New: The Telegraph Historical Archive 1855-2000 and British Library Newspapers Part III-IV

I am delighted to announce that Oxford researchers now have access to two online newspaper resources which have long been on our desiderata: The Telegraph Historical Archive 1855-2000 and British Library Newspapers Part III-IV. These are now accessible via SOLO or Databases A-Z > Newspapers.

The Bodleian Libraries have committed substantial external funding to a one-off set of purchases of electronic research resources deemed to be important to researchers in the University. This follows a project to identify desiderata across all subjects and to list suggestions from readers. The list includes items costing up to £125,000 which cannot easily be covered by recurrent budgets. The first tranche of purchases includes a number of important primary sources from Gale Cengage, including British Library newspapers parts III and IV and The Telegraph Historical Archive 1855-2000.

The Telegraph Historical Archive 1855-2000

This is a searchable digital archive of what was once the world’’s largest selling newspaper. Researchers and students can full text search across 1 million pages of the newspaper’s’ backfile from its first issue to the end of 2000, including issues of the Sunday Telegraph from 1961.

The newspaper was directed at a wealthy, educated readership and is commonly associated with traditional Toryism, despite its more ‘liberal’ beginnings especially in regard to foreign policy. Under the editorship of poet and Orientalist Edwin Arnold (from 1873 to 1899), the paper published widely on foreign affairs and foreign cultures. This led to The Telegraph’s coverage of Henry Morton Stanley’s expedition to Africa in search of David Livingstone, which it co-sponsored with the New York Herald.

Daily Telegraph notable highlights include:

The Kaiser Wilhelm affair: On 28 October 1908, the Daily Telegraph published an infamous interview with Kaiser Wilhelm, the German chancellor who alienated the British public with such uncensored comments as ‘you English are mad, mad, mad as march hares.’

Telegraph trial - Kaiser Wilhelm snippet 28 Oct 1908

“The German Emperor and England”, Daily Telegraph, Wed. 28 Oct. 1908, Issue 16694, p.11

The cryptic crossword puzzle: the crossword was circulated to recruit Allied codebreakers during the Second World War and was published in The Telegraph on January 13, 1942.

British Library Newspapers, Parts I-IV (1732-1950)

In addition to Parts I and II, researchers now also have access to parts III and IV of the British Library Newspapers which has more English, Welsh and Scottish regional and local newspaper content online into the first half of the 20th century. Interesting titles include:

  • Aberdeen Journal (1901-1939)
  • Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette (1749-1950)
  • Cambridge Independent Press (1839-1920)
  • The Cornishman (1878-1950)
  • Derby Daily Telegraph (1879-1950)
  • The Exeter and Plymouth Gazette (1827-1950)
  • Essex Newsman (1870-1950)
  • Hereford Journal (1781-1867)
  • Leeds Times (1833-1901)
  • The Norfolk Chronicle (1776-1867)
  • The Nottingham Evening Post (1878-1950)
  • The Salisbury and Winchester Journal (1775-1867)
  • The Salisbury and Winchester Journal (1827-1950)
  • The Western Times (1827-1950)

Researchers may be more familiar with the British Newspaper Archive (BNA) which provides access to digitised regional and local British newspapers. While searching in teh BNA is free, and, indeed, useful to locate a citation, it requires an individual subscription to see the content. If that is the case, please check the Library purchased British Library Newspapers. Please note we still don’t have Part V of British Library Newspapers and that BNA has content which is not available in any parts of British Library Newspapers. Confusing, or what? Join the club!

While you are here:

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