Resources Post

[thisbluespirit]

When you're researching for fic, art, or general curiosity, what are your go to online sources for your historical fandoms?

Does yours have a great wikia, are you a follower of fashion blogs, got treasures on your tumblr dash, buried in out of copyright Google books, or have a nifty Secret Site tucked away somewhere?


General
Internet Scout (Links to academic websites)

Ancient World
Stanford Geospatial Network Model of the Roman World (Calculate time & expense etc. of journeys in the Roman world.)

Middle Ages
Medieval Naming Resources - ursula

1901-1910
Paris Was A Woman (tumblr of socialites in the early 1900s)

World War II
World War II Archive collection (various period naterial, including magazines & army field manuals and more)


Themes etc.
Link to free Art History resources from the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Food & Drink
Food History Jottings (Food Historian's blog, chief focus on UK, US & Europe)
New York Public Library's Menu Collection (1840s-present)

Language
Green's Dictionary of Slang
Beyond the Name - name meanings & history.
Medieval Naming Resources - ursula

LGBTQ+ History
Gay History & Literarture Essays by Rictor Norton

Military
Naval Social History - 1793-1920 (British Royal Navy)

Travel & Transport
Stanford Geospatial Network Model of the Roman World (Calculate time & expense etc. of journeys in the Roman world.)
Luxury Passenger Rail Travel before World War 2 by olivermoss (1880s-1930s)


UK
UK Weather in the Past (weather forum)
Naval Social History - 1793-1920 (Royal Navy)

London
London Medieval Murder Map (Map plotting known homicides in 14th C London.)
Society for Photographing Relics of Old London's 112 photos of "Old" London (taken 1875-1886).
London Lives 1690 to 1800 (free collection of searchable original London documents)


USA
AAGPBL Players Association (Baseball history)
New York Public Library's Menu Collection (1840s-present)

20th C
Internet Archive, including autobiogs eg.:
Jews Without Money by Michael Gold (1930)
Diana A Strange Autobiography by Diana Fredericks (1942, Lesbian memoir)
Writers Project Guide to New York + can find more for other cities (1980s)


Random Fun/Creative Stuff
Regency Explorer Story Generator
19th Century Character Trope Generator

Shakespeare Histories Fanfic Masterlist
Histories Index (@ LJ)



Share them here in the comments! (I will, hopefully, then edit them into a helpful topic list in the body of the post presently, and make this post a sticky, for the edification of all.)

Comments

[auroracloud]

Ooh, that's so cool! Got to keep that in mind for any stories set in the British Isles. My own country is harder to find those resources for...

It reminds me that I used to use this nifty Moon phases and rising & setting times calculator that let you do it for any point in time. It was super handy when I was writing a romantic scene in a garden for my historical novel and didn't want to do the usual thing of having the Moon always be full (or possibly a slim crescent) and up whenever I find it convenient, as fantasy and romance writers often do. I'm too fond of my astronomy to let those things slide. (I also remember reading in-depth discussions on Harry Potter forums about how it couldn't really be full moon on the night when full moon was Very Important For Plot in The Prisoner of Azkaban.)

But I haven't found the same calculator yet. When I find it, or something as useful, I'll post the link(s) here! Too many calculators only allow you to do it for 20th and 21st century dates, probably because people want them for their astrological readings or whatever. Keep your horoscopes, I need my moon phases for Scientific Accuracy Iin my Art!

[thisbluespirit]

I'd never thought about phases of the moon, but, yes, that could be very important! I'd certainly be interested to see the calculator if you can find it again.