History and descriptions of Pittsburgh and the surrounding area.
Early books printed in Pittsburgh. A page of books printed in Pittsburgh in the late 1700s and early 1800s.
Pittsburgh newspapers. Collections and individual issues of Pittsburgh newspapers from collections all over the Web, all freely available.
Pittsburgh businesses.
Catalogues and commercial literature for firms in Pittsburgh and nearby.
Register of Fort Duquesne, 1754-1756. Edited and translated by A. A. Lambing. Memorial edition, 1954.
Incidents of the Insurrection in the Western Parts of Pennsylvania, 1794. By Hugh H. Brackenridge. Philadelphia: John McCulloch, 1795. —Probably the most important primary source for the history of the Whiskey Rebellion, it also has the advantage of having been written by Pittsburgh’s lone literary giant of the era, who applied his narrative skill to making the book a page-turner as well as an accurate (if self-justifying) history.
A Gazetteer of the State of Pennsylvania. Part first, contains a general description of the state, its situation and extent, general geological construction, canals, and rail-roads, bridges, revenue, expenditures, public debt, &c. &c. Part second, embraces ample descriptions of its counties, towns, cities, villages, mountains, lakes, rivers, creeks, &c. alphabetically arranged. By Thomas F, Gordon. Philadelphia: T. Belknap, 1832. —Includes, of course, useful descriptions of all the towns in the Pittsburgh area.
The
History of Pittsburgh, with a brief notice of its facilities
of communication, and other advantages for commercial and manufacturing
purposes. By Neville B. Craig, Esq. Pittsburgh: John H. Mellor, 1851.
Memoirs
of Major Robert Stobo, of the Virginia Regiment. Pittsburgh:
John S. Davidson, 1854. —Major Stobo was held captive by the French at
Fort Duquesne, where he drew a map and wrote a detailed description of the
place, and managed to have them smuggled out to the English forces. His
memoir was obtained with great labor and edited by Neville B. Craig,
author of the History of Pittsburgh above.
History
of the Western Insurrection in Western Pennsylvania, Commonly Called
the Whiskey Rebellion, 1794. By H. M. Brackenridge.
Pittsburgh: W. S. Haven, 1859. —Written in large part in response to the
Neville Craig history above. H. M. Brackenridge was the son of Hugh Henry
Brackenridge, and wrote this history largely to vindicate his father,
whose memory he believed Craig had slandered. Much of this history is
founded on the elder Brackenridge’s Incidents of the
Insurrection.
The Life of
Albert Gallatin, by Henry Adams. Philadelphia: J. B.
Lippincott & Co, 1879.
The Navigator, containing directions for navigating the
Monongahela, Allegheny, Ohio, and Mississippi Rivers; with an ample
account of these much admired waters, from the head of the former to the
mouth of the latter; and a complete description of their towns, villages,
harbors, settlements, &c. Pittsburgh: Franklin Head (Zadok Cramer and
various partners). —Zadok Cramer was Pittsburgh's first book publisher, or
at least the first to make a long-term business of publishing. This book
was his cash cow: it went through edition after edition after edition. Its
description of Pittsburgh itself is one of the best we have of the city as
it was two hundred years ago.
Ninth Edition (1817).
Another copy.
Eleventh Edition (1821).
Another copy.
The Western Address Directory: Containing the cards of merchants, manufacturers, and other business men, in Pittsburgh, Wheeling, Zanesville, Portsmouth, Dayton, Cincinnati, Madison (Ind.), Louisville, St. Louis. Together with historical, topographical & Statistical sketches, (for the year 1837,) of those cities, and towns in the Mississippi valley. Intended as a guide to travellers. To which is added, alphabetically arranged, a list of the steam-boats on the Western waters. By W. G. Lyford. Baltimore: Printed by Jos. Robinson, 1837. —Includes a very colorful description of the journey to Pittsburgh and beyond, with an especially lively description of the young city itself.
Old Pittsburgh Days. By T. J. Chapman. Pittsburgh: J. R. Weldin & Co., 1900.
Pittsburgh: A Sketch of Its Early Social Life. By Charles W. Dahlinger. New York and London: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1916. Pittsburgh
and Allegheny in the Centennial Year. By George H. Thurston.
Pittsburgh: A. A. Anderson & Son, 1876. —Illustrated with many
priceless, though cheaply printed, woodcuts.
Another
copy.
Another
copy.
Another copy.
The Illustrated Guide and Handbook of Pittsburgh and Allegheny, describing and locating the principal places of interest in and about the two cities. Pittsburgh: Fisher & Stewart, 1887.
Genealogical and Personal History of Western Pennsylvania. Editor-in-Chief John W. Jordan. New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1915. —Biographies of prominent Western Pennsylvanians.
History of Pittsburgh and Environs. By George Thornton Fleming and Special Contributors and Members of the Editorial Staff. New York and Chicago: The American Historical Society, Inc., 1922.
Andrew Carnegie.—Books by and about the famous industrialist and philanthropist.