State Papers (Foreign and Domestic)

All of the reproductions held by the Manuscript Division from this series are accessible in the subscription database State Papers Online (linked below) and are listed here for the convenience of those researching British colonial history in America. The descriptions are taken from Grace Gardner Griffin's A Guide to Manuscripts Relating to American History in British Depositories Reproduced for the Division of Manuscripts of the Library of Congress. [Washington: Library of Congress, 1946] (linked below).

Researchers interested in materials subsequent to 1781 should consult the records of the Home Office and Foreign Office.

Great Britain state papers, 1577-1787.
Microfilm, photostats, and transcripts of originals in the Public Record Office (now The National Archives), London, England.

Shelf Lists

The below guide to this collection is provided by Manuscript Reading Room staff. Users with additional questions regarding navigation and access to the collection are encouraged to request assistance through Ask a Librarian.

Public Record Office: State Papers (PDF, 647 KB)
A Shelf List to the collection in the Library of Congress.

Databases

The Manuscript Division’s holdings of reproductions from the State Papers series in the Public Record Office (now National Archives) have been largely superseded by the more complete subscription database State Papers Online (linked below).

The subscription resources marked with a padlock are available to researchers on-site at the Library of Congress. If you are unable to visit the Library, you may be able to access these resources through your local public or academic library.

State Papers Online: Early Modern Government in Britain and Europe, Pts I, II, III, & IV External
State Papers Online, 1509 -1782, published in four seamless Parts, offers researchers a ground-breaking online resource for understanding two hundred years of British and European history, from the reign of Henry VIII to the end of the reign of George III. The largest digital manuscript archive of its kind, State Papers Online, 1509-1782 gathers together 16th- to 18th- century British State Papers and links these rare historical manuscripts to their fully text-searchable Calendars. As such, it radically transforms and simplifies the process of research, offering Early Modern scholars unprecedented access to the behind the scenes workings of the Tudor and Stuart governments.

Descriptive Guides

The following titles link to fuller bibliographic information in the Library of Congress Online Catalog. Links to additional online content are included when available.

A Guide to Manuscripts Relating to American History in British Depositories by Grace Gardner Griffin
Call Number: CD1048.U5 A35 1946
Found online from HathiTrust.External

Further elaboration of American related materials are found in volume 1 of Charles Mclean Andrews’ Guide to the materials for American history: to 1783, in the Public record office of Great Britain. Washington, D. C.: Carnegie Institution of Washington pages 18-78.

Guide to the Materials for American History: to 1783, in the Public Record Office of Great Britain by Charles M. Andrews
Found online from HathiTrust.External

Foreign Copying Program: United Kingdom of Great Britain

Manuscripts: Ask a Librarian

State Papers (Foreign and Domestic)

Shelf Lists

Databases

Descriptive Guides