A comprehensive collection of short works from the 18th century.
The Eighteenth Century Collections Online (ECCO) draws on resources from over 2000 libraries, including the British Library, the American Antiquarian Society and the Bodleian Library. It features an archive of monographs, or short works, from the 1700s – when the popularity of one-off and self-contained works inspired by arts, culture, public affairs, history and science was at its height.
The collection holds works mainly written in English - but also in Welsh, Irish and Gaelic – and is drawn from monographs published in the British Isles, the British Colonies and North America. As well as essays, the collection showcases some rare examples of printed 18th century material, such as advertisements, slip songs and handbills.
Anyone with a general interest in the history of the 18th century - or specialised teaching, studying or research requirements in the arts, humanities or social sciences – will benefit from searching this collection.
The archive’s particular strengths include history, geography, literature, language, philosophy, law, theology, science and medicine and the catalogue is fully searchable, with a number of browsing features, including image galleries.
An example of one of the earliest English language newspapers, ‘Corante, or Newes from Italy’, alongside a printed version of Charles I’s speech on his execution scaffold, as featured in the Thomason Collection of Civil War Tracts.