Welcome to The History Museum's Digital Collections!
Please read the following search tips before using this site.
Search thousands of records from The History Museum's collections, including photographs, documents, and artifacts. The museum is constantly adding new material, and currently only a small amount of our 600,000+ artifacts are currently available online. Come back soon to see what's new, or contact us to schedule a research appointment!
Casual Search
Using Keyword Search
The Keyword Search button allows you to perform a general search across multiple fields for any catalog records online. Keyword searches use OR as the default connector between words (e.g. a search for Michigan Street will return records associated with Michigan OR Street). If you want to find records where both keywords appear, type in AND between the two words. To search for a specific phrase, be sure to put the phrase within quotes (e.g. "Oliver Chilled Plow"). You can also use the asterisk (*) as a wildcard (e.g. a search for histor* would come up with records containing history, histories, historical, etc.). Searches are not case sensitive and the results are sorted by relevance.
Random Images
The Random Images button is a great way to browse our collection. Each Random Images page displays a random assortment of images from the records online. If something piques your interest, click the thumbnail to view a larger version of the image.
Looking for something specific?
Catalog Searches (Archives / Photos / Libraries / Objects)
Our artifact collection is divided into four catalogs: Archives, Libraries, Photos, and Objects. Using the catalog buttons can also help narrow down your search, by only searching with a selected catalog. If you only want to search for Photos, click the Photos button and type in your keyword(s) or phrase. You can also browse records within that catalog without performing a search. Use of AND/OR connectors, phrase searching with quotes, and use of wildcards (*) follow the same rules as in Keyword Search!.
Advanced Search Button
The Advanced Search button can help you be more specific with your search. You can search for a word or phrase within a particular search category or use multiple categories to further narrow down your search results. For example, searching Colfax in the People field will bring up any records associated with a member of the Colfax family, without having to sift through every business located or photograph taken on Colfax Street. For even more specific searches, use multiple fields - entering Colfax in the People field and Letter in the Object Name field will bring up only letters related to the Colfax Family. Use of AND/OR connectors, phrase searching with quotes, and use of wildcards (*) follow the same rules as in Keyword Search!