Hartford History Center

Collection Guide

The Hartford Collection, housed in the Hartford History Center, is a non-circulating, multi-media collection comprised of more than 50,000 books, trade publications, directories, maps, postcards, photographs and memorabilia that convey community life in Hartford spanning nearly 300 years.

This guide is an introduction to the archive and does not list all special collections. As materials are processed and arranged, and finding aids developed, they will be added to this page. For further information, contact the Hartford Collection curator at (860) 695-6347.

• Books – Hartford authors and Hartford subjects are accessible through the library’s electronic catalog. A link to the library catalog is on Hartford History Center’s home page at www.hplct.org/hhc. A link is also available on Hartford Public Library’s homepage at www.hplct.org by clicking on “Find an Item.” You can isolate your search to books found only in the Hartford History Center by choosing “Central Hartford History” when you click on “View Entire Collection.”

• City Directories – accessible through the library’s electronic catalog, the directories are also available on microfilm on the Main Floor of the Downtown Library, mid-19th century to mid-20th-century.

• Hartford Imprints – 19th-century Hartford was a major publishing center. The collection holds a number of books published in the city during this time. These books cover a great range of topics that are not necessarily about Hartford. Included in these publications are texts on gardening, religion, women, history, and education. A card index for Hartford Iimprints is available in the Hartford History Center. It is arranged by year of publication and spans 1777 – 1983.
  

• Municipal Registers – City of Hartford department reports, 1875-1920

• Pamphlets – a collection of city reports, church bulletins, sermons, agency reports, school bulletins, theater programs, etc. They are indexed in the Hartford History Center card catalog by the year published; 1767-present.

• Periodicals – the Hartford Courant is available online 1764-1984 through the Historical Hartford Courant database and 1993- present through the iConn electronic database. It is also available in microfilm for the years 1764 to the latest received (currently, October 2008) on the Main Floor of the Downtown Library.
• Hartford Times is available on microfilm for the years 1817-1846 and 1870-1976 on the Main Floor of the Downtown Library.
• A variety of neighborhood and small Hartford-based periodicals are also available; a finding aid is under development. Periodicals include the Hartford Advocate, the Hartford News, Southside Neighborhood News, the Hartford Inquirer, Northend Agent’s, and the West Indian American as well as some 19th century publications such as The Hartford Chat (1891-1892) and The Evangelist (1824).
• Hog River Journal, a magazine of Connecticut history, is available Fall 2002 to present and an online subject index is available.
  
  
• Photographs- a number of photographic images in the collection have been photocopied and notebooks of the photocopied images are available for viewing. Photograph collections include:

• City of Hartford, Engineering Department - photocopied notebooks available, 1909-1954
• City of Hartford, Parks Department - photocopied notebooks available, late 1800s – 1950s
• DeBonee Collection – photocopied notebooks available, Hartford native and local photographer Anthony (Tony) DeBonee (1924- 2001), photographs are of the city, 1940-1990s
• Faith Congregational Church – photocopied notebooks available, majority taken in the 1990s, some in the late 1940s-early 1950s
• G. Fox Collection - photocopied notebooks available, 1940s-1960s
• Gray Lodge- photocopied notebooks available, 1970s-1990s
• Hartford Collection - photocopied notebooks available, mid-1800s to present, subject index available in the Hartford History Center card catalog
• Hartford Housing Authority - photocopied notebooks available, 1940s-1970s
• Hartford Public Library Collection - photocopied notebooks available, photographs of and relating to Hartford Public Library, 1940 to present day
• Hartford Times Collection - no photocopied images available but the collection does have a subject index, 1950-1976
• Martin Collection - photocopied notebook available, photographs are of the Constitution Plaza construction project, 1960-1963 - donated by Dr. Allyn A. Martin, former city councilman
• Regis Collection – photocopied notebook available, Marc-Yves Regis is a native of Haiti, Hartford resident and Hartford Courant photographer, images are of Hartford’s North End, for a 2003 Hartford Public Library exhibition  
• Southside Neighborhood News / The Hartford News - a community newspaper first published in August 1977, it became The Hartford News in 1988, a weekly focused on city-wide issues. Photographs span the years 1977- June 2008 - currently being processed
• Stoeckel Collection – Hartford native, historian and newspaperman Herbert J. Stoeckel (1896-1967); photocopied notebooks available, late 1800s-mid-1900s, subject index available in the Hartford History Center card catalog
  
  
• Postcards – more than 2,000 images covering a wide range of Hartford subjects including banks, bridges, buildings, floods, parks and stores

• Scrapbooks – 18 volumes of Hartford-specific clippings covering the first half of the 20th century. A subject index is available in the Hartford History Center card catalog. Scrapbooks are also available on microfilm on the Ground Floor of the Downtown Library.