Visual Culture

Search Discovery for resources relating to the Faculty of Creative and Cultural Industries.

Search across all subject areas.

Explore Credo for trusted reference sources like dictionaries - a great alternative to Wikipedia! 

Watch these short videos to get started:

1. Search tips
2. Using the automated mind map

A virtual reference resource relating to all aspects of the visual arts. It includes links to images and other useful features such as history of art timelines.

The national record of over 60,000 biographies, 72 million words, 11,000 portraits of significant, influential or notorious figures who shaped British history and culture, worldwide, from the Romans to the 21st century - extremely useful for detailed biographies about literary figures.

The most trusted source about words in English, containing definitions, plus very detailed word histories.

Themes covered include: childhood and family, objects, food, disability, the body, the home, women, dress and fashion, theatre, animals, the sea, work, leisure and consumption etc. Each theme goes from antiquity through to the 21st century. You can search by time or place as well as by theme.

An ebook collection covering animation, game development, fashion & textiles, design & illustration, photography, architecture & interiors and more. Explore key topics as well as search and browse books.  Additional features include an interactive world map of architecture, time-line and images of key buildings and museum objects.

Access around 200,000 ebooks across all subject areas.

Over 200 digital books published by the Guggenheim Museum.

A useful research resource for anyone studying the moving image; this platform contains ebooks, screenplays and a history of cinema timeline.

Use this resource to search for journal articles, e-books and images. All visual arts subjects are included. Links to the full text are provided, where available.

Helps you to find out what articles have been published in journals related to these subjects. Often you can link to the full text of the article too.

Includes archival full text access to magazines including Architects' Journal (1929 - 2005), Architectural Review (1896 - 2005), Art Monthly (1976 - 2005), British Journal of Photography (1860 - 2005) and Eye: International Review of Graphic Design (1990 - 2005).

This database enables you to find out what articles have been published in journals between 1929 and 1984

Access the full text of popular entertainment industry magazine archives, including New Musical Express, Variety, The Stage and Screen International.

A searchable archive of the US (1867 to present) and UK (1930-2015) editions of Harper's Bazaar. This resource chronicles over 150 years of American, British, and international fashion, culture, and society, supporting researchers by offering unique insights into the events, attitudes, and interests of the modern era.

Provides access to more than 12 million journal articles, books, images, reports and primary sources in 75 disciplines.
Watch this video for great tips.

A complete searchable archive of American Vogue, from the first issue in 1892 to the current month. Every page, advertisement, cover and fold-out has been included. You can find images by garment type, designer and brand names.

An archival research resource comprising the backfiles of leading women's interest consumer magazines. Issues are scanned in high-resolution color and feature detailed article-level indexing. Coverage ranges from the late-19th century through to 2005 and these key primary sources permit the examination of the events, trends, and attitudes of this period. Among the research fields served by this material are gender studies, social history, economics/marketing, media, fashion, politics, and popular culture.

One of the fashion industry's most influential journals, coverage is from the first issue in 1910 to material from within the last twelve months. Every page, article, advertisement and cover has been included and is fully searchable.

Full text articles from many news sources and trade journals both UK and international. Archives sometimes stretching back to the mid 1980s. For use in the UK only.

PressReader lets you access UK and international newspapers, plus a wide range of magazine content. Everything is full colour with archives varying in length depending on the publication.

Login guidance

Search and read a wide range of national and regional newspapers from 1741-1950.

Watch this short video to get a quick overview (we have parts 1 - 5).

Use with care as this tabloid is known for its strong views but it can help with some assignments and certain dissertation topics. Search for stories or use the browse feature to flick through the paper on particular days, including special editions published in connection with Queen Victoria, George V, Elizabeth II's coronation and Winston Churchill. Use Nexis if you want to go beyond 2016.

Access stories and photos from The Guardian (1821-2003) and The Observer (1791-2003). Use Nexis if you want to search up to the current day.

The world's first illustrated weekly newspaper containing useful background for Victorian topics in particular.

Founded in 1903, the Mirror plays a pivotal role in the history of journalism. Peaking in 1967, with a daily circulation of 5.25 million, the newspaper has had a history full of highs and lows. Today, it is the only mainstream left-wing tabloid remaining in the UK. Gale's Mirror Historical Archive, 1903-2000 features more than 800,000 pages of brand-new, full text searchable, scans of the complete run of the Mirror from 1903-2000, including the Sunday Mirror.

Founded in Hong Kong in 1903, this paper is known for its authoritative, influential, and independent reporting on Hong Kong, China and all of Asia, as well as its perspective of the rest of the world. Gain unique insights into modern Chinese history, 20th century politics, economics, and more. Search from 2000 up to the current day via Nexis Uni.

Launched in 1855 as an affordable newspaper, by 1876 The Telegraph was the largest-selling newspaper in the world. The newspaper was directed at a wealthy, educated readership and is commonly associated with traditional Toryism, despite its more "liberal" beginnings. The Telegraph Historical Archive has over 1 million pages of content and includes the Sunday edition from its inception in 1961. The archive offers a fundamental insight into UK domestic and international affairs and culture.

During the twentieth century, The Telegraph cemented its reputation as a pioneering yet reliable source of news reporting. There was the infamous uncensored interview with Kaiser Wilhelm of 1908, in which he successfully alienated Britain, France, Russia, and Japan. In 1942, the newspaper published the cryptic crossword puzzle responsible for recruiting Allied codebreakers during the Second World War.

Search over 200 years of articles. Articles are full facsimiles of what was published on the day and you can view the article in its original page location if you want.

Watch this video showing you how to make the most of the features available.

Explore 20 collections of documents, including minutes of meetings and conferences, press releases, fliers, brochures, press clippings, US government memoranda and reports, private correspondence, surveys and photos.

Watch this quick introduction to the archive - please note we only subscribe to Part 1 which contains British material as well as coverage from North America.

Disability in the Modern World: History of a Social Movement encompasses an international set of resources to enrich study in a wide range of disciplines from media studies to philosophy.

Explore five centuries of primary source material documenting the story of food and drink. The materials in this collection illustrate the deep links between food and identity, politics, power, gender, race, and socio-economic status, as well as charting key issues such as agriculture, nutrition, and food production.

You can access printed and manuscript cookbooks, advertising ephemera, government reports, films, and illustrated content revealing the evolution of food and drink within everyday life and the public sphere. The unique material in this collection has been sourced from across the globe to reflect a wide range of food cultures and traditions.

This resource covers the fascinating subject of feminism over the long nineteenth century (1776-1928). It contains an extensive range of primary and secondary resources, including photographs and illustrations.

An online archive of just under 68,000 printed items covering aspects of everyday life in Britain in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries. You will find posters and handbills for theatrical and non-theatrical entertainments, broadsides relating to murders and executions, book and journal prospectuses, popular topographical prints, and a wealth of different kinds of printed advertising material.

Watch this short video introducing the collection.

Bringing together unique primary sources drawn from world-class maritime archives and heritage collections, Life at Sea takes a socio-cultural approach, focusing on the individual experiences and personal narratives of seafarers. Through a broad range of sources, from journals and memoirs to ships’ logs and court records, the lives of ordinary seamen, merchants, whalers and pirates can be explored. This resource offers exciting new insights into three centuries of the Anglo-American maritime world, 1600-1900.

For a quick overview, watch this.

Access a range of primary and secondary sources covering London from the 18th to the early 20th centuries. As well as documents, you will find interactive maps, illustrations and photographs to really bring the streets to life.

A key source about daily life in the 20th century. You can look at topic collections (1938-65) on juvenile delinquency, holidays, leisure, industry etc., or view diary entries (1939-51) and day surveys. File reports (1937-1972) cover subjects such as propaganda, morale, popular culture, food, shopping, sex, fashion and much more.

Watch this 90 second video to find out about the interactive chronology you can access within Mass Observation.

Digital archive chronicling the history of disability arts in the UK. It includes 3,500 images, oral history film interviews, educational resources and animations and articles.

Explore documents, fanzines, photos and newsreel footage to help understand these key decades when consumer culture and pop music took off and protest movements were big news.

An essential resource for the study of popular entertainment in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries containing everything from full-text books, to posters and performance tickets.

Watch this 90 second video about how to store items for later use.

High quality production music for TV, film, advertising and corporate video. Pre-cleared for worldwide and multi-platform use. Students should contact their course leaders in order to set up an account.

An archive of UK television and radio programmes from free to air channels (1998 onwards). For use in the UK only. Find some great tips about how to use BoB in these short videos.

A recorded music database of more than 1 million tracks. Genres include classical, jazz, folk, blues, nostalgia, world, folk, Chinese, rock and pop.

This resource is restricted to members of the University of Portsmouth

You have two ways to access the login instructions:

1. Contact the Library from any Library enquiry desk or by contacting us:

• Email: library@port.ac.uk
• Tel: 023 9284 3228

2. Connect to the University VPN and use the link below:

View restricted access information for resources

To verify you are a University member, please use your university email account or include your student/staff number in your message. If calling, please have your student/staff card ready.

Online access to the work of this seminal group of architects.

A database of almost 3 million images related to visual arts and culture. You can create, save and share groups of images and make presentations too. If you want to search for academic articles and images simultaneously, follow the link via the "J" JSTOR icon to the top left of the page.

You can access the basic subscription which includes 400+ high resolution sequences of athletes, artists, and dancers taken from one, two or three camera angles. Perfect reference for gesture drawing, anatomy study, and animation.

This resource is restricted to members of the University of Portsmouth

You have two ways to access the login instructions:

1. Contact the Library from any Library enquiry desk or by contacting us:

• Email: library@port.ac.uk
• Tel: 023 9284 3228

2. Connect to the University VPN and use the link below:

View restricted access information for resources

To verify you are a University member, please use your university email account or include your student/staff number in your message. If calling, please have your student/staff card ready.

Explore Credo for trusted reference sources like dictionaries - a great alternative to Wikipedia! 

Watch these short videos to get started:

1. Search tips
2. Using the automated mind map

Detail Inspiration is an image and reference database with more than 3000 projects from the last 30 years of DETAIL Magazine (UK and German editions and Detail Green). Each project is accompanied by DETAIL project documents, which can be downloaded as PDFs. Please note that off campus access is via VPN only.

Digimap is a collection of EDINA services that deliver maps and map data of Great Britain. We subscribe to the complete collection which provides access to modern and historic Ordnance Survey mapping, geological mapping, aerial photography, Lidar data, demographic data and more.

Includes, photographs and drawings of England's archaeology, historic buildings and social history.

A database of images and clips to assist in the production of 3D characters for cinematic sequences and next generation game characters. Also known as 3DSK.

This resource is restricted to members of the University of Portsmouth

You have two ways to access the login instructions:

1. Contact the Library from any Library enquiry desk or by contacting us:

• Email: library@port.ac.uk
• Tel: 023 9284 3228

2. Connect to the University VPN and use the link below:

View restricted access information for resources

To verify you are a University member, please use your university email account or include your student/staff number in your message. If calling, please have your student/staff card ready.

Global Plants is a community-contributed database used by students and researchers. Global Plants lets herbaria share their plant type specimens, experts determine and update plant names, and students discover and learn about plants in context

Online access to Metropolitan Museum of Art's collections. Many images have been made available without copyright restriction. Look out for the Open Access note.

Creating exhibitions, events, collaborations, research and debates on the meaning of home.

Comprises over 20,000 images of vernacular architecture taken by Professor Paul Oliver MBE over a period of more than 50 years.

Provides access to thousands of animal and human motion clips.

This resource is restricted to members of the University of Portsmouth

You have two ways to access the login instructions:

1. Contact the Library from any Library enquiry desk or by contacting us:

• Email: library@port.ac.uk
• Tel: 023 9284 3228

2. Connect to the University VPN and use the link below:

View restricted access information for resources

To verify you are a University member, please use your university email account or include your student/staff number in your message. If calling, please have your student/staff card ready.

Online image collections from the RIBA and, therefore, focus on architecture and interior design. Images are watermarked, but they are of good quality and can be used for educational purposes.

A digital archive of more than 4.5 million images.

Includes access to over 100,000 images from a range of collections including the Design Council Archive, Imperial War Museum, London College of Fashion, National Fine Art Collection and Zandra Rhodes Digital Study Collection.

Search millions of objects in the V&A collections.

Visible Body is a 3D human body reference and study tool. Explore general anatomy, functional units, cross sections, muscle attachments, bony landmarks, muscle actions and more.

To access this resource:

• You must register for an account either on campus using a university PC or the University wifi, or if off campus register using the VPN.
• Sign up with your University email address.
• Once registered you can use your account to login off campus.
• You must login on campus or via VPN every 150 days to revalidate your account.

Explore more than 50,000 artworks and photographs ranging from medical and social history to contemporary healthcare and science.

This site includes video tutorials covering writing and production skills, guides to style and ethics and briefings on key topics such as UK politics, the European Union, sport, business and the military.

A diverse range of collections from the BFI. The University is unable to subscribe to the full range of films but you can view a wide range of free collections. 

Formerly known as ArtFilms, this resource brings together award-winning, international film and videos across a wide range of interdisciplinary subjects including visual arts, architecture, music, film, dance, history and culture.

An archive of UK television and radio programmes from free to air channels (1998 onwards). For use in the UK only. Find some great tips about how to use BoB in these short videos.

This resource, from Learning on Screen includes a Moving Image Gateway to 2,000 websites relating to moving image and sound materials, News on Screen resource for the study of newsreels and cinemagazines, Archives and Footage from screen heritage, including film production and television and video equipment, and International Database of Shakespeare on Film, Television and Radio.

Watch high quality films of leading theatre productions. Discover how plays are brought to the stage in interviews with the creative teams. Learn about interpretive choice through detailed analysis of play texts.

Watch this 5 minute video for an overview of the content and how to navigate it.

This resource is restricted to members of the University of Portsmouth

You have two ways to access the login instructions:

1. Contact the Library from any Library enquiry desk or by contacting us:

• Email: library@port.ac.uk
• Tel: 023 9284 3228

2. Connect to the University VPN and use the link below:

View restricted access information for resources

To verify you are a University member, please use your university email account or include your student/staff number in your message. If calling, please have your student/staff card ready.

A unique collections of films including award-winning documentaries, training films and theatrical releases on every topic imaginable. Content can be searched or browsed.

National Theatre Collection: Volumes I & II bring the stage to life through access to high-definition streaming video of world-class productions and unique archival material offering significant insight into theatre and performance studies. Through a collaboration with the U.K.'s National Theatre, the collections offer a range of digital performance resources never previously seen outside of the National Theatre’s archive. 

This third National Theatre collection offers 20 performances, from Greek tragedy, a medieval morality play, and Shakespeare, to plays about Generation Z.

Watch videos and podcasts from the University of Oxford on key issues concerning journalism

Access over 5,000 design, animation and VFX projects. VPN required for off-campus access