Primary Sources

Browse our annotated transcriptions, perfect for students, or explore the Nathan R. Lipfert Research Library's Internet Archives, home to thousands of fully searchable archival documents.

Cover of a 1902 object, nautical diary titled 'Chronometer Rate Journal and Day’s Work Book,' with illustrations of ships and worn edges.

Internet Archives

Ship logs, sea journals, business records, letters, and more

Access thousands of high-resolution, digitized documents from Maine Maritime Museum's archival collection, including the Guide to Manuscripts, a full-text search engine for manuscript finding aids.

Visit Archives
Child reading a vintage music manuscript on display.

Search our online catalog of reference books, manuscript collections, and photo collections, or make an appointment to visit the library in person to conduct research in our archives

Nathan R. Lipfert Research Library

Make an Appointment
Online Catalog
Collage of handwritten letters titled 'Nathanial Sparhawk Letters' from 1754, displayed by Maine Maritime Museum.

Sparhawk Letters

November -December, 1754

Grades 6 - Adult

Annotated transcription of letters conveying the shipment of enslaved people between Kittery and Boston, 1754

Download Here
Logbook of schooner Syren, 1795, journey from Kingston to Savannah, featured by Maine Maritime Museum.

Logbook of Syren of the Kennebeck  

May - July, 1795

Grades 6 - Adult

Excerpts from the 1795 voyage from Kingston, Jamaica to Savannah, Georgia, including the transport of enslaved people

Download Here
Letters from Captain John C. Lowell to Clark and Sewall, dated October 11 & 16, 1850, featured as part of Maine Maritime Museum Archive, with a yellow background and Maine Maritime Museum branding at the bottom.

Lowell Letters

October, 1850

Grades 6 - Adult

Annotated transcription of letters conveying the shipment of enslaved people onboard a Maine-built vessel in 1850

Download Here