Collections

Historic Pittsburgh comprises a variety of primary and secondary sources from multiple partners about the greater Pittsburgh region, including a wide range of publications, maps, manuscripts, visual images, and audio-video materials, that support personal and scholarly research.

Samuel A. Musgrave Photographs

Visual images from 1946 through 1985 taken by Samuel A. Musgrave that document products, manufacturing processes, employees, buildings, and promotional activities of western Pennsylvania businesses and organizations, including Duquesne Light Company, the Pennsylvania Rubber Company, the Western Pennsylvania Electric League, Ketchum, MacLeod & Grove, and Alcoa.

Contributor: Detre Library & Archives, Heinz History Center

Sarah Cordelia Mellon and Alan Magee Scaife Wedding Album

Album created to commemorate the wedding of Sarah Cordelia Mellon and Alan Magee Scaife that took place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on November 16, 1927.

Contributor: University of Pittsburgh

Schnabel Company Photographs

Contain images dating from the 1940s through the 1950s of customized trucks, employees constructing trucks, and Schnabel Company events.

Contributor: Detre Library & Archives, Heinz History Center

Seder Family Photographs

Visual images of the Frank and Seder clothing store, business associates, and Isaac Seder's family (1910-1960s).

Contributor: Detre Library & Archives, Heinz History Center

Shadyside Hospital Records

Visual images of hospital buildings and facilities, staff, patients, events, and members of the Board of Trustees. A portion of these images were captured for hospital publications like The Voice of Shadyside Hospital newsletter.

Contributor: Detre Library & Archives, Heinz History Center

Sisters of St. Joseph of Baden Oral History Collection, 1979-1983, 1990

Oral history interviews of twentieth-century life, industry and Catholicism in Western Pennsylvania conducted by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Baden.

Contributor: Sisters of St. Joseph of Baden

Smoke Control Lantern Slides

Visual images from the 1930s-1940s visually document the city of Pittsburgh before and after smoke control ordinances were passed regulating the burning of coal; a few images include smoke control efforts in St. Louis, Missouri.

Contributor: University of Pittsburgh

Southern Blacks' Migration to Pittsburgh Oral History Project

This collection contains oral history interviews conducted by Peter Gottlieb for his Southern Blacks' Migration to Pittsburgh oral history project in 1976. The project documents the experience of individuals who migrated from the southern United States to the Pittsburgh area between 1916 and 1930.

Contributor: University of Pittsburgh

Spencer Family Photographs

Visual images from the 1890s-1910s show the Charles Spencer family working and playing in and around their Pittsburgh home in Shadyside on Amberson Avenue.

Contributor: University of Pittsburgh

Squirrel Hill Historical Society and Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition Photograph Collection

The Squirrel Hill Historical Society and Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition Photograph Collection contains selected images from three organizations: the Squirrel Hill Historical Society, Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition, and Mary S. Brown Memorial-Ames United Methodist Church. These photographs document the history of Squirrel Hill, including local families, businesses, organizations, landmarks, and events.

Contributor: Squirrel Hill Historical Society

St. Luke’s Lutheran Church (West View, Pa.) Records and Photographs

The St. Luke's Lutheran Church (West View, Pa.) Records and Photographs contain annual reports, council meeting minutes and materials, correspondence, congregation member lists, and photographs of pastors, members, and church buildings throughout the congregation's history.

Contributor: Detre Library & Archives, Heinz History Center

State and Local Government Archives Oral History Collection

Oral history interviews with notable figures in state and local (Pittsburgh) government. Topics discussed include environmental issues, electoral campaigning, urban redevelopment, civil rights, the role of gender in governance, and the processes of governing.

Contributor: University of Pittsburgh

Stephen Foster Collection

Collection provides a valuable record of Stephen Foster's composition process, nineteenth century life in the United States, the music business, Pittsburgh history, and Foster's legacy.

Contributor: University of Pittsburgh

Stereoviews of the Railroad Strike of 1877

Forty-three stereoviews depicting the aftermath of the Railroad Strike of 1877, also known as The Railroad War, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Forty-two of these views were taken by Pittsburgh photographer, S. V. Albee and one view was taken by J. R. Riddle.

Contributor: University of Pittsburgh