- University Libraries
- Subject Guides
- Photography
- Photo History
Photography: Photo History
Books & Encyclopedias on Photo history & photographers
- Go to the stacks of Mary Idema Pew Library and browse the call number TR (4th floor).
- Click on Advanced Search, enter last name of photographer (e.g., cartier-bresson) and search in Subject.
Encyclopedia of Twentieth-Century Photography by
Call Number: available both as an e-book and on the Library's 4th floor: TR642 .E5 2006Encyclopedia of Nineteenth-Century Photography
Call Number: e-book; Library 4th floor: TR9 .H25 2008Focal encyclopedia of photography : digital imaging, theory and applications, history, and science
Call Number: Library 4th floor: TR9 .F6 2007A world history of photography
Call Number: Library 4th floor: TR15 .R67 2007
Exhibition Catalogs
- Met Publications byfree online books, catalogs, magazines, & more
GVSU Photo e-journals
History of photography
Call Number: print version
Best article databases
- Art Abstracts and RetrospectiveChoose databases & check to include:
Art Abstracts & Art Index Retrospective,
Communication Source,
Film & Television Literature Index
Also consider: America History & Life &/or Historical Abstracts - Communication Sourcejournal articles & more on all aspects of photography and film.
- International Bibliography of Art (IBA) This link opens in a new windowincludes articles on photography & photographers
- Oxford Art Onlinearticles on artists (selected photographers), styles, & movements
- WorldCatfor books and DVDs/videos GVSU doesn't own; use Doc Delivery option in "Get it@GVSU".
General & Newspaper Databases
To cover all the bases.
- JSTORgeneral - historical: search your photographer's name.
- Global Newsstream1400+ newspapers: search your photographer's name.
- Periodicals Archive Onlinegeneral - historical (1802-1995): search your photographer's name.
- Project Musegeneral: search your photographer's name.
- New York Timeshistorical newspaper: search your photographer's name.
Search tips
- use "quotation marks" around phrases
- truncate - with an asterisk * - truncat* finds truncate, truncated, truncation
- use AND to combine unlike ideas: dance AND promotion
- use OR to connect synonyms: advertisements OR campaigns
Put it all together:
- "hip hop dance" in one box
- AND (promot* OR advertis* OR campaigns) in the next box
- use parentheses in single-box searching - when you don't have another set of boxes, e.g.,:
- "hip hop dance" AND (promot* OR advertis* OR campaigns)
Use the left or right menus to narrow your results, e.g., by language, date, subject, etc.
- Databases have a citation and sometimes they will also contain an abstract, or summary, of the article.
- Databases also often cite multiple types of resources - books, essays or chapters, government documents, etc.
- Some databases will also have the complete item (called the full text): you should see a link to an HTML or PDF document. Or click on
- this will check other library databases for the full text.
- Last Updated: Jan 21, 2025 2:40 PM
- URL: https://libguides.gvsu.edu/photography