Midlands Historical Data News : 08/04/2004

• More about this project
• Latest CD Releases

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1. More about our project 

New releases
Today we are releasing a number of directories, including several late Kelly's Directories, and a few more Gentleman's Magazines that we have scanned on request.

In addition, we are releasing four annual volumes of Birmingham Faces and Places originally published as monthly magazines between May 1888 and April 1892, which contain a lot of contemporary descriptions and photographic prints. These are fascinating. They are quite detailed, so are of particular use to a local historian - and also to a family historian if a biographical sketch in the book or description of a place in the book is relevant. They are very well illustrated, with around 80 photographic prints per volume. We have put a list of contents as published on this site (see Contents) but the format is inconsistent across the four volumes, so we suggest that you use the site search to more quickly find whether or not these books are of use to you.

Also, we are releasing The Black Country & its Industries, published in two volumes. This is a short but well produced description, with many illustrations, of the industries of the Black Country. It is apparently one of the most requested items at the local history desk of Stourbridge Library, and contains contemporary descriptions of many companies in the area. We have also placed a list of contents of these two volumes on the site, although again you may find the site search easier to use..

Web-site changes
We have added pages for Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire to the web-site to reduce clutter. We anticipate adding a number of titles for these counties in the next few months, but at present we just have a few directories for each county of the site.

Text search index
The text search index we introduced last month has proved to be a considerable success, and as a result use of this search will continue to be free. If you want to check whether a name or place occurs in any of the 85,000+ pages in any of the books available on this site, then this is the place to check, although you will need to register first. To access the text search either click on the text database button on the top tool-bar or follow this link.

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2. Latest CD releases 

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

Holden's Triennial Directory - Volume 2 (1805 - 7)

Volume 2 only of this very rare early directory, but a gem. Covers London Traders from the letter T onwards (pp 78)(they are listed alphabetically by name, not classified by trade), London Private Residents (pp 228), and "Country towns" (pp 303) (follow this link for a list). Kindly loaned to the project by Brierley Hill Library.

Pigot's Directory of Staffordshire (1835)

A good, though small, early county directory, which appeared before the first census of 1841, thus making it very valuable to the family history researcher. Gives good descriptions of the towns and main villages and their facilities, churches, schools, and institutions, etc. together with lists of all the people with trades. Kindly loaned to the project by Brierley Hill Library.

Kelly's Directory of Herefordshire and Shropshire (1934)

Typically thorough Kelly's Directory . Covers the whole of each county. There is an alphabetic and classified commercial directory, and list of private residents. An essential resource. Also available as separate counties at the reduced price of £11.75 (inc. VAT) - see Herefordshire or Shropshire. Kindly loaned to the project by Stourbridge Library.

Kelly's Directory of Herefordshire (1934)

Typically thorough Kelly's Directory for Herefordshire. Covers the whole the county. There is an alphabetic and classified commercial directory, and list of private residents. An essential resource. Also available with Shropshire on the same CD at the special price of £15.00 (inc. VAT) - follow this link. Kindly loaned to the project by Stourbridge Library.

Kelly's Directory of Shropshire (1934)

Typically thorough Kelly's Directory for Shropshire. Covers the whole of the county. There is an alphabetic and classified commercial directory, and list of private residents. An essential resource. Also available with Herefordshire on the same CD at the special price of £15.00 (inc. VAT) - follow this link. Kindly loaned to the project by Stourbridge Library.

Kelly's Directory of Gloucestershire (1935)

Typically thorough Kelly's Directory for Gloucestershire.

Kelly's Directory of Warwickshire (1936)

Typically thorough Kelly's Directory for Warwickshire.

Kelly's Directory of Warwickshire (1940)

Typically thorough Kelly's Directory for Warwickshire.

Books

Gentleman's Magazine (1761)

Gentleman's Magazine for 1761. More details on the Gentleman's Magazine. Kindly loaned to the project by BMSGH.

Not the year you want? See our special subscription offer to obtain the Gentleman's magazine from any year between 1731 and 1818.

Gentleman's Magazine (1762)

Gentleman's Magazine for 1762.

Gentleman's Magazine (1763)

Gentleman's Magazine for 1763.

Birmingham faces and Places (1889 - 1892) - Compendium set

A monthly magazine produced for four years between mid-1888 and 1892. Contains contemporary descriptions of places in Birmingham undergoing change (e.g. the development of Corporation St.), and biographies of notable local worthies. Each annual volume contains around 240 pages, of which a third are photographic prints of places and people. Follow this link to see a list of contents. This is a very interesting, detailed and useful contemporary resource. Kindly loaned to the project by the Birmingham and Midland Institute. Also available as single annual volumes at a reduced price of £11.75 (inc. VAT) by following this link.

The Black Country & its Industries (1902 - 5)

Two fascinating volumes covering local companies in the Stourbridge area. Some history of each company is included, together with a description of production processes, illustrated with numerous photographs. Quite short, but of great interest if it covers a company you are researching - see list of contents to find out. Kindly loaned to the project by Stourbridge Library.

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