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Any document, image, or artifact created at the time of the topic being researched is a primary source. Examples include: eyewitness accounts, autobiographies and memoirs, diaries, letters, speeches, reports, newspapers, household and day-to-day objects, clothing, works of art, architecture, and photographs.
Please note: primary source documents are a reflection of the time and culture in which they were created and may contain language or images that are considered offensive today.
Daily Life Through World History in Primary Documents
This title contains a small number of excellent sources pertaining to the Industrial Revolution. We suggest you use the "Search within Publication" box on the right side of the page to look for specific individuals and/or inventions, or search "Industrial Revolution" to find sources whose analysis contains that phrase.
Documents of the Industrial Revolution 1750-1850
The Industrial Revolution: A History in Documents
The Industrial Revolution: History Documents and Key Questions by
Through this book's roughly 50 reference entries, readers will gain a better appreciation of what life during the Industrial Revolution was like and see how the United States and Europe rapidly changed as societies transitioned from an agrarian economy to one based on machines and mass production. The Industrial Revolution remains one of the most transformative events in world history. It forever changed the economic landscape and gave birth to the modern world as we know it. The content and primary documents within The Industrial Revolution: History, Documents, and Key Questions provide key historical background of the Industrial Revolution in Europe and the United States, enable students to gain unique insights into life during the period, and allow readers to perceive the similarities to developments in society today with ongoing advances in current science and technology. Roughly 50 reference entries provide essential information about the most important people and developments related to the Industrial Revolution, including Richard Arkwright, coal, colonialism, cotton, the factory system, pollution, railroads, and the steam engine. Each entry provides information that gives readers a sense of the importance of the topic within a historical and societal perspective. For example, the coverage of movements during the Industrial Revolution explains the origin of each, including when it was established, and by whom; its significance; and the social context in which the movement was formed. Each entry cites works for further reading to help users learn more about specific topics. Provides entries on a wide range of ideas, individuals, events, places, movements, organizations, and objects and artifacts of the Industrial Revolution that allow readers to better grasp the lasting significance of the period Offers a historical overview essay that presents a narrative summary of the causes of the Industrial Revolution and a timeline of the most important events related to the Industrial Revolution Includes primary sources--each introduced by a headnote--that supply contemporary perspectives on vital elements of social history, especially the actions and conditions of laborers during the Industrial Revolution, providing insights into people's actions and motivations during this time of transition
Industrial Revolution Reference Library
Readings in English History by 
The Victorian World: a Historical Exploration of Literature
Voices of Victorian England: Contemporary Accounts of Daily LifeThe Internet Archive is a non-profit library of millions of free digital books, movies, software, music, websites, and more.
You may search the Internet Archive using Advanced Search:
Here are some examples of primary sources found on the Internet Archive:
Dodd, George. Days at the Factories; Or, The Manufacturing Industry of Great Britain Described and Illustrated by Numerous Engravings of Machines and Processes. London: Charles Knight and Co., 1843
Engels, Friedrich. The Condition of the Working-Class in 1844. New York: J.W. Lovell Co., 1887. (First published in 1845.)
Gaskell, P. The Manufacturing Population of England : Its Moral, Social, and Physical Conditions, and the Changes which have Arisen from the Use of Steam Machinery; with an Examination of Infant Labour. London : Baldwin and Cradock, 1833.
Great Britain Commissioners for Inquiring into the Employment and Condition of Children in Mines and Manufactories. The Physical and Moral Condition of the Children and Young Persons Employed in Mines and Manufactures. London: John W. Parker, 1843.
Routledge, Robert. Discoveries and Inventions of the Nineteenth Century. London: G. Routledge, 1881
Tomlinson, Charles. The Useful Arts and Manufactures of Great Britain. London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1848 (manufacturing of paper, glass, leather, parchment, glue, sugar, and various textile materials.)
