Link stew: Historical letters and other primary sources

I discovered Letters of Note yesterday via some other blog that totally escapes me now.

This is AWESOME! (especially if you love history, as I do). Their tag line: correspondence deserving of a wider audience.

The site collects, displays and transcribes old letters – some from only a few years ago, some from much further back. The letter that utterly entranced me? To My Old Master – a letter from an emancipated slave to his previous master, who'd written requesting the slave to return to work at the farm. It's an absolutely riveting read.

This, and sites like the Library of Congress, are a chief reason I adore the Internet. In the olden days, when I was in college, writing a term paper/research paper meant HOURS digging through books, hours spent trying to find primary sources and hoping you had time.

Now, with a few clicks, I can SEE a lot of these primary sources "first hand". No, it's not quite the same as holding something in my hand, but how likely is it that I'd get to actually touch one of these letters? The most I'd be able to do is peer through the museum glass.

Don't get me wrong, I ADORE going to museums, seeing historical collections in person, but being able to find this stuff online is priceless.

What's your favorite website for historical data/collections?