donutsweeper

hair/headware/etc:
Hats, a history
斗笠/Douli (conical hat)
Video demonstrating how to wear a futou (幞头) with English subtitles (headwear/headwrap that was most popular during the Sui and Tang dynasties)
Headwear: Guan, Jin, Accessories and a list with terms and diagrams
Introduction to Traditional Chinese Hair Ornaments
Fa Shi/发饰 (a brief overview of hair ornaments)
Categories of Traditional Chinese Hair Accessories incredibly detailed article with pictures and descriptions and discussions
Tradition of China — Hair Ornament Culture
The Buyao (步摇), the step-swayer hairpin, and its transformation through the eras
The History of Ancient Chinese Official Hats – Wu Sha Mao from its beginnings in the Sui and Tang Dynasty through the Qing dynasty
Haircuts and History a little about the tradition of cutting children's hair (but not adults) in different eras.
Pre-Qing dynasty hairstyles for men including children's hair and examples of what NIF did right and what some period dramas have done wrong
Traditional Ancient Chinese Hairstyles History male and female, from earliest records through Qing Dynasty
Politics of Men’s Hair in Chinese History (a condensed timeline) Antiquity-Ming Dynasty, Qing Dynasty and After Revolution of 1911-1912.
Song Dynasty Ladies’ Hairstyle Collection infographic
Illustrations of historical Qing dynasty hairstyles & accessories infographic (women's hair)
Hairstyles of Tang Dynasty Women 618-907
Chinese hanfu hairstyle tutorials for girls. (video, no era specified)
Traditional Chinese Hair Jewelry – Ming Style Diji & Tiaopai
The Mìlí and Wéimào veiled hats of the Sui and Tang dynasty (and a post on Miansha/面纱 (veils) and how they're not historically accurate for ancient China)
Noble Manchurian Women's Headdresses of the Qing Dynasty 1644-1912
Ear Muffs of the Qing Era
Women's Hairstyles and Headgear of the Qing Era post 1 and post 2.

general clothing info:
A look at National Museum of China's Ancient Chinese Costume Culture Exhibition
Evolution of Chinese Clothing and Cheongsam from 221 BCE to modern era, and a review/breakdown of it with lots of pictures and sources to back up their opinions.
A bit about the cheongsam and qipao and its (mostly unknown) origin and whether or not it should be considered hanfu (tumblr post with multiple responses, each adding more information)
A Brief Summary of Hanfu Development in Ancient China set of 10 infographics
Guide to Traditional Chinese Clothing - Hanfu- info includes: basic feature of the Hanfu; its shape & style; different wearing scenes; and in different dynasties.
Hanfu for Dummies: Index of how-to tutorials tutorials include guides for the Aoqun (襖裙), standup collar, Shenyi (white tie), Shuhe (cross-collared top), Yesa and Tieli (曳撒 and 貼里, variations on the large pleated skirt), Jade Belt, hanfu maintenance, and the curves of the hanfu (emphasis is on how to make them yourself but as a result explains all the pieces and their parts well)
Wedding Hanfus a brief guide through history
Commentary on social classes and fashion in different times
A Very General Post About Skirts in Hanfu historical and modern
丧服/Sangfu (Mourning Clothes) and information on Wufu/五服, the Five Mourning Grades of Confucianism
A brief look at funeral attire
Mourning and Mourning Attire

Interesting post on average duration of fashion trends in ancient China

Research Tips and Commentary on Studying Chinese Fashion (a breakdown on where things may go wrong and how to try to get things right)

era specific clothes:
Hanfu History | The Development of Chinese Robe System (from the pre-Qin to Qing Dynasty)
The Restoration of Traditional Chinese clothing/Hanfu of Qin Dynasty (tumblr post with link to youtube video)
The Restoration of Traditional Chinese clothing/Hanfu and weapons of Qin Dynasty with comparisons to the terra-cotta warriors
Traditional Chinese clothes, hanfu How to wear hanfu of Song Dynasty style
Tang Era Winter Wear
Chinese hanfu tutorial–how to wear ruqun(襦裙) How to tie it in the Tang dynasty style
The order of wearing a man’s Tang hanfu (short video)
Banbi (半臂) Jacket Very detailed article about the Tang Dynasty short-sleeved jacket including extant examples from the Yuan Dynasty
The restoration of traditional Chinese clothing/Hanfu in the Tang Dynasty
The Restoration of Traditional Chinese clothing/Hanfu of Jin Dynasty
Yuan Dynasty Hanfu
Ming Dynasty skirts
Making a mamianqun (馬面裙; lit. horse face skirt) (short video)
Clothes of the Ming Dynasty Created specifically for The Sleuth of the Ming Dynasty but very good for general overview of clothes for the general era (AO3 work)
Various overgarments of the Ming dynasty: the Bijia/比甲 (sleeveless jacket worn by women), Zhaojia/罩甲 (long vest worn by men) and the Banbi/半臂 (half-sleeve jacket)
Clothing during the Ming Dynasty (including coats, formal attire and more)
Men’s Hanfu traditional Ming style dressing (short video)
The Yèsā (曳撒) and Tiēlǐ (貼里) Imperial Ming garments for males
The differences between TieLi 贴里 and YeSa 曳撒
Guide to Traditional Chinese Clothing – Hanfu (begun late Ming and early Qing dynasties) huge post, lots of terminology and descriptions
Attire of a Qing Official 1614-1912
The Brief History of Qing Dynasty Clothing
Fashion Changes During the Qing Dynasty and can you still call the clothes hanfu
Abridged History of Qing Dynasty Han Women’s Fashion: part 1 (Late Ming & Shunzhi Era), part 2 (Kangxi Era), part 3 (Late Kangxi & Yongzheng Eras), part 4 (Qianlong Era ½), and part 5 (late Qianlong and Jiaqing Eras)
Men’s Clothing Changes During the Ming and Qing Dynasties
Women’s Clothing Changes During the Ming and Qing Dynasties
History of Chinese standing collars Ming & Qing dynasties

Women's Winter Wear During the Republican Era
The Westernization of Men's Wear near the end of the Republican Era
History of Chinese standing collars Republican era (1912-1949)
History of the Qipao & Cheongsam Fashion - Republic of China period (1911-1949)
Fashion Illustrator: Ye Qianyu for Ling Long Magazine 1931-33 part 1 and part 2 (scanned copies of the magazine along with English commentary)
History of Chinese standing collars post republican era
Abridged history of early 20th century Chinese womenswear: 1890's & 1900's, 1910's, 1920's (silhouette), 1920's (design details), 1920's (hair, makeup and accessories), 1930's (silhouette and design), 1930's (hair, makeup and accessories), 1940's, 1950's & 1960's (Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau & friends) and 1950's (mainland China)

undergarments:
Recreation of underwear discovered in Zhao Ma's Tomb Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 BCE), demonstrated by a model (men's)
Recreation of hanfu underpants and how they were worn demonstrated by a model (men's)
History of Ancient Chinese Underwear from the Han dynasty (women's)
Chinese Hanfu tutorial: How to wear pants and two types of underwear in Song Dynasty
Yuejing Dai (月经带, menstrual belt) examples from the Southern Song, Tang and Song dynasties and the Republican Era
The Hezi the Tang undergarment (women's)
Details about the hezi (women's)
Wearing the Hezi (women's)
Different Hanfu undergarments (male and female)
Easter Style Han Trousers (and photos showing how to put on)
Zhong Yi (中衣,underpants) and Xie Yi (褻衣, Underwear)
Tang Dynasty Women's Undergarments
Ming Dynasty emperor undergarments
Ming Style Trousers (and photos showing how to put on)
1920s Chinese Women's undergarments

makeup:
Painted Eyebrow Trends in Tang Dynasty 618-907
traditional Chinese makeup
Collection of Ancient Chinese Makeup Style (Each Dynasty)
What is Traditional Chinese Makeup?
Huadian – A Special Hanfu Makeup for Female and more on the Hudaian
Lip Makeup Through the Eras
Men's beauty practices in imperial China (douyin video reposted to tumblr with English subs)

shoes:
History of Traditional Chinese Hanfu Shoes
Han Dynasty Shoes and Ruqun
The Secret of the Chinese Ancient Hanfu Shoe Tip
Qixie (旗鞋) Qing dynasty shoes

belts, jewerly, waist ornaments, and other accoutrements:
A general overview of the most common dài/带 (belts)
Yaopei/腰佩 (waist wear)
Preliminary research on Hanfu buttons Qing, Tang and Ming dynasties (translated page)
Ming style buttons
Some thoughts on Chinese pankou/frog closures/knots
Chinese Knots info and infographic tutorials
Nailguards
Information on the Hebao/荷包 "a purse-like traditional Chinese accessory"
Information on the Pibo/披帛 "The thin, long scarf worn with hanfu, wrapped around the arms and behind the back"
Panbo/襻膊 (cloth strips use to tie sleeves higher and out of the way)
The wearing of earrings in different eras
Xiangquan/项圈 and Yingluo Xiangquan/璎珞项 (necklaces)
Information on Huwan/护腕 (wrist guards) and the slightly simplified Bangshoudai/绑手带 (hand wraps)
How to wear wrist guards (short video)
Chinese Pendant Accessories brief look at Yu Pei (jade pendant), Chang Ming Suo (longevity lock), Jin Bu (decoration), Xiang Nang (sachet), He Bao (hanging bag), Dai Gou (belt hook), Huo Lian (lighter) and more
History of the oil paper umbrella 油紙傘|yóuzhǐsǎn and a video on a slightly modernized way of making it

armor:
An illustrated timeline of Chinese armor infographic
Traditional Chinese and Byzantine armour components A brief introduction and analysis
Ming, Qing and Japanese armour components A brief introduction and analysis
Infographics with breakdown of armor pieces for the Tang Warrior, Tang Noble and Tang General
Ming Dynasty armor infographic

weapons:
Chinese Swords Collection I- info and pictures - part 1 and part 2 - Tang dao(唐刀), Yi dao(仪刀), Zhang dao(障刀), Heng dao(横刀), and Mo dao(陌刀); Tang dynasty
Chinese Swords Collection II- info and pictures - Ming dao(明刀); Ming dynasty
Chinese Swords Collection Ⅲ info and pictures - Qing dao(清刀), Qing dynasty
Swords and sabres of the Ming Dynasty
Bows of the Ming Dynasty
Matchlock firearms of the Ming Dynasty
A typology of Chinese sabers (Ming and Qing dynasty, info on the changdao {長刀, "long saber"} and the yāodāo {腰刀, "waist-worn saber"}, blade curvature, blade profile and more)
Telling Chinese polearms apart: a quick visual guide
Glossary of Chinese saber terminology (as translated from 18th and early 19th century sources)
Construction of the Qing dynasty long spear
Spears of the Qing dynasty
Qing bow glossary
Measurements of a Qing zhànjiàn (戰箭) (war arrow)
The 13 Edged Weapons of the Green Standard Army (Qing dynasty)
Demonstrating the rope dart (繩標 | shengbiao) (weibo vid reposted to tumblr with english subs)

fighting manuals and techniques:
Ming Archery Techniques (descriptions and photos, based on Ming Dynasty archery teacher Gao Ying's methods)
PDF of Gao Ying's manual (in both English and original Chinese)
China Archery Culture general information and drawings of postures and techniques
List of sword fighting techniques and terms
Brennan Translations: Translations of Chinese martial arts manuals translations of manuals for everything from archery to boxing to various martial arts and also lots of different weapon usages. Dates range from 1560-1971.
Demonstrating some wushu skills (strikes and punches, short video)

non-clothing/fighting resources:

astronomy and the sky:
The Chinese Night Sky: Stars, Constellations and Mansions - article with maps, explanations and history
History of Astronomy in China - article with information dating back to the Warring States period (475–221 BC) (wayback machine link)
The Chinese Sky - article with maps, charts and many explanations and terms (wayback machine link)
The Dunhuang Star Atlas article about the oldest manuscript star atlas known today from any civilisation (from circa AD 700), a scanned copy of the map itself, its translation into English, and a 'comprehensive' study of it. (wayback machine links)
Ancient Chinese constellations - academic paper with the various star names
Hong Kong Space Museum's Pages on Constellations and Myths Chinese Starlore, Zodiacal Constellations, and English-Chinese Glossary of Chinese Star Regions, Asterisms and Star Names
The Chinese Sky Map - a detailed map based of information from the book 'The Chinese Sky During the Han'

buildings and architecture and furniture
Ancient Chinese Bath Culture (info from the Shang Dynasty (1700 to 1027 BC) through Ming Dynasty)
Did the ancient city have a sewer system?
Advanced drainage System in the Ancient Beijing
The ancient urban water system construction of China: The lessons from history for a sustainable future (research paper with some good photos from excavations)
Pitched Roof in Chinese Architecture, and Hierarchies (different roof designs and how one's status determined their home's roof, wayback machine link)
Siheyuan - Chinese Courtyards - history, layout and terminology of the traditional Chinese compound
Classical Courtyard Houses of Beijing: Architecture as Cultural Artifact research paper with numerous photos, layouts and illustrations and terminology

Various architecture information posts: Chinese Quadrangle a traditional residential house in North China, which appeared in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), Diaojiaolou a dwelling popular among several of the ethnic minority communities throughout southern China in the mountainous areas, Fujian Tulou or Earthen Structure a dwelling built by the Hakka and Hoklo people in the mountainous regions of southern Fujian (developed between the 11th-13th C, reaching its peak during the Ming and Qing Dynasties (17th-18th C), Qilou or Tong Lau an architectural that became hugely popular throughout many regions in southern China, such as Guangdong province, Fujian province, Macau, and Hong Kong, during the late 19th century.

The Feng Shui Luban Calculator (some background information and an online calculator)

Art and Archeology of Ancient China: A Teachers Guide General overview of various eras (wayback machine link)

Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Science's resource page with links (mostly) in English on various archeological topics, excavations and more.

Padlocks in China General information on the history of them, the technology of, and different types found in different time periods in China (starting from the Jin era, 265–420 AD).

Cabinets and clothes storage (wayback machine link)

Sitting devices in ancient China (douyin video reposted to tumblr with English subs)

calendar terms and telling time:
The 24 Solar Terms List and information on the 24 solar terms including their dates in 2022 and its history and origin, another page with similar information presented in a slightly different format, and a tumblr post with info and infographics.
Conversion between Western and Chinese Calendar (Yearly calendar, from 722 BCE to the present)
Chinese-Western Calendar Conversion Table (with information based on the different dynasties and regions)
Chinese Zodiac Hour Calculator (the hours, and months, and their meanings)
Pseudo Period Accurate Terms for Time in Ancient China (wayback machine link)
Measuring days within the month
The Scent Of Time: A Study of the Use of Fire and Incense for Time Measurement pdf of article written in 1963 (seems very well researched, but warning for outdated language)

erotica (historical, NSFW):
Bertholet Collection Paintings, carvings, panels, figurines, etc with brief amounts of information plus titles of books for more research
Sotheby's Gardens of Pleasure: Sex In Ancient China Gallery

food and how its eaten:
古人吃点啥 - What did the ancients eat youtube playlist of recipes curated from various ancient sources, English subbed
Macrosticks - a website whose "mission is to raise awareness globally on the use of chopsticks." Interesting articles like The Art and Science of Chopsticking and Ten Thousands Ways to Use Chopsticks, etc

funeral customs, mourning rites and ancestral worship:
Mourning rites in Ancient China
Chinese Funeral Customs
Ancestor Worship in Ancient China
Chinese Ancestor Worship : A Practice and Ritual Oriented Approach to Understanding Chinese Culture (online pdf of book, original thesis can be read here)

general Chinese history, maps and measurements:
A Brief Chinese Dynasties Chronology
The History Of China links for information on each dynasty and era as well as sometimes specific achievements or reforms.
The territory of the dynasties of China (interactive gif showing the change from the Zhou dynasty to today)

How maps create nations article with several historic maps
Complete Map of All Under Heaven Unified by the Great Qing - a detailed look at the map first created by Huang Qianren (黃千人) in 1767 and its later editions.
PDF excerpt from Mapping China's World: Cultural Cartography in Late Imperial Times by Richard J. Smith, Early World Maps in China section containing numerous maps from as early as the 8th Century.

Map of the Chinese Railway network, 1909

Chinese Weights and Measures - modern and historical terms for distance, area, volume and weight with easy to use converters for each.

Tumblr posts by niteshade925 documenting visits to various museums and historic sites around China: Shaanxi History Museum, Qin and Han Dynasties Branch -Part 1 - Part 1 - Political Structure, Laws, and Military, Part 2 - Daily Life, Societal Structure, and Culture, Part 3 – Innovations and Philosophies; Shaanxi Archaeology Museum/陕西考古博物馆 -Part 5 - Tang dynasty, Song dynasty, and later, Part 4 - Sui and Tang dynasties, Part 3 - Qin dynasty to Sui dynasty, Part 2 - Shang and Zhou dynasty, Part 1 - Neolithic to pre-Qin dynasty; Daci'en Temple/大慈恩寺 and the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda/大雁塔 History, Scenery, Temple and Architecture; Beilin Museum (includes photos and info of the Jingyun Bell) (more at the tag for their trip here)

grave/tomb robbing in China
Of tombs, traps and the intrepid article about the traps and terminology grave robbers supposedly use
A grave robber's world an article about the tomb raiding 'craft'

lgbtq (historical):
Commentary on how homosexuality was perceived in Ming and Qing novels (tw: homophobia, pedophilia)
Historic terms for lesbians
Chinese symbolism for lesbians
References and Allusions to Male Same-Sex Relations in Chinese Literature
In Han Dynasty China, Bisexuality Was the Norm (jstor article)
‘X也’and ‘Ta’: The gradual rise of gender-neutral pronouns in Chinese - article about the gender neutral history of 他 (tā), rise of 她 as a female pronoun and the recent use of X也 as a nonbinary pronoun. (wayback machine link)
Mandarin Monday: Queer Vocab From Chinese History (wayback machine link)

magic, myth, monsters, and folklore:
Demons, Monsters, And Ghosts Of The Chinese Folklore
Some creatures from 'The Classic of the Mountains and Seas' (tumblr post)
Chinese Bestiary (semi detailed blog post)
A Chinese Bestiary: Strange Creatures from the Guideways through Mountains and Seas by Richard E. Strassberg (archive.org scanned book, DLs available)
Yao and Mo: Demons and Devils! (blog post with definitions, etymology and information)
Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio- Herbert Allen Giles' 1880 English translation of Pu Songling's collection of classical Chinese stories (scanned copy with commentary about the translation or Project Gutenberg's ebook version)
shén shòu神兽, mythological animals in chinese culture for references and inspiration - "part Ⅰ: nine offsprings of loong🐲🐉" (very detailed tumblr post)
88 Chinese Mythical Creatures to Know About (blog post)

jiaguwen 甲骨文, oracle bone inscriptions
Oracle Bone, Shang Dynasty (<4 min video by two art historians from the Shanghai Museum, youtube link)
Oracle Bones - their history and use and the early Chinese script found on them (worldhistory.org)
How to Read the Bones Like a Scapulimancer An article about scapulimancy, divination by shoulder bone and its history, by Jacob Mikanowski (jstor article)
The 'Science' of the Ancestors: Divination, Curing, and Bronze-Casting in Late Shang China by David N. Keightley (Asia Major journal article, jstor link)
Shang Divination and Metaphysics by David N. Keightley (Philosophy East and West journal article, jstor link)
Divination - A New Perspective by Omar Khayyam Moore (American Anthropologist journal article, jstor link)
Deities and Ancestors in Early Oracle Inscriptions by Robert Eno (11 page PDF from Princeton University Press)

medicine and poison:
Wikibooks' Traditional Chinese Medicine Project (currently incomplete but with information on acupuncture, herbs, herb usage and medical terms and more)
Early Chinese Medical Literature: The Mawangdui Medical Manuscripts - translation of medical manuscripts that had been buried in 168 BC and unearthed in 1973 (internet archive, PDF, and the wiki about the texts)
Moxibustion in ancient China - an external therapy using burning moxa stick or cone to produce a warm sensation and moxa smoke on the acupoint (The National Center for Biotechnology article).
Pain, poison, and surgery in fourteenth-century China (blog post)
An Introduction to the Shang Han Lun (Treatise on Cold-Induced Disorders) (excerpts, in English, from a medicine text compiled 220 AD)
Healing with Poisons: Potent Medicines in Medieval China by Yan Liu (book, available to be read for free online, amazon also has a free kindle version)
Toxic Cures: Poisons and Medicines in Medieval China also by Yan Liu (Doctoral dissertation, downloadable PDF)
Poison or cure? Traditional Chinese medicine shows that context can make all the difference article by Yan Liu
Hiding in Plain Sight-ancient Chinese anatomy - article that includes numerous terms and images on meridians and more (American Association for Anatomy article)

music/crafts/dance:
Classic Chinese Music - played by traditional chinese instruments + some info on various styles (tumblr post with youtube links)
Instruments: Dizi (info and video) and Introduction to the Dizi (short informational video)
Introduction to the Erhu (short informational video)
Introduction to the Pipa (short instructional video)
A first person perspective on different lunzhi (輪指; circular fingers), a technique on the pipa (short video)
Introduction to the GuZheng (short instructional video, youtube link)
Origins of the Qin (very detailed, also delving into history and its earliest origins)
Writers Guide: The Guqin (AO3 work)
Let's Talk About the Guqin (info and a video)
Ming Dynasty Qin from The Metropolitan Museum of Art with information about the artifact and the instrument in general.
China National Opera & Dance Drama Theater 中国歌剧舞剧院 playlist for 8 different (mostly percussion) instruments.
自得教你学民乐【Learning Chinese Instruments With Zide】 (playlist, currently dizi, guqin, guzheng, pipa, and percussion but still being added to)

A Brief History of Chinese Opera (a brief look at its history and development through time and different versions still existing today)
Kunqu Opera brief overview of Kunqu Opera and its 600 year old history.
An Orchide in Bloom: China Kun Qu Opera (unesco video)
Preserving and Revitalising 昆曲 (Kunqu Opera) on the World Stage
The Fascinating Conventions of Peking Opera very detailed overview of Peking (also called Beijing) Opera and its 160 year old history
Peking Opera (chinadaily.com article)
Peking Opera (unesco video)
Cantonese performing art (article about Cantonese Opera and how it grew from and differs from other Chinese Operas)

1919 postcard sets depicting a Peking Opera artist Mei Lanfang in various “dan” (female) roles/costumes one and two. Gif set of Mei Lanfang demonstrating chinese opera gestures
Video showing the backstage changing process of an Chinese opera performance (with English translation/descriptions) for an unnamed actor and opera and for the opera 群借华 (Qun Jie Hua) by actor Chang Dong (常东)
A dan (旦; female role) Chinese opera actor talking about the shoes and walking styles in Chinese opera. (video with with English translation/descriptions)
Videos of a Chinese opera performer painting on Liǎnpǔ (脸谱), opera makeup, for the goat/sheep zodiac and one for 徐延昭 (Xu Yanzhao), an imperial official from 二进宫 (Second Entry Into the Palace), a traditional opera based on a drum ballad.

Chinese Dance — Ancient Art Form Across Time and Space information on its origin, dragon dance, lion dance, and more.

An Introduction to Chinese Embroidery

History of Chinese Shadow Play (wayback machine link)
Features of Shadow Puppet Show (wayback machine link)
Chinese Shadow Puppetry

Notes on Letter Formats based on Letters & Epistolary Culture in Early Medieval China (dreamwidth post)

Decoding Tea Culture in the Song Dynasty
Tea During The Tang Dynasty
Teapots and their quality a short video comparison

Incense Lore
Fragrance from China

Book care in different eras
Newspapers of the Song Dynasty - Information on 朝报 (cháo bào, court paper), 小报 (xiǎobào, illegal paper) and the history of printing (yìnshuā, 印刷)
Bookbinding examples from the late-Tang and Five Dynasties period (AD 907-960) including Butterfly binding (hudie zhuang), Stitched binding (xian zhuang), The Chinese pothi (fanjia zhuang), Whirlwind binding (xuanfeng zhuang), Concertina binding (jingzhe zhuang) and Wrapped-back binding (baobei zhuang) (wayback machine link)

police, forensics and law:
What's Chinese Legal System? (blog post, part of the China Legal System series)
What is the Court System Like in China (blog post, part of the China Legal System series)
What Are the Main Laws in China? (blog post, part of the China Law in One Minute series)
How Many Crimes Are Punishable by Death in China? (blog post, part of the China Law in One Minute series)
The Chinese Police Organization at Home and Abroad (PDF)
Police rank insignia of the People's Republic of China (wiki page)
Policing Modern China (scholarly paper, either DL pdf or open in browser)
Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China (Posted by The Congressional-Executive Commission on China as retrieved from the Fujian Provincial People's Government)
For the Foreigner: A Guide to China’s Criminal Legal System (PDF put together by a law firm)
An Introduction to Criminal Law Terms in English and Chinese (+ Glossary) focused on Australian and British law but has useful terms and delves some into how it differs from Chinese law.
A Look into Cybercrime in China: Infringement of Privacy as a Crime (blog post)

A history of forensic medicine in China (pdf of article from Cambridge University Press)
The Chinese Nail Murders: forensic medicine in Imperial China (pdf of article from Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine)

random items of interest
The Curse of Quon Gwon: When the Far East Mingles with the West- The first feature film made with an all-Chinese American cast and an all-Chinese American company, it was filmed circa 1916 or 1917, never released and long thought lost. Two reels of an estimated total of seven or eight survived and were restored and can be watched on youtube here. Gifset here and a interesting breakdown of the fashions it contains here.

Book review: Chinese Wallpaper in Britain and Ireland (2017) by Emile de Bruijn (tumblr post with many scans from said book)

Flora of China "brief descriptions, identification keys, essential synonymy, phenology, provincial distribution in China, brief statements on extra-Chinese distribution, and remarks regarding the circumscription of problematic taxa" of China's many plant species in common English/Latin name, Chinese and Pinyin. Also, Chinese Plant Names and Moss Flora of China.

The South-Pointing Chariot (指南车)- a mechanical compass, information about it (here and here) and video of building a modern recreation of it (part one and part two)

Cats in China--History (Part 1) and (Part 2)

random royalty/status related informational links:
Hierarchy of the Chinese Harem
Titles for royals, royal's spouses, consorts, concubines and more
Qing Dynasty titles for princes' wives and concubines
discussion on an emperor’s mother's title (in relation to NIF but general information as well)
Honorifics in the Qing Dynasty (the emperor, his family, nobility and some general ones)
Ethnic Differences in Court Dress During the Qianlong Period (Qing dynasty)

Nirvana in Fire through the socioeconomic lens - a look at rank and social class and the nine-rank selection system/九品中正制 during the Northern and Southern Dynasties (410-581) (although specific to NIF, also contains general info)

Title and Names in Historic Chinese Dramas Different types of names (register, courtesy, etc), Names of emperors (era, temple, posthumous names) and Qing dynasty consort tradition.
honorifics, rank and translation problems (in historic Chinese dramas with examples from Legend of Ruyi and NIF)
Terms of address (terms people of various rank use to address themselves when speaking to people of other ranks)

naming resources:
Chinese Names + Naming Resources. Also, from the same blog: Reading Chinese Names: Female Names, Reading Chinese Names: Male Names, Reading Chinese Names: Surnames, Reading Chinese Names: The Most Common Names and A closer look at Chinese names.
Chinese Surname Ranking Analysis (comparison between locations and how they reflect the national average as well as mainland China compared to Taiwan and Hong Kong)
Mandarin Chinese Character Name Generator (names plus their translation)
How to name your Chinese characters (common names and their translations)
Chinese naming conventions (examples are for MDZS characters, but gives general info. 2nd chapter of an AO3 work, 1st chapter is familial and sect relationship terms)
So You Want to Name a Sino: A Guide to Not Making a Fucking Fool of Yourself
A twitter thread on Chinese nicknames and another thread building off that (must be logged into twitter to read)
What can we tell from the evolution of Han Chinese names? article with amazing interactive graphics of both male and female names broken down by decade (1930s-2000s) including explanations on how they relate to history of the time and also a search to see how unique a name is.
Most Popular Chinese Names (Trends in 2023 and Across the Decades)

relationship terms:
Master Chart for Familial Relationships with comparisons of modern to historical terms as well as “technically made up but grammatically correct” terms for same sex partners and their relations.
Tumblr post with familial terms and terminology
"Quick translation of a Particular Guideline for homosexual relationship terms in Chinese" - dreamwidth post and same information reblogged on tumblr
Terms of address including marital relations (chart to determine terms for within "your martial arts family"; for the same information written out in a grid rather than image format see here)
Honorifics and Titles For Your Wuxia/Xianxia Fic (tumblr post)
Video comparing how northerners and southerners refer to people (modern terms)
Various LGBTQA Mandarin Words

slang and NSFW terms:
Chinese Internet Slang (numbers)
DIY Chinese Penis Euphemisms (anatomical and slang terms used for penis, tumblr post)
How many different ways are there to say "fuck" in Chinese? (brief discussion on different terms, tumblr post)

Chinese language (calligraphy, dictionaries, scripts, sign language, etc) informational posts/resources:

calligraphy and script styles:
An Introduction to Chinese Calligraphy (short instructional video, youtube link)
Chinese Calligraphy, an Introduction (tumblr post)
Chinese Brush Strokes
Chinese Brushstrokes Vocabulary
Traditional chinese handicraft, ink making 制墨 (video)
Making Huizhou inksticks (徽墨) (video)
China’s Calligraphic Arts a brief look at oracle bone script, seal script, clerical script, running script, cursive script, standard script and the four treasures of a scholar’s studio (The Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian art, wayback machine link)
China Online Museum brief descriptions of oracle bone, seal, clerical, cursive, running, and standard scripts and info on master calligraphers with links to their work.
Chinese Calligraphy numerous articles about its history in China, the different scripts, cultural background and influences, etc.

中国手语 Chinese Sign Language:
Wikipedia overview (basic info about the difference between Northern and Southern CSL and how they differ from Hong Kong SL, Taiwanese SL, etc)
Learn CSL playlist on youtube (English subs, shows both ASL and CSL)
手語教學 ~ 01 (CSL lesson 1, one hour, enough english presented to follow) and 手語教學 ~ 02 (lesson 2, 14 minutes)
pinyin fingerspelling chart (image)
Chinese Sign Language List (terms in Chinese and English, shown in UAE sign and CSL)
Signs of the Times: Why Chinese Sign Language Users Struggle to Understand Each Other
Expressing negation in Chinese sign language (thesis, pdf of final paper here)
Nothing about us without us: Deaf education and sign language access in China (scholarly article, pdf)

dictionaries:
Chinese - English Dictionary "including pronunciation, extra large Chinese characters (JPG images) and stroke order animations"
Yabla's Chinese English Pinyin Dictionary (site also has vocabulary flashcards)
MDBG's Word Dictionary (site also has translation abilities; can be used to look up a word by drawing it with your mouse but works best if the stroke order is correct)
Talking Chinese English Dictionary (PurpleCulture has numerous other Chinese language tools available; can be used to look up a word by drawing it with your mouse)
qhanzi "Input Chinese characters via handwriting. Draw a hanzi in the pale blue box."

etymology (字源):
Chinese Etymology - etymological info on 15k+ hanzi, also has information on oracle, bone, and seal script

Chinese telegraph code
Chinese Telegraphic Codebooks and Cryptography (article by Columbia University with some pictures of books from their collection)
A History of China’s Telecommunications Industry, Part 1: The Telegraph and the First Telephones
Chinese Telegraphic Code Book for Mainland China - 大陆标准电报码
Wikipedia article 'Chinese telegraph code'
Language Log: Chinese Telegraph Code (CTC)
Chinese Commercial/Telegraphic Code Lookup (converts text into CTC)
Chinese Telegraph Code (CTC), or A Brief History of Chinese Character Code (CCC)
Brief Article on CTC and Encryption
Learning your 爱比西s: Translating Chinese into Morse code! (video)

fandom focused links:
Wuxia 101 - the guide for people who have never seen Wuxia. (AO3 work, contains general information and specific Word of Honor examples)
The meaning of “jianghu” 江湖 (tumblr post, wayback machine link)
A Guide to Chinese Terminology (tumblr post with terms for and brief explanations for: people within families and sects, time, the five elements, religion and philosophy, sworn brotherhood, and more, wayback machine link)
The meaning of 青山不改 绿水长流 后会有期 - a common saying in wuxia, especially seen in The Untamed's ending (wayback machine link)
Glossary of Terms in Wuxia, Xianxia & Xuanhuan Novels
MyWuxia "the encyclopedia for Wuxia fans genre."
How are acupoints used in Wuxia stories?
Immortal Mountain "Insight into the World of Chinese Fantasy Novels" (blog)
Exiled Rebels' Chinese Slang Glossary
Chinese pronunciation resources + tips (aimed at podficcers, general info and links to fandom specific ones)

websites with interesting content:
Harvard's Chinese Rubbings Collection and Chinese and Japanese scroll facsimiles
The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Asian Art Collection (books, catalogues and guides, some can be downloaded as pdfs, some only available for looking at online)
East Asian Studies blog a site with translations of some Chinese poetry with a complete breakdown of each line with the original Chinese, the pinyin, the word for word translation and then a poetic translation
Chinese Poems "This site presents Chinese, pinyin and English texts of poems by some of the greatest Chinese poets. Most of the featured authors are from the Tang dynasty, when culture in China was at its peak, but writers from other periods are also included."
Tumblr user fwoopersongs's CHI to ENG poetry translations

*All links are to English languages sources or translated into English pages
*Please comment to let me know if any links included here no longer work. And my goal was to have as complete a resource list as possible so if there are any other links that should be included please share them so they can be added.

Research and Resource Collected Links Masterpost

Hollywood/movie/entertainment stuff:
Clothes on Film- a fascinating website with articles detailing what many movies get right (and wrong) about how they clothe their characters, and often why decisions were made the way they were. (The articles {beginning here} on the Richie Holmes movies, for example, are very interesting reads.)
Tyranny of Style - "A closer look at costume design and the language of clothing." (Interesting read with interesting articles about costume design choices for tv/movies like this one about CA:TWS)
BAMF Style - "break down how these cinema badasses carried themselves so that you too can"
Frock Flicks another costume reviews site
A similar website is Frocktalk, now defunct, but available via the wayback machine. The person who ran the site also did a great TED talk on the subject.
Virtual History - "Film history of the 20th century in the virtual world" stills, posters, links to info (articles and books), and basic information about thousands of movies, actors, directors and writers (in not just Hollywood, but worldwide)
Internet Movie Firearms Database - Firearms and other weapons as seen in movies, tv shows, anime, etc- great for researching who was using weapon and when
Internet Movie Cars Database- Cars, motorcycle and other motor vehicle appearances in films and tv shows
Internet Game Cars Database - a comprehensive list of vehicles seen in video games
Internet Broadway Database - All sorts of info on different broadway shows/cast/etc
The Big Cartoon Database - Info on everything animated: cartoons, films, television shows, adverts, and more
The Comic Book Database (currently down for maintenance)
CBDB, The Comic book Database "Welcome to CBDB: The most detailed comic book resource on the net!"
Grand Comics Database - "The Grand Comics Database (GCD) is a nonprofit, internet-based organization of international volunteers dedicated to building an open database covering all printed comics throughout the world."
The Internet Movie Plane Database- Airplane in movies, tv shows and video games
The Internet Movie Script Database - While scripts can be radically different than the final movie that aired, it can still be a really good resource.
The Daily Script Movie and television scripts and screenplay collection, again may not be the version that actually aired
Springfield!Springfield! a database of thousands of TV show episode scripts and movie scripts
TVShowTranscripts - another tv show episode transcript site
Subtitles Like Scripts - movie and tv transcripts
Scraps From the Loft - movie, tv, stand up comedy transcripts and more
Forever Dreaming select tv and movie transcripts
The BBC TV, radio and film script library
Techstuff - Behind the Jargon of the Film Industry (podcast episode, a look at the tech and terminology of film sets)
Jill Bearup throws Tom Scott through a window excellent look at how a fight scene is staged and everything that goes into making it look real while also being safe (archive.org video link)
Lost Media Wiki - "a community effort to track down lost or hard-to-find media!"
10 popular tones used in voice acting (short clip of a voice actor demonstrating different tones and explaining when they are used, originally on tiktok here)


Historical/Cultural/Religious/whatnot research links (history/culture/era/etiquette/etc):

Specific era language, slang, and terminology links can be found in the words resource post.
Historic map collection links can be found in the Randomness resource post.

General history/Non-timeframe specific:
Metropolitan Museum of Art's Digital Collections numerous art and history books, subjects spanning history and the world
UNESCO's General History of Africa - 9 volumes, available online as PDFs, going from the ancient civilizations through colonialism to modern day (information is very, very dense and dry though)
The Age of Borders - when current borders were defined (from this reddit post)
Fordham University's Sourcebooks - Internet Ancient History Sourcebook, Internet Medieval Sourcebook, Internet Modern History Sourcebook, etc (others include African, Byzantium, East Asian, Global, Indian, Islamic, Jewish, Lesbian and Gay, Science, and Women's)
Native Languages of the Americas resource site
Museum of disABILITY's virtual museum an exhibit "dedicated to advancing the understanding, acceptance and independence of people with disabilities." (wayback machine link)
The British Library's Digitized Collections - numerous collections ranging from historical maps, manuscripts (including Beowulf, Leonardo da Vinci’s Notebook and much, much more), sound recordings, etc (currently only partially available after a cyber attack)
British History Online "a collection of nearly 1300 volumes of primary and secondary content relating to British and Irish history, and histories of empire and the British world."
Black Cultural Archives "the home of Black British History"
Historical Locks - a delve into the history of locks, keys, padlocks, safes, what existed in what era and area, and the technology and folklore of it all.
Lighting things in pre-electric times thoughts and techniques (tumblr post with information and numerous period techniques)

Historical Chinese Clothing (and more) Resources a masterpost of 400+ links on historical Chinese Clothing (plus accessories, armor, weapons, music, relationship terms, naming resources and much, much more)

Hill Museum and Manuscript Library- Centuries of handwritten heritage preserved and available for all (thousands of religious {Eastern Christian, Islamic, Buddist, Hindu, etc} manuscripts as well as generally historical handwritten and early printed works)

Who Was Alive choose a year and see who was alive then and how old they were with links to each person's wikipedia page

"Ancient" times through Middle Ages (ish):
Livius - website with thousands of articles on ancient history
Perseus Digital Library - Digital library of ancient Greek and Latin texts, as well as a depository of images of ancient art

Global Medieval Sourcebook - A Digital Repository of Medieval Texts "The Global Medieval Sourcebook (GMS) is an open access teaching and research tool...spanning one thousand years (600-1600) of literary production around the world." (All transcriptions, translations, and commentaries have been "produced and reviewed by scholars of medieval studies")

Hull Domesday Project an overview and exploration of the Domesday Inquest, Great Domesday, and the purpose, structure, and terminology of Domesday Book, with references for further study.
Open Domesday providing both the Domesday Book mapped and also the original folios
Epistolae: Medieval Women's Letters - collection (in original Latin and English translations) of medieval Latin letters to and from women who lives from the 4th-13th centuries, biographical information of each woman included.
A Database of Crusaders to the Holy Land, 1095-1149 Database of men and women who took part in the crusades after the Council of Clermont (1095) through the end of the Second Crusade (1149), including identities, social status, titles, geographical origins, finance, family relationships and affiliations to crusade leaders.
Carleton College's Medieval and Renaissance Studies Primary Sources PDF collection - translated primary documents on late antique, medieval, Byzantine and Renaissance history
University of Leeds' Medieval History Texts in Translation PDFs of translations of documents from and regarding Italy, Sicily, England, Germany, Spain and the Crusades, dates ranging from 1035-1288
Learn to read medieval Latin documents
Jones' Celtic Encyclopedia "an attempt to catalogue all possible elements of Celtic culture, from its origins in central Europe in the Bronze Age, through the 21st century."
The Celtic Literature Collective "an attempt to collect as many possible early and medieval texts produced in the "Celtic" countries, or on Celtic themes"
Medieval Murder Maps "The interactive Medieval Murder Maps give unique insight into violence, and justice in late medieval London, York, and Oxford."

Wiktenauer collection of primary and secondary source literature that makes up the text of historical European martial arts (HEMA) research
Middle Ages for Kids aimed at children, but a wealth of information on the middle ages ranging from clothing to weapons to food and more
Medicine in the Middle Ages theories, treatments and links for more information
Journal article Women's Medical Practice and Health Care in Medieval Europe (fairly academic, but interesting)
Medieval Life and Times - huge resource site with sections dedicated to art, castles, clothing, food, music, weapons and much, much more
MEDIEVAL MISCONCEPTIONS: torches and candles - lighting in medieval times (video)
An article on Medieval pet names
Medieval WorldBuilding Mega-Tutorial (includes info about armies, and many other details)
Sleep in the Middle Ages
Medieval writing resource post (including links to posts about clergy, nobility, common medieval jobs, divination, mythical creatures, structuring an army, medieval punishments, armor, siege warfare, castle anatomy, clothing, common terms of medieval life and more)
Medieval military tactics regarding right-handedness
Map of Medieval Trade Routes - (post with some information, zoomable map itself here)
King Henry III Fine Rolls Project Transcription of fines recorded 1216–1272. Lists of male names and female names (and a few more female names) recorded and their frequency (wayback machine links)
England’s Immigrants Database (1330-1550) - fully-searchable database with over 64k names of people known to have migrated to England during the period of the Hundred Years’ War and the Black Death, the Wars of the Roses and the Reformation.
Names of Jews in Medieval Navarre (13th–14th centuries) delves into naming rituals as well (pdf)
Medieval Disability Sourcebook: Western Europe "explores what medieval texts have to say about disability" (available as a free PDF, also available here)

Bibliotheca Philadelphiensis- high-resolution images of more than 160,000 pages of European medieval and early modern codices available for downloading by the page, manuscript, or collection.

Harvard Library's Medieval & Renaissance Manuscripts Material Features project tutorials and detailed information on bindings, pages, content, and decoration, and links to digitized manuscripts with those features.

A Dictionary of the First or Oldest Words in the English Language: from the semi-Saxon period of A.D. 1250 to 1300. Consisting of an alphabetical inventory of every word found in the printed English literature of the 13th century (full title, published 1862, on gutenberg here or scanned on archive.org here)

(see below for compiled medical sources from all eras)

16th-18th century:
The English Physitian: or an astrologo-physical discourse of the vulgar herbs of this nation. by Nicholas Culpeper, published 1652 (archive.org link or a pdf version)
The Experienced English Housekeeper by Elizabeth Raffald, published 1769 (archive.org link)
The Country Housewife’s Family Companion by William Ellis, published 1750 (archive.org link) full title: "The country housewife's family companion: or profitable directions for whatever relates to the management and good economy of the domestic concerns of a country life. According to the present practice of the country gentleman's, the yeoman's, the farmer's, &c., wives, in the counties of Hertford, Bucks, and other parts of England: shewing how great savings may be made in housekeeping"
Domestic Medicine by William Buchan, 2nd ed, published 1785 (transcribed)
Huge list of links for writing about Pirates and a second one
Information on flying false flags (by pirates or in war)
Roles on a Pirate Ship (wayback machine link)
The Canadian Privateering Homepage includes a Canadian Privateer Ship List and names of privateers, a logbook of a 1799 journey and more (wayback machine link)
my18thcenturysource "From costuming to movies and art, everything 18th century related."
London Lives - "a fully digitised and searchable form, a wide range of primary sources about eighteenth-century London, with a particular focus on plebeian Londoners" (240k+ manuscript/printed pages from eight London archives, data contains records from 1680-1820 and beyond)
The Proceedings of the Old Bailey, 1674-1913 - searchable archive of the almost 200K criminal trials held at London's central criminal court.
Huge resource compilation of information about Great Britain's Royal Navy from the 1790s to post WWI (including vessels, medicine, history, manning, leave, punishment, the slave trade, pay scales and much more)
Common American houses before the second Industrial Revolution (where they were built, what they looked like and how they were laid out)
Lighting Then VS Now: Fire Before Electricity (video, lots of general information about lighting and the technology for it in the 18th century as well as laws about it in England and the American colonies)
Coinage found in the 17th and 18th century (video, focus on the American colonies)
The History of Money in America (video, focus on early colonial period)
Working with Horn : making a comb with one method and a spoon with another - horn, "the plastic of history" (videos with techniques for carving horn)

All Things Georgian "Writing about anything and everything to do with the Georgian Era" (1714-1830s)

(see below for compiled medical sources from all eras)

19th century:
Dickinsons' comprehensive pictures of the Great Exhibition of 1851 A pictorial record of London's Great Exhibition
English Heritage's video series- Audley End- The Victorian Way Living history look at a Victorian manor with everything from laundry to cooking and baking and much more
Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management - published in 1861, a guide to all aspects of running a Victorian household, including recipes, dealing with servants, general health and more. (wayback machine link, or find gutenberg's download here)
Everyday life in 19th century Britain
a map of Dickens' London (wayback machine link)
1817 Map of London
500+ maps of 1893 and 1896 London stitched together by The National Library of Scotland (link to article about it, direct link here)
Pigot & Co's Metropolitan Guide & Book of reference to every street, court, lane, passage alley and public building, in the cities of London & Westminster, the borough of Southwark, and their respective suburbs. (published 1820s, scanned book)
Bacon's new large scale atlas of London and suburbs (atlas published 1900, scanned book)
Druggist's Manual, published 1826, "with Latin and English synonyms, a German, French, and Spanish catalogue of drugs, tables of specific gravities etc (archive.org scanned book)
The Home: Where It Should Be And What Should Be In It published 1873 (everything one needed to know for setting up a home including a price list in the back of what everything might cost, via archive.org)
The Complete Home: an Encyclopædia of Domestic Life and Affairs, published 1879 (via googlebooks)
The lady's guide to perfect gentility, in manners, dress, and conversation ... also a useful instructor in letter writing, toilet preparations, fancy needlework, millinery, dressmaking, care of wardrobe, the hair, teeth, hands, lips, complexion, etc - Etiquette manual from 1857 (scanned pages, via library of congress)
The home book of health and medicine, published 1834, "being a popular treatise on the means of avoiding and curing diseases" (archive.org scanned book- full of data but very dense)
"A text-book of nursing": 1893 version and 1897 version by Clara Weeks-Shaw (read online or DL various versions)
Two scanned books on Floriography: 1825's Floral Emblems, or, A Guide to the language of flowers and 1857's The Language of Flowers: An Alphabet of Floral Emblems
Women's Handicraft in the 19th Century gallery - a digital collection "documenting 19th century American women's participation in household handicrafts." (magazines, patterns and books)

37 Conversation Rules for Gentlemen from 1875 (from the 1875 book A Gentleman’s Guide to Etiquette)
Huge list of links for writing Victorian England/ACD Holmes fic
Society for Photographing Relics of Old London (112 photographs taken of "Old" London between 1875-1886)
"How to Roleplay in the Victorian Era" - tumblr post with information on society, culture, dress and accent (must be logged into tumblr to read)
Victorian Era Mini-Masterpost focusing on links providing information on multicultural (race and religion) aspects of Victorian London
Domestic Medicine and Surgery in Victorian England (the treating of various injuries and wounds, from Cassells Household Guide published 1880, wayback machine link for when site won't connect)
Collection of links on Victorian England
Housebreakers and Burglars of Victorian London (tools and techniques)
Victorian Etiquette, Manners and Morals (as published in "The Girls' Own Paper" 1880-1883, wayback machine link)
Of Carriages and Kings by Frederick Gorst - autobiography of a Victorian footman (archive.org scanned book)
Victorian & Edwardian Services (Houses) 1850-1914

Huge list of links on the American Frontier (including life, crime, medicine, commerce, food, etc)
Townsends' video series on the American Frontier - a range of topics from making a canoe to using a flintlock to cooking over a fire and more (18th and 19th century information)
Photo collections of the American "Old West" at the University of Wyoming's American Heritage Center, which has numerous photo collections like The Baker and Johnston Photographic Studio (many Shoshone, Arapahoe, and Apache studio photos) and Lora Webb Nichols' photos (24k of photos from rural WY from late 1800s-1950s) and more

1818 to 1890s Bicycle Models - article with video of the 1915 B&W silent documentary mostly demonstrating the old bicycles,the Dutch title cards in Dutch are translated in the article. The article also has the 1937 newsreel "Birth of the Bike"

The 1900s: a social history of everyday life website detailing life in the UK from late Victorian era through mid 20th C, detailing housing, jobs, money, shops, transportation, and more.

The Life of a City: Early Films of New York, 1898 to 1906 short films available for streaming by the Library of Congress

(see below for compiled medical sources from all eras)

20th century:
The ship captain's medical guide A book "intended solely for the use of those who are unable to call in medical assistance" 13th edition, 1901. (via archive.org) (22nd ed, 2014 PDF for comparison)
Every Woman's Encyclopaedia 8 volume set compiled in 1910, originally a bi-weekly periodical, published to provide the modern Edwardian British woman everything she might want to read. Topics include first aid, keeping house, biographies on famous women, information on life in the colonies, the art of entertaining and much, much more (archive.org link)
Sir Howard Vincent's Police Code, 15th ed, published 1915 ("General Manual of the Criminal Law" by the man who founded Scotland Yard's Criminal Investigation Department)
WWI Military and Naval Service Kit, Burberry’s Catalogue for Officers (British Empire, wayback machine link)
Collection of links on the 1920's (in general), 30's (NYC-centric) and 1930's in the UK, and 40's (in general)
Breakdown of living expenses in 1936 Brooklyn and, particularly of interest for the Captain America fandom, the multipart, how to Brooklyn guide, a collection of meta about Brooklyn in the 30s and 40s ranging from housing to LGBTQ history and more. Also check out historicallyaccuratesteve especially the Steve Rogers at Home tag (blog is no longer being updated, must be logged into tumblr to access) and steve-rogers-new-york, who has now compiled a lot of their 1920s-40s history and cultural information posts in this AO3 collection and also posts scans from booklets and newspapers and more (ranging from recipes to household hints to slang terms to sex-ed brochures) in their research tag.
Welcome to 1940s New York - photos, maps, statistics, and a brief narrative for 116 survey areas based on the 1940 Census and a market analysis published in 1943 by four local newspapers.
Prices of a family budget of staple foods, fuel and lighting, and rent, for 60 cities in Canada, 1920, 1926, and 1928 to 1936
The NYC Space/Time Directory's Maps by Decade (and article about the directory)
The Army and Navy Stores Catalogue, 1939-40 (a department store/cooperative society serving the British Empire, wayback machine link)
Research into condoms and their usage during WWII (US focused, but historical info)
WWII Propaganda Poster Collection - over 800 American, German, and Russian World War II propaganda posters.
Duke University's Ad*Access- Digital Repository of over 7,000 U.S. and Canadian advertisements covering five product categories - Beauty and Hygiene, Radio, Television, Transportation, and World War II propaganda - dated between 1911 and 1955
Retrowaste - Website whose "sole purpose is to provide the best online experience for learning about vintage culture." Broken down by decades (20s-90s) and US based provides basic info as well as highlights sports, cars, fashion, music, etc for each decade.
Royal Military Police instruction video on how to go from West Germany to West Berlin

Early Automobile Industry Trade Catalogs (1903 - 1916)

Collection of photos from Taishō era Japan (260 b&w photos, taken between 1914-1918)

The subreddit r/TheWayWeWere contains randomly submitted old photos of everyday people that are 40 years or older for a look at everyday people's fashions etc, can be filtered by decade.

University of Missouri's Prices and Wages by Decade libguide - provides links text primary sources showing retail prices for common items or "necessities of life" (like cost of groceries, rents, gasoline, various fares, etc) at different times from 1600's to today (generally US focused, but an amazing resource)

Medical information from various points in history: (some also linked in appropriate era's sections)
History of Medicine Timeline and a second one
History of Blood Banking and Bloodletting (wayback machine link)
Phisick Medical Antiques - "Phisick illustrates a history of medicine through a selection of antique instruments used over the years by doctors, physicians, barber surgeons, dentists, apothecaries and their patients." (wayback machine link)
Early history of wound treatment (pdf of article from the Royal Society of Medicine Press)

Medicine in the Middle Ages theories, treatments and links for more information
Journal article Women's Medical Practice and Health Care in Medieval Europe (fairly academic, but interesting)
Domestic Medicine by William Buchan, 2nd ed, published 1785 (transcribed)
The home book of health and medicine, published 1834, "being a popular treatise on the means of avoiding and curing diseases" (archive.org scanned book)
The ship captain's medical guide A book "intended solely for the use of those who are unable to call in medical assistance" 13th edition, 1901. (via archive.org)

US NIH National Library of Medicine's digital collections - searchable by publication range (including over 40 pre-1600 books, although the vast majority are in later ranges like 20k from 1850-1899), subject, type of work and more all in the public domain and available either to read online or download in various formats. Including:
Treasure of poor men, a good booke of medecines (1565)
A collection of above three hundred receipts in cookery, physick and surgery (1746)
Gunn's domestic medicine (1835)
The Lancet (archive.org has copies from 1823-2016)

A Treatise on Adulteration of Food and Culinary Poisons (1820) (article and scanned book)

LGBTQA history:
Digital Transgender History Archive
Lesbian Historic Motif Project (LHMP) - An annotated bibliography blogging project that looks at published research of interest to writing historic lesbian characters. (Many, many resources linked here)
US National Park Service's "LGBTQ America: A Theme Study of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer History" (link goes to intro and chapter breakdown)
Sourcebook of Homosexuality in England in the 17th and 18th centuries and the 19th century - Transcribed primary sources including newspaper reports, trial documents, letters and more
Friendships, Lesbianism and Identity In Victorian Britian (short article) and one of its sources, Anne Lister’s Construction of Lesbian Identity (pdf, a jstor article by Anna Clark)
"The Early 20th-Century ID Cards That Kept Trans People Safe From Harassment" article about the "transvestite pass" that was issued in Germany from 1909-1933
Russian Gay Culture numerous resources compiled by Middlebury University
The ArQuives Canada's LGBTQ2+ Archives
Were there Transgender People in the Middle Ages? one part of the series "Gender, Sexism, and the Middle Ages"
JSTOR article "I Could Spend All Day Looking at the Covers of These LGBTQ Publications" by Catherine Halley (specifically, link to Reveal Digital's Independent Voices LGBTQ series)
NY Public Library's Gay and Lesbian History Digital Collection
The GLBT Historical Society museum and online archive
The Gay and Lesbian Archive of Mid-America (GLAMA) Various collections available online from the University of Missouri-Kansas City
Re‐examining our roots: Queer history and anatomy by Theodore C. Smith (15 page article from The Anatomical Record, PDF)
The ACT UP Oral History Project an archive of 187 interviews with members of ACT UP (ACT UP is "a diverse, non-partisan group of individuals, united in anger and committed to direct action to end the AIDS crisis" founded in 1987)
The Lesbian Herstory Archives (its "mission is to gather and preserve records of Lesbian lives and activities so that future generations will have ready access to materials relevant to their lives.")
The Transgender Archives at the University of Victoria
LGBTQ Oral History Digital Collaboratory - "a digital history hub for the research and study of gay, lesbian, queer, and trans oral histories." (Contains links to some of the above archives as well as others)
History of Sexuality - "a freely-available, peer-reviewed, and open-source resource by sex educators, historians, and librarians active in sexuality fields, and it aims to fill a often-overlooked need for the historical representation of LGBTQ+ identity"
Anything That Moves Online Archive (scanned copies of Anything that Moves, a bisexual magazine that ran from 1990-2002, available to read online)

Newspaper Archive sites:
Fulton History one man's project to digitize old newspapers (originally NY, then US and Canada and beyond {dates range 1751-2015} and make them freely available on the web. Over 44million pages and more added every day. (Alternative search is currently down)
Chronicling America - "Search America's historic newspaper pages from 1789-1963" (free)
Google News Archive Search links to newspaper archives around the world
The British Newspaper Archive - (requires registering and offers three free articles before charging fees, however searches are free and provides small blurb about each article)
Historic Australian Newspapers (free)
Welsh Newspapers Online - a free resource from the National Library of Wales
Papers Past Digitization of New Zealand and Pacific newspapers from the 19th and 20th centuries
National Library of Ireland's Digital Collection - Newspapers, manuscripts, books and more
(For specific place newspapers also try looking for a historical society in that city/county/area, for example, many 19th century Brooklyn newspapers can be found at the Brooklyn Historical Society's website along with historic maps, films and more)

Magazine Archives:
Scientific American - a popular science magazine "notable for its long history of presenting science monthly to an educated but not necessarily scientific public" (collection contains only the issues published from 1845-1909)
The Strand Magazine: scanned copies of the first 72 issues at HathiTrust and assorted collection at Internet archive
Popular Mechanics (assorted issues from 1900s-2010s)
Life Magazine (only issues from 1936-1972)
Time Magazine's Vault Excepts, photos and articles from 1920s-today; Time Magazine at the internet archive 1923-2014
Sports Illustrated archives of issues from 1959-today
Saturday Evening Post 1829-2014
Illustrated London News 1842-2003
Ladies' Home Journal 1884-2014
Harper's Bazaar 1867-2016
Cosmopolitan 1886-2016
Glamour 1939-2016

The Whole Earth Publications Index Includes the Whole Earth Catalogue (counterculture magazine that pioneered the US hippie and commune movement, providing 'access to tools' to 'do it yourself', 1968-1988), CoEvolution Quarterly (1974-1984), the Whole Earth Software Review, the Whole Earth Software Review (1984-5), the Whole Earth Review (the result of merging CoEvolution Quarterly and the Whole Earth Software Review (1985-1996), Whole Earth Magazine (a continuation of Whole Earth Review, 1997-2002) and various special publications. (article about it)

Archive.org's collection of over 100 different digitized magazines and monthly publications The Magazine Rack (1800s-today, containing magazines in multiple languages from many different countries)
The Online Books Page's hundreds of results from searching for magazines "The Online Books Page is a website that facilitates access to books that are freely readable over the Internet"

Historical catalogues and catalogue collections:
The Grocers' Hand-Book and Directory - "an alphabetical treatment of terms important to grocers" including details as to what to stock, how, and the difficulties and differences in items (1883 ed, ed. Artemas Ward, archive.org)
Clearance Sale and Grocery Catalogue Illustrated catalog featuring men's, women's, and children's clothing and accessories, home decor, furniture, everyday goods, and food. (1922)
Complete Fashionable Outfits for Men, Woman and Children from the Plymouth Clothing House Fall 1899 edition (illustrated catalog featuring descriptions and prices)
Artistic and Practical Homes for the Average Man (1922) pictures and floor plans
New Ideas in Concrete Houses: 100 Designs with Floor Plans (1908)
American Dwellings (1910) pictures and floor plans
Illustrated catalog of goods for sale at Leachman's Supply House (Oct 1896, in English, German and Norwegian)
J. M. Davis Mercantile Company's The House of Quality & Low Prices. Catalog No. 37 "Illustrated trade catalog featuring men's and women's clothing and accessories, home decor, furniture, and everyday goods." (1916)
The Vintage Christmas Catalog Archive 100+ US and Canadian Christmas catalogs from stores like Sears, JC Penny, FAO Schwarz and more dating from 1937 to 1990s (currently down for maintenance)
Catalogs & Wishbooks 331 Vintage Christmas Wish Books and Retail Department Store Catalogs (1940-2017)
Ikea Catalog Collection 70 years of digitized Ikea catalogues (site in Swedish)
Argos catalogues - pdf scans of various catalogues from 1974-1999
Radio Shack Catalogs (regular catalog from 1939-2011, computer catalogs from 1977-1992)

Old Magazine Articles - "the effort of one old magazine enthusiast in particular who believes deeply that today's readers of history can learn a good deal from the old periodicals." (PDFs of numerous old articles dating from 1800s-1900s ranging in topics from history, sports, environment, suffrage, war and much, much more)

Dime Novels, Penny Dreadfuls, and Other Fiction Collections:
Archives and General Collections:
Nickels and Dimes - collection of nearly 10k "dime" novels published in the US from 1860-1930.
The Aldine Romance of Invention, Travel and Adventure Library - all 178 issues of this popular pulp magazine series (published between 1894 and 1906) are available to be read online.)
The Monash University Yellow-Back Collection 12 "yellow-backs" (cheaply published books with yellowy, unbleached paper and covers) ranging from 1858's 'A handbook of gymnastics' to 1902's 'Common objects of the microscope' to Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, scanned and able to be read online.)
McGill Library’s Chapbook Collection Over 900 18th and 19th C English-language chapbooks (short, cheaply made book or pamphlet) from England, Scotland, Ireland and the US
The Pulp Magazine Archive (collection of assorted pulps and mags that have been uploaded to archive.org including Amazing Stories Magazine, Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, New Worlds Science Fiction Magazine, Science Fantasy, Science Wonder Stories, Twilight Zone Magazine, Weird Tales Magazine and many many more)
Merril Collection of Science Fiction, Speculation & Fantasy "this collection has over 80,000 items that range from pulp magazines to role-playing game books. The items that have been digitized are mostly novels published up until the 1950s."
The Westminster Detective Library "The mission of the Westminster Detective Library to catalog and make available online all the short fiction dealing with detectives and detection published in the United States before Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s “A Scandal in Bohemia” (1891)."
Arthur Conan Doyle Collection "one of the world's leading research collections devoted to the author of Sherlock Holmes. Its 25,000+ items include a range of Doyle’s fiction and non-fiction — as well as parodies and pastiches related to Sherlock Holmes." (includes numerous scanned publications of Holmes stories in other languages)
Osborne Collection of Early Children's Books thousands of children's books from the 1700's through early 1900s (mostly English, but many French and a few in other languages as well)
Luminist Archives thousands of magazines, periodicals, pulps and fanzines. The collections include occult, counterculture, Scifi/Fantasy, comic books and more (presented as PDFs to be read online or DLed)

Collections of runs from specific magazines/pulps (some picked out from above collections, some not):
Dime Mystery Magazine (1933-1949, PDFs to DL or read online)
Ghost Stories (pulp mag, supernatural fantasy and occult fiction mixed with semi-fiction or pseudo-fact articles, 1926-1932, PDFs to DL or read online)
Science Fantasy (British fantasy and science fiction magazine, 1950-1966, PDFs to DL or read online)
Analog Science Fiction and Fact bimonthly literary magazine, 1960-2015
Fantasy and Science Fiction Magazine (the 1949-1959 issues)
Weird Tales Magazine (1923-1954 issues)

Vintage Recorded Music/Radio Theater:
UCSB Cylinder Audio Archive "a digital collection of more than 10,000 cylinder recordings... to download or stream online for free."
The Great 78 Project its goal is to "digitize 78rpm discs for preservation, research, and discovery" with the hopes of completely digitizing a more than 400,000-piece virtual record collection (streaming via archive.org)
The National Jukebox via The US Library of Congress a collection of "more than 10,000 recordings made by the Victor Talking Machine Company between 1901 and 1925" available for streaming.
Old Radio World "Welcome to Old Radio World! Here you will find some of the most popular radio programs of the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s" (vast collection of streamable comedy, detective, drama, mystery, music, sci-fi shows and more)
Classic Mystery Radio "Classic Mystery Radio is dedicated to bringing you free high-quality entertainment in the form of vintage mystery, suspense, detective, and dramatic radio programs."
The Mercury Theatre on the Air all surviving episodes of Orson Wells' 1938 show, including The War of the Worlds

Food Specific:
The Sifter "Search the world of food" - a multilingual database, currently 130,000-items strong, of the ingredients, techniques, authors, and section titles included in more than 5,000 European and U.S. cookbooks. (article about it)
NYPL's Menu Collection - 45k menus dating from the 1840s to the present, transcribed and searchable; also The Buttolph collection of menus (menus from 1850-1970s; article about collection)
Medieval Recipes
The Food Timeline
Gode Cookery - site "dedicated to the food & feasts of the Middle Ages & Renaissance." (recipes, images and more)
"Primitive cookery; or the kitchen garden display'd" Vegetarian cookbook published 1767 (googlebooks)
McCormick Science Institute's history of spices
What America Ate - an interactive website and online archive about food in the Great Depression
Michigan State University's Feeding America: The Historic American Cookbook Project - a digital archive includes of 76 cookbooks American cookbooks from the late 18th to early 20th century
Project Gutenberg is also a great resource, here are all 'cooking' books, sorted by category.
The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book by Fannie Farmer Merritt, originally published in 1896 and considered one of the first 'modern' cookbooks with exacting measurements etc. Also contains household hints and advice as well as full suggested menus (read online or download)
mid*century*menu a website dedicated to testing out recipes and cookbooks from the 40s-70s
The Bartender's Association of NYC's Official Handbook and Guide Recipe guide for cocktails and mixed drinks, published 1895 (scanned book)

Historically Themed or Archival Focused Youtube channels:
Pario Gallico channel run by an Experiential Archaeology & Living History company, mostly focusing on the Iron Age
Sally Pointer a heritage educator and archaeologist, her channel is filled with videos demonstrating how to make various things using methods of different ages (ranging from Neolithic to middle ages) like cordage and baskets and weaving and whatnot.
Two playlists from the Hull and East Riding Museum of medieval craft demonstrations and more detailed leatherwork and spinning demonstrations
RAMUNI - Viking Crafts and Reenactment youtube channel, Viking crafts, clothing, lifestyle info and more
English Heritage - The Victorian Way by Audley End House and Gardens, various videos on how to prepare food on an estate in the Victorian Era as well as other things like laundry
English Heritage's History Inspired Makeup Tutorials
CrowsEyeProductions' youtube channel is a great resource for short videos on historical clothing, fashion and more including an entire playlist on how various people of different social standings got dressed in different periods.
Silvousplaits hairstyles videos on how to recreate historical and fandom specific hairstyles including a 'Real Historical Hairstyles' playlist with links in the notes for sources
Jamestown Settlement & American Revolution Museum at Yorktown numerous playlists for 17th century American/English life including clothing, cooking, housing, guns and weaponry, and more
18th Century (American) Life by Jon Townsend - cooking and life in general historical recreation videos (playlists include historic laundry, writing, building cabins/canoes/etc, cooking and much more)
PriorAttire a YouTube channel that covers fashion from the 12th century onwards, including getting dressed and showing how many layers and undergarments were needed to create the various looks.
glamourdaze numerous playlists (1920s, 30s, 40s, 50, 60s fashion) also make up and general women focused short slice of life vintage films from around the world.

Guy Jones' youtube channel - Collection of numerous street scenes, public events, parades and more ranging from 1880s-1960s from all over the world. Also speeches and music from turn of century. (youtube removed the channel (March 2024) due to copyright issues, some videos have been uploaded to the internet archive here)
Primitive technologies's youtube playlist of various remastered of old short films and street scenes
Denis Shiryaev's youtube channel - several street scenes 1900s-1920s
BBC Archive "Hop aboard an audiovisual time machine, that will transport you back to the golden age of TV." (playlists include things like retro tech and gaming, fashion, newsreels, the making of..., etc)
National Film and Sound Archive of Australia highlights of their collection from 1913-today
Charlie Dean Archives tons of archival videos from places like bbc, nasa etc

Clothing and hygiene (historical):
The Portrait Timeline Portraits and paintings from around the world searchable by historical eras or keywords.
NationalClothing.Org "read about various national clothing articles, the history of traditional dress and modern life of vintage pieces of clothes, the characteristics and traditional features of specific national costumes, and among other topics."

How to wear a toga (youtube video from University of Leicester)
How to tie a subligaculum (wrapped loincloth worn in Roman times)

Underwear in the Middle Ages
Video - Can You Move In Armour? a video recreating the deeds of the famous knight Jean le Maingre, known as Boucicaut, which were put in writing in the early 15th century. (and article with more info)
Armour references- style broken down by era, diagram breaking down the various pieces and how to wear it (gif of someone putting on the various pieces) and a useful and huge info post on armor
Armor Tutorials and References

Traditional Chinese and Byzantine armour components A brief introduction and analysis
Ming, Qing and Japanese armour components A brief introduction and analysis
Clothes of the Ming Dynasty Created specifically for The Sleuth of the Ming Dynasty but very good for general overview of clothes for the general era(AO3 work)

Renaissance Clothing- lots about what was worn and why (The meaning behind Renaissance/medieval clothing colors is very interesting)

History of Laundry
Laundry in the 18th Century (4 video playlist); combined into a single video
History of Hygiene Timeline
Museum of Menstruation - collection of links about menstruation throughout history and the world
Soaps & Detergent, a History (timeline, chemistry, safety, etc)
History of Hygiene: Bathing, Teeth Cleaning, Toileting, & Deodorizing

Viking Clothing (what was worn and how it was made)
Evolution of Chinese Clothing and Cheongsam

Elizabethan Costuming Page hundreds of articles about 15th century clothing and costuming (in England and elsewhere)
Getting Dressed | Historical Clothing in the 17th Century Series clothing, textiles, and their creation in the American Colonies
Regency Era clothing (and how it compared to that of similar eras)
The mirror of the graces, or, the English lady's costume 1811 book on women's fashion (scanned copy)
A Primer on Regency Era women's fashion and men's fashion as well as 7 ways to tie a cravat (and how to make one)
Hair washing and care in the the 19th century
Article on the history of gendered restrooms and the salons attached sometimes
Victorian Lady in Her Boudoir (sfw 1 min film of a woman undressing from 1896, giving a good idea of the various layers women used to have to wear)
A Day at the Beach - c.1899 3 minute film of Étretat and Le Tréport in Normandy France
"A Sh*tty Guide to 18th Century Underwear" a tumblr infographic/tutorial (women's undergarments)
How did Victorian women go to toilet? (youtube video- excellent demonstrations)
The Symington Fashion Collection 130 images of extant corsets and other historical women's undergarments (The Leicestershire County Council also has over 100 corset patterns here)
A Victorian Fancy Dress Ball: Popular Costumes of the Late 19th Century some of these have to be seen to be believed (wayback machine link)
Timeline of Women's Fashion - infographic, 1794-1970
19th Century Fashion Infographics of men's and women's dress, undergarments, hats, etc
Digital Collections of Extant Costumes - a directory listing online collections of extant (ie surviving) historical costume, generally in museums (in numerous different countries covered lots of different eras.)
The Cut of Men's Clothes, 1600-1900 by Norah Waugh (pdf, on the wayback machine here or also here)
When Men Had Too Many Pockets (Youtube video delving into how overly pocketed Victorian men's clothing was)
Corsets and Crinolines "the changing shapes of women’s dress from the 1500s to the 1920s" (pdf)
Video of modern recreation of a woman getting dressed in a 'Walking outfit for the 1900s' showing all the layers involved.

iWareBatik site (also an app) that has info on identifying Batik textiles, philosophical values behind the motif, its place of origin, useful information about local producers and more
Tirazain- a digital archive and library with the aim to document and preserve Palestinian embroidery.
Royal School of Needlework Stitch Bank "The RSN Stitch Bank aims to digitally conserve and showcase the wide variety of the world’s embroidery stitches and the ways in which they have been used in different cultures and times."
Stitch Picture's Embroidery Stitch Picture Dictionary documenting hundreds of stitches
Antique Pattern Library "This ongoing project is an effort to scan craft pattern publications that are in the public domain, to preserve them... They are available, for free, to anyone who wants them, for educational, personal, artistic and other creative uses."
The Quilt Index "an open access, digital repository of thousands of images, stories and information about quilts and their makers drawn from hundreds of public and private collections around the world."

The UNT Texas Fashion Collection
Los Angeles County Museum of Art's Costume and Textiles Pattern Collection
Vogue Pattern Book 1949-1955

HatHistorian "A small channel dedicated to short histories of various hats"

Clothing (general or modern):
Vintage Dancer "When you need to find vintage style clothing…. When you need to learn fashion history…. When you need costume help…. VintageDancer is the answer!" (Victorian era clothing through 1990's)
We Wear Culture- Google and museums/schools/etc collaboration creating a searchable archive of some 30,000 fashion pieces that puts "three millennia of fashion at your fingertips"
OSF Costume Rentals A costume rental website several different decades of clothing from medieval to the 1980s
Glamourdaze - "A vintage fashion and beauty archive" (from 1900-1960 only, but lots of info)
Tie-a-tie not only how to tie various ties, but dress codes guides and accessories
How To Tie a Necktie into a Bow Tie (video)
High-Heels guide - 25 common types
Hosiery terms (wayback machine link)
Scanned copy of a 1982 Victoria’s Secret catalog (via the wayback machine)
Image of dress silhouettes illustrating different sleeves, necklines, collars, and dress types (full tumblr post)
Women's Blouse Collars 1940s-50s
A Visual Dictionary to Women's Tops (Infographic)
The Ultimate Sleeves Fashion Vocabulary infographic and Collars infographic (women's clothing)
The Ultimate Collars and Cuffs Fashion Vocabulary infographic (men's)
How To Gatsby: Overview For Gentlemen infographics and information on hats, suits, shoes etc (wayback machine link)
The Discerning Gentleman's Guide to Shoes
An infographic guide to suits and menswear
Classic black tie dress code infographic and quick guide (the latter site also has links for vintage black tie etiquette, history, white tie, and much, much more)
How to Dress Your Man/Character: An Informal Tutorial Heavy on the PicSpam
Various infographs on men's suits- here (with shoe information as well) and here (ensuring a proper fit, matching colors, collars and more)
Men's hats (focused on US/Europe, mostly 1920s-40s)
Essential men’s boots guide (infographic, wayback machine link)
Women's Coats: A Visual Guide (infographic, wayback machine link)
A Visual Fashion Guide For Women - Necklines, Skirts, Bras, Blazers, Collars, Shorts and Heels (set of infographics)

Vintage Sewing Pattern Wiki- over 80k of patterns, searchable by decade, season, garment, brand, etc
CoPA- Commercial Pattern Archive - over 55,000 scanned images (garments & pattern schematics) from 61,000 commercially produced patterns, dating back to 1847.
FreeSewing FreeSewing is open source software to generate bespoke sewing patterns, loved by home sewers and fashion entrepreneurs alike." Pick a design, add measurements, customize your pattern.
University of Kentucky's 10 page DIY clothing repair guide (pdf)

Set of infographics on applying makeup (wayback machine link)
Post focusing on eyeshadow
Cosmetics and Skin -"Stories from the history and science of cosmetics, skin-care and early Beauty Culture."
UKhairdressers Style Gallery - a massive database full of high-quality images of different hairstyles (site is gone but somewhat backed up by wayback machine)
Hair and Makeup Artist Handbook - articles broken into era/period under the 'period hair & makeup ' tab range from 1600s-1980s

fashioninfographics "a comprehensive blog/archive of infographics decoding fashion for both women and men" (no longer updated)
omgthatdress - "A blog for fashion and history." (easily searchable tags to see different outfits from different eras)


Research and Resource Collected Links Masterpost

For those times your fanfic canvas needs something in the background or you're writing original fic and you need to build your own universe from scratch.

Folklore/Mythology/Theology/Supernatural/Paranormal info:
God Checker - lots of different pantheons to search through
Folklinks, a Folk and Fairy-Tale Site
University of Pittsburgh's Folklore and Mythology Electronic Texts
Yokai "the online database of Japanese folklore"
The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries (originally published 1911, archive.org link)
The darker superstitions of Scotland, illustrated from history and practice (originally published 1834, archive.org link)
Superstitions of the Highlands & Islands of Scotland, Collected entirely from Oral Sources (originally published 1900, archive.org link)
Irish National Folklore Collection - only a portion of the half million digitized pages have been transcribed but a huge resource of folklore and myth
British Goblins: Welsh Folk-lore, Fairy Mythology, Legends and Traditions (1880) (article and scanned book)
Welsh myths and folklore (from nationaltrust.org)
Welsh Folk Tales collection at Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales
The Theoi Project, a site exploring Greek mythology and gods in classical literature and art
UMass Amherst's Folklore Web Resources
Folklore and Mythology LibGuide at the University of Washington Libraries
The Secret Commonwealth: Of Elves, Fauns, and Fairies (written 1691, published 1815, official pdf scan and annotated version)
Plant Lore, Legends and Lyrics (originally published 1892, archive.org link)
Nunnehi US Southeast fair folk
Pantheon of nonhuman Cherokee creatures (wayback machine link)
Native American Folklore by Tribe (site is run by a non-profit organization dedicated to the survival of Native American languages)
Encyclopedia of Myths
Encyclopedia of Mythicia
Monstropedia "The Monstrous Encyclopedia" (wayback machine link, the newer wikia version doesn't appear to be as thorough)
Internet Sacred Text Archive (an archive of free books on religion, spirituality, mythology, folklore, alchemy, parapsychology, etc)
The Dictionary of Phrase and Fable
Collection of Victorian articles on folklore from the "Girls' Own Paper" published 1880-1891 (wayback machine link)
Collection of Open Access Monographs in Classics, Ancient History, Art History, and Archaeology - links to digital repositories, ancient art history, classics and ancient history, and classical archaeology
The Biodiversity Heritage Library has many helpful collections like Curious and Bizarre Creatures, Extinct Species and Monsters are Real available online as well as numerous other scientific, botany, zoological, etc collections
A Book of Creatures compilation of various creatures from myth and legend from different points in history around the world (currently on hiatus but with a huge archive of creatures)
Under the Cotton Tree: The Tales of Trinidad and Tobago
bestiarium "A bestiary of lesser known mythological creatures from around the world"
Multilingual Folk Tale Database "Welcome to the Multilingual Folk Tale Database. On this site, you can read popular folk tales from all over this world, in their original or a translation." This site also contains the Aarne-Thompson-Uther Classification of Folk Tales

The Haunted Palace - a "History, Folklore and the Supernatural" blog with hundreds of articles on all sorts of subjects

Language Creation:
The Language Creation Society
The Language Construction Kit
Wikihow's 'How to Create a Language'
Designing Alien Alphabets (wayback machine link)
various conlang word generators: one, two, three (and another that is currently down for maintenance)
How to create a language in one day (wayback machine link)
How To Create Your Own Language
Omniglot has tons of information on existing languages as well as constructed scripts for constructed languages, fictional and magical alphabets as well as just a ton of general information on languages and alphabets from around the world.
Vulgar: a Language generator- free version will provide 200 words, paid version provides 2000 along with other features
The International Phonetic Alphabet (with audio illustrations)

Conlanging for cheaters some quick tips

If you want to crib your language off an ancient one Lexicity is a great resource with over two dozen, ranging from Akkadian to Ugaritic. (wayback machine link)
You can also check out this list of Open Access Ancient Language Textbooks, OERs, and Primers relating to the ancient world.

World Creation:
First, an interesting article on actual maps vs typically drawn fantasy maps to consider

Design Your Planet website will design a planet after you determine the amount of your world is covered in land, its rate of volcanism and position within the habitable zone
Tectonics.js "Tectonics.js is a 3d plate tectonics simulator written in javascript. It allows you to create realistic fantasy worlds from your web browser."
Mapgen4 "Pick a starting seed, then paint mountains, valleys, and oceans on the map! It will simulate evaporation, wind, and rainfall to determine biomes and rivers."
Fantasy Map Generator - quite a lot you can customize with this one
Fractal World Generator
Dave's Mapper (cities, dungeons, caverns, scifi ships, structures)
Tutorial to draw your own map- the macaroni method (wayback machine link)
Tutorial to draw your own map and decide its topography - the dice method
Medieval Fantasy City Generator
SciFi World Generator (there are numerous world and name generators on this site)
Create a Galaxy (more of an art adventure than actual galaxy building, but still neat)
World Anvil (designed for both rpg players and authors World Anvil "offers a host of worldbuilding features – timelines, interactive maps and way more – to help you build up your homebrew world as your PCs explore further afield.")

r/mapmaking's mapmaking wiki and r/worldbuilding's worldbuilding wiki

Fantasy Calendar Generator - helps you create a calendar for your world

Legal Worldbuilding Guide "You’re worldbuilding, and you need a legal system." (a guide on how to do that, AO3 work)
How to Write a Believable World: A Guide to Worldbuilding (some good general How To thoughts)

City Creation:
City structure models to consider in your world
Lonely Cities (I and II): "A look at the human terrain – that is, the landscape created by human activity – formed by agriculture outside of large pre-modern cities." (what fiction often forgets when worldbuilding cities)
City & Town Name Generator "The city and town name generator uses a database of over five million names across more than 150 countries."
Guide to Naming a Town or City considering ideas including genre, theme, tone, time, size, geography and more
How to Design a Town Map

Procgen Village Generator

Home Creation:
Procgen Mansion Generator create 3d mansions, complete with floor plans
Room Sketcher - Create Floor Plans and Home Design Online (for modern homes)
Eplans.com is a website that sells blueprints for house. Choose the # of beds, baths, floors and type of garage and get numerous detailed plans and house types to choose from.
Floorplanner Design and furnish a home or office (requires a free account to use)

Name Creation:
Other things that might help when considering names (and coming up OCs' names in general):
A Guide to Names and Naming Practices published in 2006 by the UK/Interpol to show that "names are a valuable source of information. They can indicate gender, marital status, birthplace, nationality, ethnicity, religion, and position within a family or even within a society." Perusing it might give ideas along those lines for your society/culture.
Huge tumblr post of name resources
So You Want to Name a Sino "A Guide to Not Making a Fucking Fool of Yourself" (wayback machine link)
Chinese Names + Naming Resources (linghxr's tumblr has numerous posts on creating and pronouncing Chinese names)
Kate Monk's Onomastikon, the original (1997) internet name resource
Mandarin Chinese Character Name Generator (names plus their translation)

(there are also numerous name generators as well as lists of names from various eras in the generators resources post)


Research and Resource Collected Links Masterpost

I'm not necessarily endorsing any of these as I haven't done more then poke about on any of them, but some look useful. Be aware that some of these programs may now use or be associated with AI, so use at your own discretion.

Multilingual:
Language Tool - a multilingual grammar, style and spell checker
Verbix - Online verb conjugation for English, French, German, Italian, Arabic, Japanese, Latin, or Spanish.

English only editors of a sort:
Ginger- "The World’s Best Grammar Checker" Grammar Checker, Dictionary, Sentence Rephrase, Text Reader and Translation (Chrome extension, free)
slickwrite - grammar checker (online, free)
autocrit - "Manuscript Editing Software for Fiction Writers" (online, free)
Hemingway app Online editor, grading your writing by its readability.
ProWritingAid- Grammar Checking and Manuscript Editing software (online, free and paid versions, must register)
Scribens.com "A powerful, free English grammar checker"
grammarchecker - counts the number of characters, words, sentences & paragraphs with spaces and give you readability, reading level, reading time & speaking time of the text.
Word Frequency Counter (online, free)
Phrase Frequency Counter (online, free)
After the Deadline C&P your work for it to get feedback for grammar, spelling, etc (online, free)
Typely "free online online proofreading and essay editor"
grammarly - "free, accurate grammar checker" (chrome extension, free although some features are behind a paywall)
WordCounter - gives word count and also shows top 10 keywords and keyword density (online, free)
Easywordcount gives word and character count (online, free)
Readability Test Tool- Quick and easy way to test the readability of your work. (can check by url or C&Ping, online, free)
data·yze "Data driven apps based for names, writing assistance and more. Wherever there is data to be munched, we'll be there." (free, online, some apps more useful than others)

Article about why word counts differ between word programs

Writing, note taking, organization programs:
Open Office opensource free word program, no longer updated
LibreOffice another opensource free word program
Cetacean - "online writing tool for authors"
OmPad - writing app, saves as you write, customizeable (online, free)
Joplin -"Joplin is a free, open source note taking and to-do application, which can handle a large number of notes organised into notebooks. The notes are searchable, can be copied, tagged and modified either from the applications directly or from your own text editor."
Typehere - place to type akin to notebook, not a program
Type Here, The Online Text Editor - very simple online word program
yWriter- considered by some an excellent, but free, alternative to Scriviner. (free to download. Here is an article talking about how to use it best.)
Calmly Writer writing program with different modes (dyslexic, dark, distraction free, etc) as well as some other basics (online or app, free, no registration)
writer "Distraction free focus for your writing" (requires registration, free and pro versions)
Manuskript "a tool for those writer who like to organize and plan everything before writing... While writing, keep track of notes about every characters, plot, event, place in your story."
Obsidian writing, organizing, and notetaking app and canvas. (free to download)
Ellipsus writing program/platform (requires registration, free to use, has an anti-AI stance; tumblr post describing its export directly to AO3 feature)
SmartEdit Writer "Free Software for Novel and Short Story Writers" (download to use)

Writing Encouragement:
Written Kitten every 100 words gives you a picture of a cute kitten
Fighter’s block - try to defeat a monster by writing

Random other useful programs for writing/plotting/thinking/arting etc:
The Alphabetizer- not only alphabetizes, but can sort by first or last name, capitalize the list, remove duplicates or html, randomize and more
Free Online Text Word Counter - word counter with options to fiddle with formats, including HTML encoding, and you can export to different file types.
notebook.ai "a worldbuilding tool that organizes, saves, and helps in fully fleshing out your fictional world, your way."
Hiveworld - "Powerful, Customizable Novel Organizer" along with articles about writing, location and name generators (must register, online, free)
Bubbl.us- create a mind map- good for trying to organize different ideas that play off of one another (free, can register or just use as is)
Miro - formerly called realtimeboard, this site is like a whiteboard where you can plan and draw anything you need for your writing project. You can also insert videos, documents, photos, etc. (online, free, requires registering)
Loopy - "A tool for thinking in systems; a movement to make learning active, not just passive"
diagrams.net - "free, high quality diagramming software"
Online Genogram Maker also makes graphs and flowcharts

Online MSpaint-like program
Photopea - advanced image editor (aka a photoshop knockoff)
ipiccy "Photo Editor. Collage Maker. Graphic Designer Everything you need to make your photo awesome online"
Pixlr E "Free Advanced Photo Editor & Design Maker"


Research and Resource Collected Links Masterpost

Fighting sans weapons:
How To Actually Win A Fist Fight (wayback machine link)
Boxing Vocabulary and tips on writing a boxing scene.
Breakdown of how to wrap your hands for boxing and an infographic on how to wrap your hands for fighting in general (and why you do it)
Basic Ground Fighting Techniques (from US Army study guide)
Contact points used in Karate - set of infographics of parts of the body used for strikes and various hits. (wayback machine link)
Combato: The Art Of Self Defence WWII manual for "Women War Workers, Soldiers and Civilians" to teach quick and easy to learn combative, disarming and self defense moves. (And gifset of a disarming move)
Judo Jymnastics - 1947 self defense for women film short staring Mary Parker (not the best techniques probably, but definitely interesting for the historical factor)

Guns of various sorts:
What Really Happens In A Gunfight? (2010 article written by a tactical trainer, wayback machine link)
Firearms Tutorial (*very detailed* with pages on history, anatomy, ballistics, injuries, criminology, etc)
How to Fire a Handgun Safely and Correctly
Info on Stun Guns (there are also some links on how stun guns and tasers work and what injuries they give in the medical/injury post)
Taser Basics
Realistic Writing Handguns including stopping power, recoil, gunbarrel length and links for more info, including videos (wayback machine link)
How to stand when firing a gun (focusing on historical pistols vs modern handguns- written about Ichabod Crane on Sleepy Hollow)
Several blog posts on gun basics for writers (wayback machine link)
An In Depth Guide to Firearms
Gun Terms For Writers
Writing firearms in fiction (tumblr post by author Peter Morwood)
Gun Safeties for Writers, or, does the gun even have one? (tumblr post by author Peter Morwood)
Set of infographics on how a handgun works
Cleaning various guns: shotguns, revolvers, pistols, and rifles
the Inception Fic Writer's Guide to Firearms An oldie, but goodie. Written for the Inception fandom, but does a good job in explaining the basics of firearms and points out what movies/tv shows get wrong. (Link goes to part 1)
"Flagging" aka the wrong way to carry a weapon (and the right way to do it)
Forgotten Weapons' video playlists information on and demonstrations of various guns of different eras and countries of origin (including one on the Afghan Traditional Jezail for a look at the weapon that Watson faced during the Second Anglo-Afghan War)
How to make musket balls (video)

Other weapons:
Disarming an opponent in a sword fight
Sword Fighting For Fic Writers - a 14 chapter set of tumblr posts (link goes to chapter 1, other chapters linked from there)
Things that People Forget About When Writing Sword Fights (tumblr post with additions by authors Diane Duane and Peter Morwood and more)
Cut and Thrust of Blade Combat (a few things to consider, wayback machine link)
A quick guide to spear and pole fighting
Guide to Archery
Interesting video on Hollywood's version of archery vs historical and a video by the same guy delving into a few of the points with more depth. (Although interesting, take his ideas with a grain of salt, there are numerous issues with his points as seen in this article)
Historical vs Modern Archery educational video and a expert's response to it (which is very in depth and quite interesting and deals with some of the issues brought up in the Hollywood v historical one as well; if looking for any specific archery info, check out his channel)
Whips, Chains and Scarves and other flexible weapons and how to use them
1908 magazine article Defeat Of The Hooligan wherein Mrs Sanderson, "one of the finest swordsman in England", demonstrates how to defend herself against a hooligan using only a typical umbrella. google books link or a slightly clearer pdf link.
Pictures and descriptions on different grips for knives and when to use which.
Knife fighting techniques
Knife Grip and Holding Techniques
Wikihow's How to Become Good at Knife Fighting
Masterpost of links on fighting with daggers and other bladed weapons (wayback machine link)
A soldier describing what it feels like, physically, when a bomb goes off
What to do if you are caught in a bomb blast

Writing advice and things to consider:
Helpful things for action writers to remember
Collection of links on How to Write a Fight Scene (wayback machine link)
Writing Fight Scenes: The VIOLENT Method
How to shoot your characters without killing them (wayback machine)
Something to consider regarding what clothes your character is wearing while fighting: "Ask a Bespoke Tailor: How Can James Bond Fight in Those Suits?"
A Crack Shot: On Writing Characters Who Shoot - Or: How to Write Your Gun-Toting Badass In a Way That Doesn’t Strain Your Reader’s Suspension of Disbelief
Lets Talk About Sparring written by someone trained in Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA), with additional info added
Where To Hit In A Fight (infographic)

Escaping:
Several ways to break out of zip ties, comic on how to use a bobby pin to get out of zip ties, another method for getting out of them when your hands are secured behind the back and also a general infographic about getting out of zip ties
Escaping Handcuffs - Information for Writers (wayback machine link)
Video demonstrating how to get out of handcuffs
Six Ways to Escape from Handcuffs, Zip Ties & Duct Tape (video)
(Also check out other methods of breaking into or out of locked rooms in the random links post)

Military/Spy stuff:
giant military masterpost (wayback machine link) and a second one (wayback machine link)
For humor/historical's sake, Private Pete Learns To Be A Good Soldier, a 1943 textbook for soldiers at basic training, described by its authors as “packed with military information, written in the language of the trainee, who is learning to read and write, whether he be illiterate or non-English speaking”
Written for Captain America's canon, but the later chapters of this AO3 work have a good look at WWII uniforms, kits, weapons, dog tags, etc
A Pocket Reference Guide: Army, Navy, Marine Corps Insignia WWII - published 1943 (tumblr post, also contains some Captain America speculation)
How to be a green beret - at least in casual conversation
OSS Simple Sabotage Field Manual- The US Strategic Services' 1944 field guide to sabotage - how to encourage "citizen-saboteurs" as well as practical guidance for obstruction.
Hand Signals used in the US Army (pdf), article of numerous different standard military hand signals (signs differ through time and by military, google if looking for a specific one)
NPR article "U.S. Military Lingo: The (Almost) Definitive Guide"
Glossary of Military Terms & Slang, a list of Air force Terminology and Navy terminology. Also, a list of common slang/jargon a veteran might continue to use in everyday life.
Surviving Basic Training articles for US Army, Marines, US Navy, and US Airforce
A Week in US Air Force ROTC
AR 670-1 - US Army Regulation 670-1 pdf- Everything you might ever want to know about what's allowed re: uniform and personal appearance (in and out of uniform)
US Army jargon masterpost
US Army ranks and what they're in charge of and a list of enlisted ranks
Post about US army body armor
What happens when a soldier is wounded in a combat environment (modern, US Army example)
Final roll call (when an active duty US army soldier is killed)
Character Guide – What Your Character Experiences While Leaving the Military
List of weapons/firearms used by U.S. Armed Forces, British Armed Forces, French Armed Forces, German Armed Forces, and Russian Armed Forces- including when they began to be used and out-of-service weapons (all wayback machine links)

Pilot Callsigns "The web's largest collection of callsign stories"

Interesting post about Combat Medics

The Service of Security and Information by Arthur Lockwood Wagner- originally published in 1893 as a textbook for teaching the art of war and espionage (google books pdf, archive.org version, hathitrust digital library version)
Language of Espionage
Clothing Britain’s Spies during World War II - interesting article about all the little details needed to consider when sending a spy into enemy territory
On the Record: Archetype of a Spy (podcast episode, about what spies actually look like, what they do and why)
"Former FBI Agent Explains How to Read Body Language" (video)
The Official CIA Manual of Trickery and Deception (archive.org)
How Spies Use Disguises - "Former Chief of Disguise for the CIA, Jonna Mendez, explains how disguises are used in the CIA, and what aspects to the deception make for an effective disguise." (video)
Cold War Spy Gadgets another from Jonna Mendez- discussing some of the tactics, gadgets and disguises CIA operatives used in the field during the Cold War. (video)
Former CIA Chief of Disguise Breaks Down 30 Spy Scenes From Film & TV - another by Jonna Mendez and includes some very good techniques about what works and what doesn't and why (video)

Crime Museum - information on all aspects of crime and forensics as well as a huge resource library of famous crimes (ranging from piracy, robbery, murder, war crimes, etc) and criminals (of all sorts) through history and much much more.

Policing, Laws, Forensics, and Autopsies:
SWAT Manual: SWAT operational guidelines and standardized training recommendations California Commission on Police Officer Standards and Training, published 2005 (PDF, wayback machine link)
Policing in the UK, a brief guide (14 page pdf, wayback machine link) and Becoming a Special Constable updated (2019) version.
Masterlist of US police work/law enforcement links
Crime Scene Practice (UK)
What a bomb technician wears (video cued up to the process of putting on a bomb suit)
Police Jargon: How to Talk Like a Cop (wayback machine link)
How An FBI Profiler Spots A Lie and also Signs Of Lying
Former FBI Analyst Explains Criminal Profiling (video, beginning at the breakdown of what it is and how they do it)
Reference Sheet for British firearms law excellent write up on UK laws regarding guns, tasers, knives etc.
Scriptlawyer’s Ultimate Mythbusting Guide to Court Procedure (wayback machine link)

Crime Scene Investigator Network articles, manuals and videos on everything crime scene related- crime scene response, evidence collection, documentation, etc etc etc
How Crime Scene Investigation Works
Guide to Crime Scene Investigation A comprehensive guide to crime scene investigations with a section concentrating on responding officers. (PDF- wayback machine link)
Forensic Document Examination
Black Powder Processing (aka dusting for fingerprints)
Fingermark/Fingerprint collection and identification
Forensics Expert Explains How to Lift Fingerprints (youtube video)
Forensics Expert Explains How to Analyze Bloodstain Patterns (youtube video)
Forensics Expert Explains How to Determine Bullet Trajectory (youtube video)
What blood spatter stains are trying to tell you
Bloodstain pattern analysis infographic (includes info on types of spatter, other bloodstain patterns, impact angle, and more)
A little more on blood spatter and how temperature affects how it dries
Will Washing Clothes Really Destroy Bloodstains?
A Screenwriter's Guide to the Autopsy (wayback machine link)
The 21 Steps of an Autopsy (wayback machine link)
Autopsies For Authors (podcast episode of The Creative Penn with transcript)
Mistakes Writers Make about Coroners ... and How to Avoid Them (podcast episode of The Indy Author)
Pathology of Knife Wounds (wayback machine link)
The real CSI: what happens at a crime scene?
The CSI Effect: Fact v Fiction (infographic, rebloggable tumblr post)
Round up of articles breaking down issues with forensics and some of the pseudoscience behind it
Basics of forensic entomology (use of insect life-cycles and behaviours to interpret evidence)
Stages of Deterioration and Decomposition in the Human Body a timeline
Forensic Entomology a website designed to teach police officers and homicide investigators "the minimal skills they will need to interact profitably with a forensic entomologist."(wayback machine link)
How to write characters working in forensics (a list of jobs and tips, wayback machine link)

other related things:
Hit Man: A Technical Manual for Independent Contractors - fictional, but written as if by an actual experienced assassin, as a how-to manual on contract killing that ended up being used in numerous actual murders (now in public domain, archive.org link)
How to Write Investigation Guides as compiled for the Superbat Big Bang- Part One, A Guide to Doing The Casefic And Maybe Only Suffering a Little, and part two, Doing The Casefic And Suffering A Bit More Than Before (gdocs)
(a few historical police/criminal links on the history etc post)

some sites to check for more info:
How to Fight Right - not easy to navigate, posts range in usefulness. (but here's one masterlist in response to an ask)
True Forensics
Box of Truth a website devoted to firearms as well as testing the penetration of various rounds
FirearmsID a website with tons of general articles on firearms forensics and if you register (easy to do, does not spam) you can delve even deeper into the site with things like its virtual comparison microscope and more.
500 different Military Manuals these run the gauntlet from 1930s radio operation to Vietnam Guerilla Warfare & Special Forces Operations to Canadian Nuclear Weapons effects to 1990 US Journalism handbooks, vehicle maintenance, counter intelligence and much, much more.
Ask a Coroner (what it says on the tin, numerous previous asks posted with their answers for your perusal)

{There are also tons of resources at archive.org so googling something + "site:archive.org" might bring up useful manuals, etc}


Research and Resource Collected Links Masterpost

Words to use instead of common ones:

Words to replace said - grouped according to usage and emotion so actually helpful.
Words to use instead of SAID - words separated by categories and emotions. (Definitions and examples for the words provided)
An infographic of said replacements - grouped by usage/intent (rebloggable tumblr post)
A similar list of said replacements (wayback machine link)
Said replacements, another list.
More said replacements grouped by emotion/tone
Synonyms for the most commonly used words of the English language
100 Ways to Say "Good"
Synonyms For Very (as in 'Very afraid=fearful', 'Very happy=ecstatic' etc)
45 ways to avoid saying "very"
50 ways to say 'looks' or 'seems like'
Words to use instead of ‘Look’
Powerful and Meaningful Verbs to Use in an Analysis (Alternatives to Show) (wayback machine link)
250 Words for "Went"
200 words that describe light (physical descriptions, types and anthropomorphisms)

Descriptive words:

Words to describe taste, smell and sound
Words to describe smells (wayback machine link)
209 Words to describe touch
Geographic descriptions for writers
150 words to describe the taste of food
Aroma Chart - descriptive breakdown of smells by odor, intensity, complexity and quality
Aroma and Taste Chart -detailed descriptive breakdown of words to describe aromas and tastes

Describing body language, emotions, people, places and things:

100 Words to Describe Someone's Body (wayback machine link)
Hair Color Reference Chart
Words to Describe Hair (focused on Afro/Curly styles and headcoverings)
Writing with Color's guide to describing skin tone
100 Words for Facial Expressions
Words to describe someone's voice
240 Words to Describe Someone’s Tone/Voice (wayback machine link)
Tone Vocab List - by positive, negative, humor, worrying, neutral, etc grouping
Masterlist of Physical Descriptions (only moderately helpful and not easy to navigate)
Masterlist of categorized links on writing expressions
A list of body language phrases and one with a few more
Feelings Word Guide infographic of feelings broken up by the different emotion
Resources for Describing Emotions (Masterlist of links)
Degrees of 5 different emotions- infographics breaking down anxiety, sadness, happiness, love and anger into descriptive degrees
Appearance Adjectives (wayback machine link)
Feelings Adjectives (wayback machine link)
Emotions: show, don't tell

Cheat Sheets For Writing Body Language
Writers Write Body Language Cheat Sheet - general movements as well as specific upper body, lower body and eye movements and what they might mean (wayback machine link)
Emotion and Body Language writing cheat sheet (for linking actions with emotions, wayback machine link)
Body Language Cheat Sheet for Writers (body language in context)
Writing Body Language cheatsheet (and a PDF version of it)
Body Language Master List (Huge gdoc with chart showing different ways to describe different emotions broken down by body part)
Using Body Language - Site with links to numerous different traits and how to describe them via body language (also with descriptions broken down by body part and emotions and message)
The Nonverbal Dictionary (wayback machine link)

400+ Ways to Exploit Facial Expressions in Writing - an 'Emotion Beats and Physical Manifestations Cheat Sheet'

Wheel of Emotions - original and Plutchik’s version - Very useful since they're categorized by relationship and intensity.
41 Emotions as Expressed through Body Language (wayback machine link, tumblr rebloggable version)
Chart of emotions, listed by strength and feeling conveyed.
Huge gdoc with words to describe different emotions, broken down by intensity
638 Primary Personality Traits
Four Temperaments Chart - Strengths and weaknesses of four different types of people and ways to describe them each. (wayback machine link)

Describing (Fictional) Accents words for sounds, flow, dialects, and pronunciation descriptions.

Writing Characters of Different Races and Ethnicities - "Resources for writers who want to include characters who are a different race, ethnicity, or culture from their own in their work."

Resources For Describing Physical Things - a website that has descriptions (sight, sounds, smells, taste, and touch) for hundreds of different places and things ranging from abandoned mines to bridges to frozen tundra to movie theaters etc etc as well as for colors and various colors, textures and shapes.

Action/Sex scene descriptive words:
Fighting Words - "Active verbs to use in a fight scene or an otherwise violent encounter, color-coded by severity, and categorized by type of fight."
Descriptive Words for Use in Combats, Fights and Battles (wayback machine link)
Alternative words for 'walk'
Walk Alternatives broken down by action (chart)
Words to describe fights and other actions
Words and Phrases To Include In Your Sex Scenes (also a wayback machine link to a longer version with nouns, verbs and adjectives, words for the act itself, positions, euphemisms and much much more; also this info in a convenient gdoc link)
How to write a kiss scene (details, words, and descriptions to consider including)
Smut Thesaurus [18+/NSFW]
Lewd Vocabulary in Erotic Writing survey results - compiled responses to a series of questions aiming to discover preferred English lewd vocabulary choices for use by romance and erotica writers. (3.5k+ respondents from various social media sites, NSFW, PDF)
(see the randomness post for a collection of link of things to consider regarding sex and writing sex scenes)

Word/Phrase Finders/Helpers:
Definr- online dictionary that tries to guess (and provide links for) the word as you type, so very useful if you are certain how a word starts but not sure of the rest of it. (currently down for maintenance)
Visual Online Dictionary
Cliché Finder
Word Hippo (a comprehensive thesaurus for synonyms and antonyms, useful when thesaurus.com isn't spitting out what you need)
Thsrs - the "thesaurus that only gives you synonyms shorter than the word you’re looking up" (accuracy is questionable sometimes, but still can be a useful resource)
Panlexicon - an online thesaurus that gives you a cluster of different words
Related Words Website (finds words that are related to a specific word or phrase)
Describing Words Website (finds adjectives for things that you're trying to describe)
Reverse Dictionary - search for words by their definition
Tip of My Tongue (perform searches to find that word that you've been thinking about, but just can't seem to remember via its meaning, word length, letters it might have, etc)
OneLook's thesaurus /reverse dictionary (describe a concept and get back a list of words and phrases related to it)
The Phrase Finder - 2000 English idioms, phrases, and proverbs with their meanings and origins explained.
List of Contronyms (words that are their own antonyms)
synonyms for the most commonly used words of the english language
Big Huge Thesaurus (an online thesaurus and also a story plot generator)
Verbix, an English verb conjugation site will conjugate any verb for you
Idiom and Phrase dictionary
Commonly misused words/phrases/grammar errors
Qwillbot "The smart thesaurus for sentences" (in theory rewrites sentences, although not terribly differently as far as I could tell)
OED's Weird and Wonderful Words (wayback machine link)
World Wide Words "Investigating the English language across the globe" (The origins and definitions of numerous English words and phrases)
Cambridge Dictionary separate British and American dictionaries, grammar links, a thesaurus and several translation dictionaries
Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable Edited by: Susie Dent, 19th ed, 2013, online. ("new" edition, published 1898 and 3rd edition, published 1952 scanned copies at archive.org)
Brewer’s Dictionary of Modern Phrase & Fable Edited by: John Ayto and Ian Crofton, 20th and 21st Century focus, 2nd edition, 2011, online.

Words and their Timeframes (was word X used in time Y type things) and Sexual Slang:
Google Books' Ngram Viewer - search to see when/if words or phrases appear in published works (very useful to check if a term was used during a different time period) {more info on it}
Corpus of Historical American English similar to google books' ngram viewer, scours 400 million words of text from the 1810s-2000s and delivers word usage through that period (broken up by decade)
Wordsworth online app that "measure the language of historical fiction against fiction written in that era", can analyze a passage of text or two word phrase, it appears to use Google Ngram charts but limited to works from 1800-1923.
thetimelinesofslang tumblr like it says on the tin, numerous timelines of slang terms for all sorts of things including those for intercourse, penis, vagina, masturbation, sex, drugs, alcohol, religion, cops, etc.
Historical Dictionary of American Slang - allows you to search by year

Green's History of Slang - "500 years of the vulgar tongue"
Historical Slang Terms For Having Sex, From 1351 Through Today
Medieval Slang Terms and Terminology (PDF-wayback machine link)
Shakespearean Slang and Sexual Language
Elizabethan Slang and Terminology (wayback machine link)
A new dictionary of the terms ancient and modern of the canting crew (published 1699, transcribed version)
A-Z Guide to Street Slang from the 1700s
Blackguardiana: or, Dictionary Of Rogues, Bawds, Pimps, Whores, Pickpockets, Shoplifters, Mail-Robbers, Coiners, House-Breakers, Murderers, Pirates, Gipsies, Mountebanks {etc} (1793 book, link to scanned copy, text only also available. Definitions begin on p.25)
Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue late 18th century directory of slang words compiled by Francis Grose (third ed, 1796, archive.org link)
1811 Dictionary in the Vulgar Tongue which includes such wonders as BETWATTLED: Surprised, confounded, out of one's senses, COCK-A-WHOOP: Elevated, in high-spirits, transported with joy, and MUTTON-HEADED: Stupid.
Vocabulum; or, The rogue's lexicon a book of slang published 1859

"Dictionary of Americanisms: A glossary of words and phrases" - 2nd edition, 1859 by John Bartlett (contains comparisons to Britishisms of the time as well, googlebooks)
The Devil's Dictionary - satirical dictionary by Ambrose Bierce published 1906 (also at gutenberg)
DIY Chinese Penis Euphemisms (anatomical and slang terms used for penis, tumblr post)

American and British slang dictionaries at HathiTrust 53 scanned slang dictionaries, published from 1700's-mid 20th C, numerous focuses
18th Century and Regency Thieves' Cant collected from 1737, 1811 and 1819 published sources (listed by category pages or search page)
Regency Cant and Expressions - Regency Expressions Collected from the Pages of Georgette Heyer
A Glossary of Edwardian Slang

etymonline (etymology dictionary for looking up the history and derivation of any word)
Thesaurus of English - The University of Glasgow's online resource whose "purpose is to provide a detailed record of the English vocabulary from the earliest times to the present, with sufficient accompanying information that, for any given period in the past, the user should be able to ascertain the exact state of the vocabulary (that is, the ‘lexical system’) which existed at that time."
The Dictionary of American Regional English- the online version of the multi-volume reference work that documents words, phrases, and pronunciations that vary from one place to another place across the United States.

Bunny Trails: A Word History Podcast - searchable website for the podcast that 'delves into the origins of idioms and phrases to find out how they came into the English language.'

The Rules for Long S "rules for the use of long s and short s are applicable to books in English, Welsh and other languages published in England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland and other English-speaking countries during the 17th and 18th centuries."

Specific, but neat/useful:
NASA's Sci-fi space and technology terms page (wayback machine link)
Old West slang
Cab Calloway's "Hepster's Dictionary” of Harlem musician slang circa 1938 (which is also apparently the first dictionary authored by an African-American- the link has a clip of him singing some of it.)

The Phrontistery - a site dedicated to unusual, rare and half forgotten words and their history.
Luciferous Logolepsy over 9k weird and wonderful archaic words (and the very helpful gdoc spreadsheet of the list as compiled by texasdreamer01)

Online translators (not really ideal to use, but if you can't find a native speaker to ask...):
http://www.verbix.com/translate/ - translates and conjugates verbs
http://translation.imtranslator.net/translate/default.asp
https://www.bing.com/translator/
https://translate.google.com/
https://www.deepl.com/translator
https://www.linguee.com/ - translator that is also good with sayings and common phrases(free, use online or as a downloadable app)
http://translation.babylon-software.com/
Dealing with Characters in Foreign Alphabets - various onestep converters/translators/transliterators for Hebrew, Yiddish, Russian, Greek, Arabic, Japanese, etc, (print and cursive where appropriate) to English (or from English to the others)
Word Dictionary - Look up Chinese, Pinyin or English, searching by Chinese characters, Mandarin pinyin or English definition

reverso - Word, expressions and idiom online translator. "Get relevant translations in context with real-life examples for millions of words and expressions" (over a dozen languages)


Research and Resource Collected Links Masterpost

I'm ashamed to admit I wasn't aware of all of these techniques.



(Posting mostly so I remember about them, but also to share in case anyone else finds it useful)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has made many of their out-of-print catalogues and art books available for viewing free online or as PDF downloads.

There are currently 634 titles available with subjects ranging from abstract expressionism to unicorn tapestries, Egyptian hieroglyphs to Chinese calligraphy and Korean Buncheong Ceramics to Vermeer and the Delft School.

Go check it out.