The resources on this page are separated into two groups: places to find primary resources, that is, databases and archives that have publications and materials created between 1929-1933; and places to find secondary resources, that is, databases that have articles that reflect or analyze on consumer advertising during the Great Depression, but were published later.
There are a number of publications and archival collections from 1929-1933 that can be searched to find examples of advertising during that time period. 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.
Widely regarded as an authority in the fashion world, its focus has been on cultivating an elegant and sophisticated aesthetic for an affluent readership. The Harpers Bazaar Archive includes every page---including every advertisement---of every issue since its first issue in 1867. All pages are presented in full color and high resolution, and are fully searchable. All editorial content and pictorial features are captured as separate documents to allow for easy search and discovery. For advertisements, the featured company and brand names have been assigned to the document records where possible, and all image captions are captured to a high degree of accuracy, allowing precise retrieval of photographs and illustrations. Contributor names that appear in image credits are also indexed. This archive database provides a wealth of information to researchers and students interested in fashion, beauty, style, gender, and material culture over the past century and a half. Subject coverage includes: Fashion Arts Culture Style Travel Design Retail Beauty Marketing Advertising Gender Women's Studies.
Featuring the complete archive of the magazine to the mid 1990s, National Geographic Magazine Archive, 1888-1994, includes every page and every photograph, all fully searchable through an intuitive interface.
Issues are reproduced from cover to cover in high-resolution color and presented in page image format with fully searchable text. All editorial content and pictorial features are captured as separate documents to allow for easy search and discovery. For advertisements, the featured company and brand names have been assigned to the document records where possible, and all image captions are captured to a high accuracy, allowing precise retrieval of photographs and illustrations. Contributor names that appear in image credits, such as photographers and stylists, are also indexed. This archive database provides a wealth of information to researchers and students of fashion, the retail business and twentieth-century material culture.
The following databases can be searched to find recent articles and book chapters that analyze marketing and advertising during the Great Depression. 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.