Author Archives: Louise Masson

Trial – The illustrated London news,1842-2003

The Illustated London News from British Online Archives (1842-2003) is a major historical newspaper archive containing a complete rum of the world’s first illustrated weekly news magazine.

Founded in 1842, by Herbert Ingram, the publication is regarded as groundbreaking due it combined news reporting together with detailed engravings and photographs. This provided visual coverage of events from the Unite Kingdom and more globally.

The archive includes:

Every issued published between 1842 and 2003

New articles and editorials

Engravings, illustrations and photographs

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A more indepth outline of content can be found on British Archives Online website.

Features on culture, science, literature, society, and technology
Reports on major historical events

A key strength of this collection is that it allows you to track a large portion of Britain’s imperial history—from the Victorian heyday of the empire, through to its fragmentation during the twentieth century. So it’s great for research for both students and academics on related topics from culture, literature, society, technology and history to name but a few.

This trial will end on the 24th of November 2026.

Please email feedback in terms of use, content and functionality and how it would fit with teaching and research you’re involved with to libengagement@ncl.ac.uk

New Resource – Mass Observation Project, Part IV (2010s)

What is Mass Observation?

Launched in 1981 by the University of Sussex as a rebirth of the original 1937 Mass Observation, its founders’ aim was to document the social history of Britain by recruiting volunteers to write about their lives and opinions. Still growing, it is one of the most important sources available for qualitative social data in the UK.

This collection consists of the directives (questionnaires) sent out by Mass Observation between to different respondents. So replies or evidence contains diaries, letters, photographs and other personal type documents.

Functionality includes “Browse by Directive” or “Filter by Key Topics”

Additional part IV now added to our subscriptions and accessed via Library Search.

Check it out for a wide range of topics including political and social themes of the period, plus insights into everyday life. Great for research, dissertations and information about cultural and society.

Trial – Eighteenth Century Online Part III

Eighteenth Century Online Part III is now available as part of the trials we are offering in Semester 1.

The third installment of the Eighteenth Century Online (ECCO series) will equip researchers to analyse how a century of transformative ideas shaped our modern world. Scholars will find more essential material to trace revolutions in France, America, and Haiti; explore how the birth of the novel shaped literature and the rise of literacy; and understand the lasting impacts of European empires that imposed their control and culture on Indigenous peoples.

Further information about this section is available on the GALE website and via this flier.

This trial will end on the 5th of November 2026.

Please email feedback in terms of use, content and functionality and how it would fit with teaching and research you’re involved with to libengagement@ncl.ac.uk