Transcribe News
Thanksgiving, in their own words New look, same old handwriting More News ↗
#OnThisDay — November 14, 1963
It's coming soon, the largest protest march in history. We are going to protest EVERYTHING.
View full document → Browse #OnThisDay →

Newberry Transcribe

Unlock history!

Help preserve the past by transcribing handwritten letters and diaries at Newberry Digital Collections

Getting started

It's easier than you think

1

Select a page

Browse thousands of letters, diaries, and business records from the 18th–20th centuries.

2

Type what you see

No experience needed. Type the handwritten text into the box alongside the image.

3

That's it!

Your submission makes handwritten text searchable for researchers worldwide.

Want step-by-step instructions? View the full tutorial →
Find your niche
"The whole North Side is in ashes — irreparably & irrevocably gone."
Julia Newberry, Chicago Fire, 1871
"Houses floating down the current... their cry was for help, for Mercy save us."
Christopher Gardner Pearce, St. Louis Flood, 1844
"We fired our Swivel... and Set out in high Spirits for the western Expedition."
Joseph Whitehouse, Missouri River Exploration, 1804
Mitchell's Map of the U.S., 1839 · Newberry collections
See what transcription makes possible
Midwest Time Machine
Travel to the past via first-hand accounts from letters and diaries in the Newberry's collections — plotted on historical maps, paired with images from the era, and made searchable by volunteers like you.
Witness the Chicago Fire through Julia Newberry's diary
Ride out a Mississippi flood with steamboat captain Christopher Gardner Pearce
Join the Lewis and Clark expedition in real time
...and more journeys spanning three centuries of Newberry manuscripts.
Built from manuscripts transcribed by Newberry Transcribe volunteers
Powered by people. Unlocked for everyone.

Search
???
pages of handwritten history

Letters, diaries, ledgers, and manuscripts that once had to be read page by page are now searchable in seconds — thanks to Newberry Transcribe volunteers.

Search for a name, place, phrase, event, or everyday detail.

Right now
Recently transcribed
has 2 ways of being mounted-one with a bar out of his hands and on a stand thus {{drawing of stick man}} -the other by piano steel wire from the ends of his arms to a hook in the ceiling or a nail in the wall thus {{another stick drawing}} -I prefer the wire. The statue though small is unique and until now has been priced at $3000.00 but as I hope to have a duplicate made and could use the cash, mow I offer it for sale to the first bidder around $600.00. Please see what you can do as I am certain it is worth that double. Untill we meet next in Chicago or Paris Greetings Affectionately, Isamu
from Arts Club letters [23], 1929-1971 →
Transcribed by Sooze248 · 11 / 13 / 2026
has 2 ways of being mounted-one with a bar out of his hands and on a stand thus {{drawing of stick man}} -the other by piano steel wire from the ends of his arms to a hook in the ceiling or a nail in the wall thus {{another stick drawing}} -I prefer the wire. The statue though small is unique and until now has been priced at $3000.00 but as I hope to have a duplicate made and could use the cash, mow I offer it for sale to the first bidder around $600.00. Please see what you can do as I am certain it is worth that double. Untill we meet next in Chicago or Paris Greetings Affectionately, Isamu
from Arts Club letters [23], 1929-1971 →
Transcribed by Sooze248 · 11 / 13 / 2026
SECOND LOOK CHALLENGE
manuscript image
Try the tough ones
We'll pull up a page where another volunteer got stuck and marked a word [unclear]. Often a fresh, patient eye is all it takes.
or become a reviewer → to check finished transcriptions