Figure 1 – Author: W. & R. Jacob & Co., Title: [Jacob & Co's Biscuits], year: [1924].

 

We are thrilled to confirm that the Trade Literature Cataloguing project, funded by the Unlocking Hidden Collections Programme, has been extended for another year.

This project has the purpose of cataloguing the British Library’s trade literature from 1850 to 1940. The greater part of this material is from the former Patent Office Library, but some also from the British Museum. The collection includes product catalogues, promotional material and other trade literature from companies mainly from the UK, US, France and Germany. 

This is a large-scale project and since the project began in March 2024, more than 1,500 unbound product catalogues have been catalogued. Our goal is to be able to catalogue a further 1,700 items by the end of March 2026 and start making the collection easily accessible to our users.

This process has been an opportunity for us to assess more closely the size and character of the collection, while making it more visible to researchers. Our approach in the first year of the project has been to understand the challenges and constraints of dealing with a collection of this size while cataloguing the material. We have been able to discover what is inside each envelope, understand the types of publications available, and measure the time spent in cataloguing and conducting research to support this process.

The first month of the project was dedicated to cataloguing training and preliminary work - developing workflows (access to the collection, assessing preservation needs, liaising with colleagues to carry out stamping work). It was also used to get familiar with the collection and understand what metadata needed to be collected. The aim was to focus on metadata creation that would enable discovery of the collection by a wider range of users who may or may not be intentionally searching for trade literature. 

We are working with colleagues from other areas who have supported us in understanding the logistics of the retrieval, shelfmarking and labelling processes to make sure that the system will run smoothly. Approximately 26% of the items also require some sort of conservation treatment.

Most importantly, we have captured some significant data that is starting to help us understand the scope, provenance and condition of the trade literature collection.

Table 1: Data extracted between 15 May 2024 to 19 March 2025

The graph above illustrates an increased number of catalogues published after the 1890s, around the time when postal system and reductions in postage rates made it easier and more affordable for companies to distribute catalogues.

Table 2: Data extracted between 15 May 2024 to March 2025

Table 2 shows that the great majority of the catalogues were published in the UK, USA and Germany. That also give us an indication that most companies in the collection are British and American, followed by German and French companies.

Around 78% of the companies didn’t have a record on the Name Authority Cooperative Program (NACO), which means that we could not find any information about them at all! That has been the most challenging side of the project, but the most rewarding as well, as this indicates how rare the material is in our collection. Creating name authorities for these companies will not only help us create our own records but also help other trade literature repositories to identify items in their own collections.

Product catalogues played a key role in shaping consumer behaviour. Through enticing descriptions, vivid illustrations, and carefully curated product selections, retailers could influence the desires and preferences of their target audience. Now, they can be used by researchers for studying the history of science, engineering, medicine and many other disciplines. A great majority of those catalogues cover industries like chemicals, metallurgy, motor vehicles, heating and water supply. However, we have uncovered rare and beautiful catalogues on food, arts, household goods, furnishings and musical instruments much valuable for social historians. Many of these catalogues could also be approached from an artistic point of view, due to their beautiful illustrations.

 

Figure 1 – Author: Robert Jenkins and Co., Title: Boilers for domestic hot water supply, year: [1906]

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 2 – Author: John Jaques & Sons Limited, Title: Winter games, year: [1933]

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 3 – Author: Rolls-Royce, Title: Phantom III, year: [1936].

 

The visibility of these items will allow researchers to use the trade literature collection to determine the history of companies or individual industries, describe styles from furniture to machinery, analyse marketing and management techniques, and examine illustrations of every product imaginable.

Fernanda Turina

Trade Literature Cataloguer