christ Records
    • Lot Owners, 1949-1970, Birmingham United Church of Christ Records
    • Lot Owners, 1955-1974, Birmingham United Church of Christ Records
    • Lot Owners, 1958-1969, Birmingham United Church of Christ Records
    • Lot Owners/Deed Book, 1874-1901, Birmingham United Church of Christ Records
    • Index, Birmingham United Church of Christ Records
    • Index, Birmingham United Church of Christ Records
    • Index, Birmingham United Church of Christ Records
    • Index, Birmingham United Church of Christ Records
    • Index, Birmingham United Church of Christ Records
    • Index, Birmingham United Church of Christ Records
    • Index, Birmingham United Church of Christ Records
    • Index, Birmingham United Church of Christ Records
    • Index, Birmingham United Church of Christ Records
    • Deed Register with Payment Ledger, Birmingham United Church of Christ Records

 

Guardianship

 

 

Obituaries

 

 

 

 

 

 

Residence records census land migration voting taxation #OnGenealogy

Residence Records

Census

 

 

Directories

 

 

Emigration/Immigration/Migration

 

Land & Property

 

Maps, Almanacs, & Gazetteers

 

 

Taxation

 

Voting

 

 

 

Daily Life Records school work church court government library social life #OnGenealogy

Daily Life Records

 

 

Biography

 

 

 

Books

 

Business Records & Commerce

 

 

Church Records

 

 

 

Church History

 

 

Diaries/Journals

  • Fur Trader’s Journal – Collection consists of a journal from an unidentified fur trader traveling in the region of the Du Lièvre Rivere, a tributary of the Ottawa River, in western Québec. The entries, covering May to June of 1775, document a journey during which the trader faced river rapids, a number of portages between waterways, and at times hostile trading partners from the Ottawa and Nipissing tribes.
  • Mrs. Hanlin’s Diary – Small bound personal diary (1857-1863) contains the writings of Mrs. Hanlin, who was a resident of Allegheny City, Pennsylvania. The diary covers topics such as religion, church activities, her son William, as well as the illnesses and deaths of friends and family members.
  • W.B. Austen Diary – This diary, written by W.B. Austen, covers his four-month journey from Liverpool, England, to Mansfield, Ohio, between May-September, 1821; it covers events of his daily life, the weather, and many other details of his trip.

 

Ethnic

 

 

Family Papers

  • William Pitt Family Papers – Consists of letters sent from Pitt’s wife, Hester, to Alexander Hood and assorted documents detailing some of the political activities of Pitt as well his son, William Pitt the Younger.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Donohoe Family Papers – Comprises correspondence to Thomas Donohoe, Blairsville, Indiana County (Pa.), from his family in Ballyellin, County Carlow, Ireland. Subjects include family events, economic conditions, social conditions, state of harvests, prices of crops and produce, rates for labor, and the Civil War in the United States.
  • McFarland-Hall-Beck Families Papers – Collection includes genealogies, histories, correspondence, memoirs, journals, business and legal papers, photographs and memorabilia from the McFarland-Hall-Beck families, who are three families that originally settled in Virginia (now West Virginia).
  • Hans Reichenbach Papers – The Hans Reichenbach Papers comprise published and unpublished manuscripts, lectures, correspondence, photographs, drawings, and related materials from his early student days until his death.
  • Henry Marie Brackenridge and Family Papers – Focuses on correspondence concerning Henry Marie Brackenridge’s political career, and contains letters from notable politicians of his day, including Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, John Quincy Adams, and William Henry Harrison.
  • Hervey Allen Papers – Hervey Allen was known as an American poet, essayist, and novelist. His paternal grandfather, Edward Jay Allen, was a Civil War Colonel and influential Pittsburgh figure who traveled west over the Oregon Trail to survey and establish United States land claim in 1852 in what is now Washington and Oregon.
  • H.K. Porter Co., Pittsburgh, Pa. Records – Collection contains the records of H.K. Porter Co. for the years 1877-1968. H.K. Porter was a major manufacturer of light locomotives from 1867-1941.
  • Isaac and Samuel Miller Farm Account Book – Collection consists of a record book spanning from 1826 to 1840 detailing the financial accounts of Samuel and Isaac Miller’s farm, including both income and expenses for a variety of farm products and other services, such as hauling and thrashing.
  • James Veech Copybook of the General William Irvine Papers – Consists of a single bound volume containing copies of extracts from Brigadier General William Irvine’s book and papers.
  • Juniata Crossings House Records – Register of the Juniata Crossings House that was owned and operated by Samuel P. Shull in Everett, Pennsylvania. The register includes the names and permanent residences of guests between August 1886 and August 1916.
  • Stockton Family Letters – Consists of letters concerning the illness of Addison and Joseph Stockton of cholera in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1832.
  • Rose Rand Papers – Comprises Rose Rand’s personal and professional records, a significant amount of correspondence and working papers, as well as notebooks, research notes, manuscript fragments, and transcriptions from Vienna Circle discussions (1922-1938).
  • Rudolf Carnap Papers – Contains extensive correspondence covering his entire life and career, lecture outlines for courses that he taught in Vienna, Prague, and the U.S.; and manuscript drafts and typescripts both for his published works and for many unpublished writings.
  • James Wilkinson Papers – Contains correspondence to and from James Wilkinson, Governor of the Louisiana Territory, high ranking official in the United States Army, and informant of, and suspected co-conspirator in, the Aaron Burr conspiracy.
  • Jonathan Forman Papers – Contains a seven-page journal that documents the 1794 march of Forman’s New Jersey troops through Pennsylvania to quell the Whiskey Rebellion.
  • Mary Elinor Lazenby Papers – Collection contains photostats of Herman Husband’s sermons and the Regulator Papers used by Mary Elinor Lazenby during her research to write her three part work, Herman Husband: A Story of His Life, on the Revolutionary War era Quaker in 1940. The collection also includes Lazenby’s research correspondence and a scrapbook documenting critical response to her book and its connection to Husband’s descendant, Admiral Husband E. Kimmel.
  • Mary Roberts Rinehart Papers – Papers document the career of Mary Roberts Rinehart (1876-1958), who was a popular and prolific American author in the first half of the 20th century. Best known for her mysteries, Rinehart published poems, short stories, plays, articles, essays, memoirs, romances, and novels.
  • Max A. Lauffer Papers – Collection includes correspondence between Max A. Lauffer, a University of Pittsburgh professor and researcher who contributed greatly to the study of viruses during his career (1944-1986), and Jonas Salk.
  • Richard C. Jeffrey Papers – Contains biographical material, correspondence, research and lecture notes, teaching documents, and drafts of published and unpublished writings by Jeffrey and others.
  • Robert J. Walker Papers – Contains a letter book presumably created by Walker of copies of correspondence with several prominent 19th Century political figures.

 

 

Genealogy

 

 

Government & Politics

  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Elsie H. Hillman Papers – Public speeches delivered by Elsie H. Hillman to a variety of audiences and gatherings.
  • Extension of the Pittsburgh City Limits Minute Book – Consists of a minute book detailing through various reports the extension of the limits of the City of Pittsburgh between 1836-1841; included are reports from courts, surveyors, and a commission carrying out orders from the state assembly.
  • Father Cox Papers – Visual images from 1930 of the Great Depression, Jobless party activities, and Father Cox, a Pittsburgh Catholic priest and political and social activist.
  • The Grant campaign songster: containing all the most taking popular original songs, ballads and recitations, that will be most sung during this presidential campaign : adapted to very popular and well-known airs and choruses.
  • Municipal reports of the City of Allegheny for the fiscal year ending. 1905/1906

 

 

History

 

 

 

Humanities

  • Rare Books and Imprints – Consists of works particularly in the areas of the humanities and the social sciences, including the history of science and technology. These multidisciplinary collections contain many unusual or unique items, such as first editions, early imprints, fine bindings, and beautifully illustrated books.

 

 

Language

  • Pittsburgh Speech and Society Project – Focuses on disseminating research and educational materials relevant to the Pittsburgh dialect and includes conversational interviews that capture examples of such dialect.
  • Visuals for Foreign Language Instruction – Visual illustrations drawn in 2004 designed to support foreign language instructional tasks, such as describing objects and people or describing events and situations.

 

 

Libraries, Museums, & Archives

 

 

Magazines & Periodicals

  • Shooting Star Review – African American literary magazine published quarterly by Sandra Gould Ford (editor and founder) between 1987-1994 whose mission was to explore the Black American experience through literature and art.

 

 

Manuscript Collections

  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Historic Pittsburgh
  • Documenting Pitt
  • Elsie H. Hillman Papers – Public speeches delivered by Elsie H. Hillman to a variety of audiences and gatherings.
  • Fidelis Zitterbart Manuscripts – Collection contains Fidelis Zitterbart’s manuscript compositions for many different musical genres. Zitterbart was an active music teacher, performer, and composer from the 1860s through his death in 1915. He was also a member of the New York Theatre orchestra, first violinist with the Theodore Thomas Orchestra, concertmaster of the Strakosch Opera orchestra, and a member of the Brooklyn and New York Philharmonic societies.
  • Frank Plumpton Ramsey Papers – Consists of autograph manuscripts documenting the philosophical work of Frank Plumpton Ramsey between the years 1920 and 1930.
  • George Washington Collection – Contains letters, broadsides, a manuscript copy of an early map of western Pennsylvania, and an engraving of George Washington. Early material pertains to Washington’s service to the British militia during the outbreak of the French and Indian War.
  • Ohio Company Papers – Contains manuscript copies of the Case of the Ohio Company, a collection of materials compiled by George Mercer to demonstrate the progress made by the Ohio Company, and a number of debt notes related to the company’s trade in dry goods
  • Theodore M. Finney Music Library Collection – Rare and manuscript music materials, including early printed music scores and music manuscripts, autograph letters, and glass plate photographs.
  • Stephen Foster Collection
  • Wilfrid S. Sellars Papers – Consists of manuscripts of nearly all of Sellars’ work, reading notes, preliminary notes for further development, drafts of articles, working papers, correspondence, teaching materials and lecture notes.
  • Wesley C. Salmon Papers – Contains personal and professional correspondence, manuscripts, working papers, lecture notes and their ancillary materials, versions of professional talks, and documentation from Salmon’s work in professional organizations.
  • Walter and Martha Leuba Papers – Documents the Leubas’ collecting activities, Walter’s writing projects, and the Leubas’ lives.
  • Ramón Gómez de la Serna Papers – Consists of approximately 60,000 handwritten notes and manuscripts, clippings, photographs, and annotated first editions from his library from 1906-1967.
  • John Woodruff Scrapbooks – Contains two scrapbooks of newspaper clippings and articles highlighting Woodruff’s accomplishments throughout his athletic career, particularly his gold medal win at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
  • Thaddeus Sheldon Papers – Consists mostly of letters, speeches, meeting minutes, financial statements of the Harmonia organization, and papers on various subjects such as education, the future of America, and sacred matrimony.
  • Marshall W. “Major” Taylor Scrapbooks – Scrapbooks document, through news-clippings from American and foreign presses, the accomplishments of Marshall W. (“Major”) Taylor, a professional African-American bicycle racer. The articles include the climate of racial opinion in America and abroad as well as Taylor’s reactions.
  • V.F. Wachsmuth Treatise – Compiled by V. F. Wachsmuth in May 1858, this treatise contains information on the dissemination of tea, coffee, and chocolate, as well as a glossary of utensils used to make and serve tea, coffee, and chocolate.
  • Thomas G. Masaryk Papers – Contains mostly unpublished drafts of Masryk’s letters and memoranda, interviews, and articles and drafts of later published writings. The date range of the collection (1918-1919) is significant as it was during this period that Masaryk’s ultimate goal of Czechoslovak sovereignty came to fruition.
  • Pamela J. Stewart & Andrew J. Strathern Archive –

 

 

Medical

 

 

Music

  • Fidelis Zitterbart Manuscripts – Collection contains Fidelis Zitterbart’s manuscript compositions for many different musical genres. Zitterbart was an active music teacher, performer, and composer from the 1860s through his death in 1915. He was also a member of the New York Theatre orchestra, first violinist with the Theodore Thomas Orchestra, concertmaster of the Strakosch Opera orchestra, and a member of the Brooklyn and New York Philharmonic societies.
  • Theodore M. Finney Music Library Collection – Rare and manuscript music materials, including early printed music scores and music manuscripts, autograph letters, and glass plate photographs.
  • Stephen Foster Collection – Collection provides a valuable record of Stephen Foster’s composition process, nineteenth century life in the United States, the music business, Pittsburgh history, and Foster’s legacy.
  • Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Posters – Visual images of concert posters documenting Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO) performances for audiences in Pittsburgh and around the world.

 

 

Names & Surnames

 

Newspapers

  • Pitt News, Documenting Pitt
    • The Pitt News and its predecessor, The Pitt Weekly, are the student newspapers of the University of Pittsburgh. This collection contains scanned copies of these papers from the inception of The Pitt Weekly in 1910 through April 2014, with the exception of issues from 1999.
  • University Times, Documenting Pitt
    • This collection contains all three issues of the University Times quarterly newspaper dating from December 1968 to June 1969, as well as a complete run of the University Times biweekly newspaper from the first issue on April 29, 1969 to the last issue of volume 37 on July 21, 2005. Click here to browse all issues 
  • The golden wedding of Thomas and Eliza Hoopes, 1817-1867: supplemented by the sixtieth anniversary of their marriage, 1877
  • 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.
  • Fred Wright Cartoons – Fred Wright, an American labor cartoonist and activist, created thousands of cartoons from 1939-1984 reflecting the politics and labor issues of the day, which were featured in newspapers, union publications, and overseas union activism.
  • John Woodruff Scrapbooks – Contains two scrapbooks of newspaper clippings and articles highlighting Woodruff’s accomplishments throughout his athletic career, particularly his gold medal win at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
  • United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers of America (UE) Records – Contains all of the issues of the UE News, the official newspaper of the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE), from the newspaper’s founding in 1939 through 2010. Also comprises visual images from the 1930s-1950s that represent the activities, officers, and members of the UE in Pittsburgh and vicinity.
  • University of Pittsburgh Johnstown – Collection features the Panther Cub, Panther, and The Advocate student newspapers from 1930 to 2011, student yearbooks, and The evolution of a college: a history of the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown (1927-1993) from the University of Pittsburgh Johnstown.
  • The Bulletin, Pittsburg Bulletin, and The Bulletin Index – Issues of the Pittsburgh based society and cultural publication, The Bulletin, and its succeeding titles, the Pittsburg Bulletin, and The Bulletin Index from 1887 to 1949.

 

 

Oral Histories

 

 

 

Photographs & Images

  • Pittsburgh City Photographer Collection
  • Pitt Photographs, Documenting Pitt
  • Fred Wright Cartoons, an American labor cartoonist and activist, created thousands of cartoons from 1939-1984 reflecting the politics and labor issues of the day, which were featured in newspapers, union publications, and overseas union activism.
  • Aerial Photographs of Pittsburgh
  • African American Construction Workers of Pittsburgh Photographs
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Walter J. Teskey Photographs – Visual images depict the Pittsburgh floods of 1936 and 1937, and images of trains and scale models (1960s).
  • William H. Wolf Photographs – Visual images include Pittsburgh during the 1907 flood, the 1908 Pittsburgh Sesquicentennial parade celebration, and Pittsburgh’s Luna Park (1907-1920).
  • Chartres: Cathedral of Notre-Dame – Comprehensive collection of visual images and detailed descriptions of Chartres Cathedral (France).
  • Frank B. Fairbanks Rail Transportation Archive – Visual images from the 1940s-1980s which visually document train engines and stations in the western Pennsylvania area.
  • McConway and Torely Company Records – This collection covers the years of 1889-1945 and is arranged in nine series consisting primarily of historical information, photographs, brochures, scrapbooks, catalogs, publications, patent applications and patent examinations.
  • Pittsburgh City Photographer Collection
  • Vézelay: Benedictine Abbey of Sainte Marie Madeleine – Visual images of the Benedictine abbey church of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine at Vézelay photographed by Dr. Alison Stones and Jane Vadnal.
  • McFarland-Hall-Beck Families Papers – Collection includes genealogies, histories, correspondence, memoirs, journals, business and legal papers, photographs and memorabilia from the McFarland-Hall-Beck families, who are three families that originally settled in Virginia (now West Virginia).
  • Monongahela Railway Company Photographs – Visual images documenting railroad activities, buildings, equipment, and staff, as well as rivers and coal mining from 1903-1993; included are scenes in urban and rural areas of western Pennsylvania and bordering counties in West Virginia.
  • Kingsley Association Records – Visual images from the ca. 1900-1969 that showcase programs and activities of the Pittsburgh association, including views of the Hill District, East Liberty, Lillian Home, and Kingsley House.
  • Kōgyo, Tsukioka, The Art of Noh – Color woodblock prints by the Japanese artist Tsukioka Kōgyo (1869-1927) depict the Art of Noh through detailed portraits, landscapes and theatrical performances, taking into account some of Japan’s rich history.
  • Lillian A. Friedberg Postcards – Visual images of postcards from 1933-1945 that document the Chicago World’s Fair and WWII, including the French Resistance and Nazi Germany.
  • Oakmont Historical Image Collection – A collection of photographs and images that depict Oakmont and its surrounding areas including local landmarks, buildings, businesses, and residents.
  • Pennsylvania Railroad Photographs – Visual images document construction and repair projects to the Pennsylvania Railroad’s lines, both within the city of Pittsburgh, as well as across the Midwest from 1907-1917; featured prominently in the collection is the renovation and construction of the second track for the Ohio Connecting Railway Bridge, located just north of downtown Pittsburgh.
  • Progress Photographs: William Penn Hotel – Visual images from 1914-1916 show the construction of the William Penn Hotel in Downtown Pittsburgh every two weeks, starting with the groundbreaking ceremony held on July 7, 1914.
  • Russell H. Heffley Photographs – Visual images document downtown Johnstown (Cambria County, Pa.), local businesses, advertising, parks, and daily life in this city from 1924 through the 1950s.
  • Union Arcade Building Photographs – Visual images taken between June 16, 1915 and October 26, 1916 show the construction of the Henry Clay Frick’s Union Arcade Building in Downtown, Pittsburgh.
  • Union Switch & Signal Strike Photographs – Visual images from June 1914 portray strikers from US&S, and several other Westinghouse plants, marching in the streets of Pittsburgh’s Swissvale neighborhood.
  • Harold Corsini Photographs – Visual images from the 1940s-1970s show images taken by freelance photographer Corsini for local and national businesses, including US Steel, as well as images from WWII and Southeast Asia and East Africa.
  • Joel B. Levinson Photographs – Contains images dating from the 1950s-1998 that highlight Joel B. Levinson’s prolific photographic career in documenting the city of Pittsburgh, its environs, activities, people, and surrounding area.
  • John Gates Photographs – Visual images from the ca. 1889-1930 of Downtown Pittsburgh and Highland Park, including landscape, industrial, and family scenes.
  • Paul Slantis Photographs – Visual images taken by Pittsburgh Post-Gazette photographer Paul Slantis from 1946-1956 depict a variety of Pittsburgh and regional scenes, including industry, streets, portraits, aerial shots, notable personalities, people and activities, and architecture.
  • Pittsburgh Theatre – Photographs, publications, and other archival material related to theater within the City and the University of Pittsburgh.
  • Spencer Family Photographs – Visual images from the 1890s-1910s show the Charles Spencer family working and playing in and around their Pittsburgh home in Shadyside on Amberson Avenue.
  • Stalinka: Digital Library of Staliniana – Visual materials and artifacts, such as photographs, posters, paintings, banners, sculptures, chinaware, and pins, created throughout the 20th century of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin organized by faculty in History and Slavic Languages and Literature departments.
  • Theodore M. Finney Music Library Collection – Rare and manuscript music materials, including early printed music scores and music manuscripts, autograph letters, and glass plate photographs.
  • John M. Tate, Jr. Collection of Notes, Pictures and Documents relating to the Harmony Society – Tate, who befriended many of the Harmonists and was allowed to photograph several of their members, homes, various community buildings, and nearby scenes, created this bound volume in 1925 as a presentation album so he could share his work and collection on the Harmonists with others.
  • Urban League of Pittsburgh Records – Visual images from the 1920s-1950s show group portraits from conventions and youth conferences, individual portraits of Urban League Fellows and Urban League staff, housing and work conditions for black employees, and children at Camp James Weldon.
  • University of Pittsburgh Press Digital Editions – Out-of-print monographs published by the University of Pittsburgh Press between 1938 and 2004.
  • Visuals for Foreign Language Instruction – Visual illustrations drawn in 2004 designed to support foreign language instructional tasks, such as describing objects and people or describing events and situations.
  • Smoke Control Lantern Slides – Visual images from the 1930s-1940s visually document the city of Pittsburgh before and after smoke control ordinances were passed regulating the burning of coal; a few images include smoke control efforts in St. Louis, Missouri.
  • Pittsburgh City Photographer Collection – Visual images from the 1900s-1970s commissioned by the Pittsburgh Department of Public Works show parks, recreation facilities, and athletic events as well as hospital exteriors and interiors, mayoral events, traffic situations, and general street scenes of Pittsburgh.
  • Pittsburgh Prints from the Collection of Wesley Pickard – Lithographs, etchings, watercolors, and engravings from the 1840s-1920s depict a variety of Pittsburgh landmarks, including bridges, downtown buildings, commercial and industrial establishments, and civic institutions that show the city before and during the period of industrial development in the 19th century.
  • Pittsburgh Railways Company Records – Visual images from the 1870s-1970s depict many styles and views of street railway cars owned by this company; many Pittsburgh neighborhoods, such as the South Hills, Oakland, Downtown, Homewood, and Mt. Washington, are included.
  • Robert G. Pflaum Photograph Collection – Visual images focus on streetcars and their routes through downtown Pittsburgh, its neighborhoods, and surrounding areas, including the South Hills, Dormont, and Castle Shannon between 1958-1971.

 

 

Prisons/Prisoners

  • 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.
  • 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.

 

 

Science & Nature

  • 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.
  • 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).
  • 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).
  • 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.

 

 

Schools & Alumni

  • 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.
  • Pitt Administration – Throughout its history, the University has provided a summary of its curriculum, achievements and events through a series of publications and reports. Some of these records, such as Chancellor’s Reports and University Catalogues, are internal documents that describe academic life at Pitt and the University’s response to current events. Others, such as the University Fact Books and Press Releases, were distributed on a wider basis and provide information about Pitt’s strengths and important events affiliated with the University.
  • National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW), Pittsburgh Section, Records – The National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW), Pittsburgh Section, conducted more than 500 oral history interviews focused on the Jewish community – the history, the traditions, the contributions – of its members over a span of 32 years.
  • Pitt Alumni, Documenting Pitt

This collection contains all of the publications found in the Pitt Alumni, Pitt News, and Pitt Yearbooks Collections in addition to the following:

The Pennsylvania Western was a journal edited by students that were members of the Literary Societies of the Western University of Pennsylvania. It was published from 1882 to 1887 and contains some University news, as well as essays by the Chancellor and various administrators and benefactors.

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The University Courant, also called the Western University Courant and The Courant, was published by the Irving Literary Society of the Western University of Pennsylvania. It was published about every month during the school year and contains poems, articles and essays by students, professors and administrators, as well as reporting on some University and local events. This collection contains volumes 2 through 25 covering 1888 to 1910.

The School of Engineering’s Skyscraper Engineer and the Anatomy department’s Anatomy Snooze are examples of publications written specifically for that discipline’s students, faculty and staff. The University Honors Program also published UHP-Words as a newsletter for its students. Students of Western University of Pennsylvania edited the College Journal, which served as a type of student newspaper from 1869 until at least 1880. More recent examples of student writing is featured in the English department’s Manuscripts and the University Honors College’s Pittsburgh Undergraduate Review.

Also included in this collection are several histories of the university, including: Francis Clifford Phillips’ The Western University in 1822; History of the Western University of Pennsylvania by Samuel Black McCormick; William J. Holland’s History of the University of Pittsburgh; the University of Pittsburgh’s The Celebration of the One Hundred and Twenty-Fifth Anniversary; Through One Hundred and Fifty Years: The University of Pittsburgh by Agnes Lynch Starrett; and Robert C. Alberts’ Pitt: The Story of the University of Pittsburgh.

There are also several publications concerning the Pitt campus, such as the dedication programs for many of the Cathedral of Learning’s Nationality Rooms and the Stephen Collins Foster Memorial. Histories of the university libraries and, specifically, the Darlington Memorial Library are present as well.

  • Pitt Faculty, Documenting Pitt
    • This collection contains records, such as correspondence and photographs, which illustrate the dedication and work of Pitt faculty. Also included are a series of radio lectures by faculty members from 1924 to 1930.
  • University Times, Documenting Pitt
    • This collection contains all three issues of the University Times quarterly newspaper dating from December 1968 to June 1969, as well as a complete run of the University Times biweekly newspaper from the first issue on April 29, 1969 to the last issue of volume 37 on July 21, 2005. Click here to browse all issues 
  • University Catalogues, Documenting Pitt
    • This collection contains Catalogues of the Western University of Pennsylvania from the 1861/1862 academic year through 1907/1908, as well as Catalogs of the University of Pittsburgh from 1908/1909 through 1926/1927.
  • University of Pittsburgh Bradford, Documenting Pitt
    • Collection features student yearbooks for 1967 – 1970, 1971 – 1972, 1979 – 1980, and A History of the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford by Sherie R. Mershon (2014).
  • University of Pittsburgh Greensburg, Documenting Pitt
    • The online collection contains finding aids, photographic images, UPG Senate Minutes, and student newspapers (coming soon!) from the archives at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg, and images from the Westmoreland County Historical Society.
  • University of Pittsburgh Johnstown, Documenting Pitt
    • This collection features the Panther Cub, Panther, and The Advocate student newspapers from 1930 to 2011, student yearbooks, and The evolution of a college: a history of the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown (1927-1993) from the University of Pittsburgh Johnstown. Please see this LibGuide to learn more about using the University of Pittsburgh Johnstown digital collection.

 

 

Societies

 

 

Theatre

  • Ford E. and Harriet R. Curtis Theatre Collection of Pittsburgh Theatre Programs – The Ford E. and Harriet R. Curtis Theatre Collection contain tens of thousands of Pittsburgh theatre programs from the 1840s to the present. They include productions from current performing arts groups in Pittsburgh. Sometimes newspaper clippings, marketing materials, photographs, and memorabilia related to the theatres and performing arts companies are stored with the programs.

 

 

Yearbooks

  • Pitt Yearbooks, Documenting Pitt
    • This collection features a complete set of The Owl yearbooks, dating from 1907 to 1980, as well as Panther Prints yearbooks from 1981 to 2011.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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