Midlands Historical Data News : 20/10/2003

• More about this project
• Latest CD Releases

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1. More about our project 

By concentrating our efforts in the Midlands, we are aiming to provide much more depth than other similar projects. In this newsletter we are offering a number of new Birmingham Directories. This adds to the series of Directories for the Dudley area we announced in our last newsletter. As we work our way around the region, we aim to add to these collections, so that over time we can make available the best collection of directories for this area available anywhere. And as long as you go on buying them, we should in time be able to be even more competitive than we already are ! Here's the new releases ...

New pre-1840 Birmingham directories
Today we are releasing a number of early directories for Birmingham that - with the exception of one - we don't believe are available anywhere else. Six of them were produced by R Wrightson in his series of Triennial Directories. The 1818 edition has been reprinted, and quite a lot of transcription work has been done on this, but we are not aware of any copies of the other directories available elsewhere. They are simply so rare that it is nearly impossible to obtain them.

In addition we have scanned two Victorian reprints of Birmingham Directories from 1770 and 1777. We understand that the 1770 directory is the first known directory for Birmingham. These two are even rarer than the Wrightson Directories.

We are therefore very excited to be able to offer copies of them on CD.

Other new releases
We are also releasing an early directory for the City of Worcester published by S Lewis in 1820, and Pigot's 1828 National Commercial Directory for the North of England (16 counties) and North Wales.

Feedback
The project is funded through sales of CD's, so our thanks go to each of you who have purchased our CD's.  Please continue to support the project by buying the CD's, as with continued funding we can continue to expand the range of directories available. Any comments you have on the CD's will be welcome.  We can only continue to survive by pleasing you, our customers, so please let us have your views - good and bad. You can use this link to provide feedback: mailto:enquiries@midlandshistoricaldata.org  

In passing, if any of you want a copy of a specific directory, do let us know via the feedback link, and we will see what we can do to track it down. In time, we aim to publish the Newsletter on a fortnightly basis, but for the first few issues will probably do this on a monthly basis.

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2. Latest CD releases - details 

To order any of these, please click the link (if it has arrived in your mailbox), or visit our web-site, where these titles are now available. 

Directories

The Streets and inhabitants of Birmingham in 1770 (1886)

This is a reprint of the earliest known directory of Birmingham. When it was reprinted in 1886 there were only two known copies of this rare directory. In the original the Birmingham directory filled 76 pages, and the "account of the number of houses and occupants, Male and Female" filled another 4. The editor has rearranged the list of inhabitants by street, and included a definition of trade classifications used. The reprint itself is rare - it is number 12 of only fifty copies which were produced for subscribers. Consequently, this is an extremely rare and valuable directory for anyone with ancestors from Birmingham in this early period. Kindly loaned to the project by the Birmingham and Midland Institute.

Birmingham 120 Years Ago - reprint of 1777 directory (1896)

Another reprint of an early Birmingham Directory. This was produced in 1896 by Edward Scarse, who was librarian of the Old Birmingham Library. The directory has been reprinted as it was in the original, which was an alphabetic listing of inhabitants. Charles Scarse has added a street directory, a classified trade directory, and also a name index. This is another rare early directory for Birmingham. Kindly loaned to the project by the Birmingham and Midlands Institute.

Wrightson's Triennial Directory of Birmingham (1815)

Wrightson's produced several Triennial Directories of Birmingham, and this series of directories is the earliest series of directories produced for Birmingham. They commenced as commercial directories, but as they evolved included private residents. Consequently, they are particularly valuable for anyone with ancestors from Birmingham, or for the local historian. This particular edition contains an alphabetic list of residents and traders, and a classified trade directory. Kindly loaned to the project by the Birmingham and Midland Institute. This directory is included in the Wrightson Collection along with five others at a special price of £29.79 (£35.00 inc VAT).

Collection of six Wrightson's Triennial Directories (1815-1839)

A collection of all six Wrightson Triennial directories which we offer (1815, 1818, 1823, 1828-30, 1833 and 1839) for just £35 including VAT. Separately, these would cost £70. Details of the individual directories are shown elsewhere on this page. The originals were kindly loaned to the project by the Birmingham and Midlands Institute.

Wrightson's Triennial Directory of Birmingham (1818)

Another of Wrightson's Triennial Directories of Birmingham which contains an alphabetic list of residents and traders, and a classified trade directory. Includes a street map of Birmingham. Kindly loaned to the project by the Birmingham and Midland Institute. This directory is included in the Wrightson Collection along with five others at a special price of £29.79 (£35.00 inc VAT).

Lewis's Directory of Worcesterhsire - Part 1, 1820

A very early directory of the City of Worcester, with additional sections for Droitwich, Bromsgrove and Stourbridge. There is an alphabetic listing of residents and traders, and a classified trade directory for each town (except Droitwich). Includes several nice advertisements for local firms. Kindly loaned to the project by Stourbridge Library.

Wrightson's Triennial Directory of Birmingham (1823)

Another of Wrightson's Triennial Directories of Birmingham which contains an alphabetic list of residents and traders, a classified trade directory, and a list of manufacturers from towns surrounding the city. Also included is a street map of Birmingham. Kindly loaned to the project by the Birmingham and Midland Institute. This directory is included in the Wrightson Collection along with five others at a special price of £29.79 (£35.00 inc VAT).

Pigot's National Directory (1828)

A rare early national directory, which covers the northern half of England and the North of Wales. The counties included are Cheshire, Cumberland, Derbyshire, Durham, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northumberland, Nottinghamshire, Rutlandshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Westmoreland, Worcestershire and Yorkshire. It follows Pigot's normal format for directories, with a classified commercial directory following a description of each location covered. The whole is available at a special price of £35 including VAT (they would be in excess of £150 if purchased separately). However, if you just want to purchase an individual county please follow this link. Kindly loaned to the project by Stourbridge Library.

Wrightson's Triennial Directory of Birmingham (1829-30)

Another of Wrightson's Triennial Directories of Birmingham which contains an alphabetic list of residents and traders, and a classified trade directory. Kindly loaned to the project by the Birmingham and Midland Institute. This directory is included in the Wrightson Collection along with five others at a special price of £29.79 (£35.00 inc VAT).

Wrightson's Triennial Directory of Birmingham (1833)

Another of Wrightson's Triennial Directories of Birmingham which contains an alphabetic list of residents and traders, and a classified trade directory. Kindly loaned to the project by the Birmingham and Midland Institute. This directory is included in the Wrightson Collection along with five others at a special price of £29.79 (£35.00 inc VAT).

Wrightson's Triennial Directory of Birmingham (1839)

Another of Wrightson's Triennial Directories of Birmingham which contains an alphabetic list of residents and traders, and a classified trade directory. Includes a list of streets in Birmingham. Kindly loaned to the project by the Birmingham and Midland Institute. This directory is included in the Wrightson Collection along with five others at a special price of £29.79 (£35.00 inc VAT).

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