Worldcat is a comprehensive catalog of books and other materials held in libraries throughout the United States and even some international libraries. The Center for Research libraries' catalog contains more than 500,000 monographs in all formats and subject areas.The European Library searches European national libraries.
15th to early 20th century primary sources on gender such as Conduct and Politeness, Domesticity and Family, the Body, etc.
Essays and original documents relating to Empire Studies, race, class, imperialism, and colonialism, sourced from libraries and archives around the world.
1,800 works from some of the greatest legal minds in history.
Medieval manuscripts of travelers' accounts between the 13th and 16th centuries.
Find manuscripts that were written or compiled by women in the British Isles during the 16th and 17th centuries.
The resources listed here are not the only ones available. Many others are in print or microform and can be found by searching library catalogs, like the CMU library catalog or Worldcat, a database of library holding thoughout the world (though mainly U. S.). Use some of these terms combined with your topic:
personal narratives
diaries
sources
correspondence
interviews
pamphlets
speeches
early works to 1800
For example:
women and diaries
slavery and "early works"
Holocaust and "personal narratives"