Newspapers

1. The New York Times archive

There are two ways to access archived articles at The New York Times. 

2. What is available in each of The New York Times archives?

The New York Times Article Archive

The New York Times Article Archive contains articles dating back to 1851, which can be accessed through archive search. Articles from 1851-1980 are available either in full-text or partial articles. Full-text versions are available for all articles published after 1980.

Full-text archive articles include the entire text of an article. Partial articles include an excerpt of the article and a link to TimesMachine where subscribers can view the entire article in its original form.

The New York Times Article Archive is accessible to everyone. Articles from 1851-1922, 1964 and 1987-today do count toward non-subscribers’ limited article views.

TimesMachine

TimesMachine provides searchable, browsable page scans of every issue of The New York Times published between 1851 and 2002.

Additionally, TimesMachine includes PDF versions of articles from 1851-1980. Your subscription allows you up to 100 PDF downloads per month. Articles published after 1980 are available only in full-text form and not as PDFs.

3. How do I search the Archive?

The New York Times Article Archive

When using the basic search bar, the search will pull from article headlines, the full text of the article, author field, date range, and index terms. For best results we recommend the following tips when searching The New York Times Article Archive: 

• Make your search terms as specific as possible (e.g. just searching for "football" or "Russia" will usually result in too many results to sort through) 
• To find exact phrases in an article, use quotation marks around the phrase 
• Narrow your search to a specific date range, section, or type using the filters beneath the search bar 
• You can also sort your search results by newest or oldest in the top right hand corner

One of the most common searches is for a particular person’s obituary. The most comprehensive way to find an obituary in The New York TImes Article Archive is to search the person's last name and "dies" or "death." For example, for Charlie Chaplin, you would search: Charlie Chaplin dies or Charlie Chaplin death.

TimesMachine

TimesMachine allows users to search by both keyword and indexing term (the latter will offer suggestions when you start typing in the search bar).  For best results we recommend the following tips when searching TimesMachine: 

• Specify the date range of your search
• Sort by relevance: oldest or newest

Once you click into an article, the indexing panel will show you the indexing terms that are assigned to that article. Clicking on one of those terms will show you other results that were tagged with that indexing term.

If you are looking at an issue of the paper in its entirety, the indexing panel will show you what indexing terms were assigned to all the articles in that issue of the paper. Clicking on one of the indexing terms will show you all the articles that term was assigned to.

4. Can I save articles that I have downloaded from the Article Archive?

You may save articles from the Article Archive for personal use. Copying or storing any article for other than personal, non-commercial use requires permission from The New York Times. To learn more about content permissions view Obtaining and using Times content. 

5. Where do I find a photograph or illustration that I saw in the newspaper?

For articles between 1851-2002, photographs, charts and other illustrations included in the Late City Edition may be viewed by subscribers in TimesMachine. Photographs and illustrations may not be included with some archived articles published since 1981.