As family history research is such a popular hobby, there are hundreds of books available, both general and more specific. This is not an exhaustive list.
The Book of Trades or Library of Useful Arts 1806, found online via Google books
The Book of Trades or Library of Useful Arts 1818 https://archive.org/stream/bookenglishtrad00soutgoog#page/n9/mode/2up
Cunningham, Peter Handbook of London, John Murray, 1850 https://archive.org/stream/handbookoflondon00cunn
Kirwan, Daniel Joseph Palace and Hovel or Phases of London Life, Hartford, Belnap & Bliss 1870 https://archive.org/details/ palacehovel00kirw, description of London by an 1870s American tourist
Inglis, Lucy Georgian London, Into the Streets. Her blog http://georgianlondon.com and http://lucyinglis.tumblr.com has articles on artisan and immigrant communities from 1660 to 1830; limited genealogical information
Mayhew, Henry London labour and the London Poor, published in serial form from1840s, Wordsworth, 2008
Online Historical Population Reports (OHPR) www.histpop.org, breakdowns of occupations from 1831
Taxation before 1689 explanation and sources at the National Archives www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/research-guides/taxation-before-1689.htm Includes links to palaeography tutorials
www.victorianweb.org/history/census.html occupations breakdown 1851–71
Chapter 1
Barratt, Nick Who do you think you are? Encyclopedia of Genealogy, Harper Collins, 2008
Christian, Peter The Genealogist’s Internet, Bloomsbury, 2012
Clifford, David, J.H. My Ancestors were Congregationalists, Society of Genealogists, 1998
Fowler, Simon Poor Law Records for Family Historians, Family History Partnership, 2011
Gandy, Michael Tracing Nonconformist Ancestors, PRO, 2001
Gibson, Jeremy; Hampson, Elizabeth; Raymond, Stuart Marriage Indexes for Family Historians, Family History Partnership, 2008
Grannum, Karen; Taylor, Nigel Wills and Probate Records, National Archives, 2009
Heywood, Thomas If You Know Not Me, You Know Nobody Part 2, play about the life of haberdashery apprentices and the founding of the Royal Exchange, London, 1605–06
McKie, David What’s in a Surname? A Journey from Abercrombie to Zwicker, Random House, 2013
Mortimer, Ian The Time Travellers’ Guide to Medieval England, Vintage, 2009, offers background and living conditions to, among others, guilds, wool industries, fishmongers, merchants and mercers. See also The Time Travellers’ Guide to Elizabethan England, 2013.
Paton, Chris Tracing Your Family History on the Internet, Pen and Sword, 2014
Raymond, Stuart A. Trades and Professions, Family History Partnership, 2011
Raymond, Stuart A. The Wills of our Ancestors, Pen and Sword, 2012
Chapter 2
City of London Livery Companies and Related Organisations, A Guide to their Archives in Guildhall Library 4th ed., 2010
The Guide to Greater London History Sources Volume 1, The City of London.
Leighton, W.A. The Guilds of Shrewsbury, 1881
Melling, John Kennedy London Guilds and Liveries, Shire, 2008
Selles, Maud (Ed.) The York Mercers and Merchant Adventurers 1356–1917, Andrews, 1918 https://archive.org/details/york mercersmerch00mercrich
Chapter 3
Crail, Mark Tracing your Labour Movement Ancestors, Pen and Sword, 2009
Dennis, Victoria Solt Discovering Friendly and Fraternal Societies, Their Badges and Regalia, Shire, 2005
Devon County Council www.devon.gov.uk/apprenticeship_records description of apprenticeships, links to locating records and further reading
Harwood, Jeremy Holidays and Hard Times 1870s, Reader’s Digest, 2009
Kay, J.A.; Morris, C.N.; Jaffer, S.M.; Meadowcroft, S.A. The Regulation of Retail Trading Hours, The Institute for Fiscal Studies, 1984, www.ifs.org.uk/comms/r13.pdf, economic background to retailing before 1839
Loman, Roger An Introduction to Friendly Society Records, Federation of Family History Societies, 2000
Moffrey, Robert W. The Rise and Progress of the Manchester Unity of the Independent Order of Oddfellows, 1810–1904 online at www.isle-ofman.com/manxnotebook/history/socs/odf_mdly.htm, 1904
Morley, Shaun (Ed.) Oxfordshire Friendly Societies, 1750–1918, Oxfordshire Record Society, Volume 68, 2011
Parliament and the history of UK legislation www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety pivotal Acts of Parliament. Also www.portcullis.parliament.uk and www.parliament.uk/ archives. www.legislation.gov.uk is the official home of enacted UK legislation 1267 to present
Raymond, Stuart My Ancestor was an Apprentice, Society of Genealogists, 2010
Weinbren, Daniel The Oddfellows, 1810–2010, 200 Years of Making Friends and Helping People, Carnegie, 2010
Wigley, John The Rise and Fall of the Victorian Sunday, Manchester University, 1980
Chapter 4
Baxter, Ian A. Baxter’s Guide, Biographical Sources in the East India Office, 3rd ed, Families in British India Society, 2004
The Grocer 1862 onwards; prices of foodstuffs together, reports of bankrupts, small ads for wide variety of companies not just grocers
Coal Merchants
Brown, R.S. Digging for History in the Coal Merchants’ Archives: the history of the Society of Coal Merchants, Society of Coal Merchants, 1988
Edington, Robert A Treatise on the Coal Trade, London, 1813, explains charters, taxes and cost of shipping. Online at several sites including http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=umn.319510017749806;view=1up;seq=1.
Elliott, Brian Tracing your Coal Mining Ancestors, Pen and Sword, 2014
Nef, J.U. The Rise of the British Coal Industry Vol 1 and 2, Routledge, 1932
Simon Grant-Jones, blacksmith www.simongrant-jones.com
Coffee, Chocolate and Tea Merchants
Masset, Claire Tea and Tea Drinking, Shire, 2010
UK Tea Council www.tea.co.uk. East India Company, tea trade, smuggling, history of adding milk etc.
UK Tea & Infusions Association (UKTIA) www.tea.co.uk
Mercers
Jefferson, Lisa Medieval Accounts Books of the Mercers of London, An Edition and Translation, Ashgate 2008
Tobacconists and Tobacco
Tobacco timeline http://archive.tobacco.org/History/Tobacco_history.html
Apperson, G.L. The Social History of Smoking, London, 1914 www.gutenberg.org/files/18096/18096-h/18096-h.htm
Cessford, Craig The Archaeology of the Clay Pipe and the Study of Smoking, 2001, issue 6 Assemblage www.assemblage.group.shef.ac.uk/issue6/Cessford_text_web.htm
Edwards, Lloyd J. Tyneside Tobacco Pipe Makers and Tobacconists in Newcastle and Gateshead until c.1800, etheses.dur.ac.uk/6882/1/6882_4187, Durham University, 1986
Victuallers/Vintners
Charleton, Walter The Vintner’s Mystery Display’d, Or The Whole Art of the Wine Trade Laid Open, circa 1700–05
Fowler, Simon Researching Brewery and Publican Ancestors, Family History Partnership, 2009
Gibson Jeremy; Hunter Judith Victuallers’ Licences, Records for Family and Local Historians, Family History Partnership, 2009
Hurst, Donald; Mynard, Dennis One More for the Road, The history of Newport Pagnell’s Inns and Public Houses, Newport Pagnell Historical Society, 1999
Chapter 5
Ackermann The Repository of Arts, Literature, Commerce, Manufacturers, Fashions and Politics, London, 1809–1829 online via Google books and Archive.org.
Horn, Pamela Behind the Counter; shop lives from market stall to supermarket, Sutton, 2006
Masset, Claire Department Stores, Shire, 2010
Mawer, Brian Sugar Bakers, from Sweat to Sweetness, AGFHS, 2011; database and website of Sugar Bakers and Sugar Refiners at www.mawer.clara.net/intro.html
O’Day, Rosemary The Routledge Companion to the Tudor Age, Routledge, 2010
Smith, Colin Stephen The Market Place and the Market’s Place in London c1660–1840, PhD thesis University College London, 1999 http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1318007/1/313021.pdf
Whitbourn, Frank Mr Lock of St James’s Street, his Continuing Life and Changing Times, 1971
White, Jerry London in the Eighteenth Century, A Great and Monstrous Thing, Bodley Head, 2012
Wilkinson, Philip Turn Back Time, The High Street, Quercus, 2010
Winstanley, Michael (Ed.) A Traditional Grocer, T.D Smith’s of Lancaster, 1858–1981, Centre for North West Regional Studies, 1991
Winstanley, Michael J. The Shopkeeper’s World 1830–1914, Manchester University, 1983
Chapter 6
Auctioneers
Chapman, D.H. The Chartered Auctioneers’ and Estate Agents’ Institute, A Short History, London, 1970
Bricklayers and Brickmaking
Brick Directory history of bricks www.brickdirectory.co.uk/html/brick_history.html
British Brick Society http://britishbricksoc.co.uk
Painters
Baty, Patrick A history of the house painting trade in London ca.1660–1850 www.scribd.com/doc/11355977/A-history-of-the-house-painting-trade-in-London-ca16601850
Salaman, R.A. Dictionary of tools used in the woodworking and allied trades c1700–1970, George Allen, 1975
Chapter 7
Blacksmiths
McDougall, David, L. The Country Blacksmith, Shire, 2013
Goldsmiths and Silversmiths
Grimwade, Arthur G. London Goldsmiths 1697–1837, Faber and Faber 1976 has hallmarks and dates including biographical dictionary
Jefferson, Lisa (Ed.) Wardens’ Accounts and Court Minute Books of the Goldsmiths’ Mistery of London 1334–1446, Boydell, 2003
Reddaway T.F.; Walker, Lorna E.M. The Early History of the Goldsmiths’ Company 1327–1509, Edward Arnold, 1975
Jewellers and Watch/Clockmakers
Baillie, G.H. Watchmakers and Clockmakers of the World, Mowbray, 1947, also on Ancestry
Clutton, Cecil; Baillie, G.H.; Ilbert, C.A. (Eds) Britten’s Old Clocks and Watches and Their Makers, Methuen 1894 & 1899, republished 1982
Saunier, Claudius Watchmaker’s Handbook, Tripplin, London, 1881 online at https://archive.org/stream/watchmakershand 00tripgoog
Sobel, Dava Longitude, Harper Perennial, 2005, novel about quest and solution for calculating longitude
Chapter 8
Magazines such as Shoe and Leather News, Boot and Shoe Trade Journals and St Crispin
Anon, Toilers in London; or Inquiries concerning Female Labour in the Metropolis, Chapter 23, Boot and Shoe Makers, 1889 www.victorianlondon.org/publications3/newtoilers-23.htm
Historical Survey of Shoe Making, British United Shoe Machinery Co. Ltd, Union Works, Leicester, 1932
Blair, John; Ramsey, Nigel (Eds), English Medieval Industries, Hambledon, 1991 chapter by John Cherry on leather working including tanning, curriers, making leather bottles, buckets, saddles, gloves etc.
Brown, Cynthia Northampton 1835–1985, Shoe town, New Town, Phillimore/Northampton Borough Council, 1990
Clarks shoes www.clarks.co.uk information on their history
Doyle, Arthur Conan The Debatable Case of Mrs. Emsley, Walter Emm’s murder trial http://gutenbergnet/au/ebooks06/ 060441h.html
Dr Martens history http://uk.drmartens.com/uk/history
Holmes, Ken Two Centuries of Shoemaking: Start-rite, 1792–1992, 1992
Ledger, Florence E. Put Your Foot Down, A Treatise on the History of Shoes, Uffington, 1985
Liberty Shoe factory, Leicester University; www.le.ac.uk/manufacturingpasts
Riello, Giorgio; McNeil, Peter (Eds) Shoes, A History from Sandals to Sneakers, Berg, 2006
Sparks, W.L. Shoemaking in Norwich, National Institute of the Boot and Shoe Industry, 1949
Sutton, George Barry C & J Clark, 1833–1903, A History of Shoemaking in Street, Somerset, William Sessions 1979
Swann, June Shoemaking, Shire, 1986
Virtual Shoe Museum www.virtualshoemuseum.com
Miscellanea
Bata-ville: We Are Not Afraid of the Future, documentary written and directed by Karen Guthrie & Nina Pope www.bata-ville.com
Bates, H.E. The Feast of July, novel including references to small shoemaking factories in 1890s Northampton
Bates, H.E. The Vanished World, autobiography including 1890s footwear factories
Brighouse, Harold Hobson’s Choice, 1916, play about a Salford shoemaker and his daughters
Kinky Boots, film about Northampton shoemaking, director Julian Jarrold, 2005
Chapter 9
Burnette, Joyce Gender, Work and Wages in Industrial Revolution Britain, Cambridge University, 2011
Davies, Clarice Stella (Ed.) A History of Macclesfield, University of Manchester, 1961
Waggett, Ralph W. A History of the Worshipful Company of Glovers of London, Phillimore, 2000
Tailors and Seamstresses
Mayhew, Henry Letter VI, harrowing description of 1849–50 sweatshops and slopshops www.victorianlondon.org/ professions/sloptrade.htm
Glovers
Beck, William Gloves, Their Annals and Associations, Hamilton, Adams, 1883 https://archive.org/stream/glovestheiranna00unkngoog#page/n5/mode/2up
Dent, Allcroft and Co. and other glove companies www.gracesguide.co.uk
Waggett, Ralph A History of the Worshipful Company of Glovers of London, Phillimore 2nd Ed, 2007
Wood, Mrs Henry Mrs Halliburton’s Troubles, London, 1862 explanation of glove trade including their manufacture. www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/34587 or https://archive.org/details/mrshalliburtonst00wood_0
Hat Making
Christys Hats www.christys-hats.com
Hertfordshire Genealogy, straw hat information http://www.hertfordshire-genealogy.co.uk/data/occupations/straw-plait.htm
Stockport Heritage Magazine articles on Stockport hatting industry. Index on CD. Back issues and CD bought via www.stockportheritagemagazine.co.uk
Bunker, Stephen; Holgate, Robin; Nichols, Marian The Changing Face of Luton, Book Castle, 1993
Inwards, Harry, Straw Hats, their History and Manufacture, Pitman, 1922, republished Hard Press Publishing. Online http://images.library.wisc.edu/HumanEcol/EFacs/MillineryBooks/MBInwardsStraw/reference/humanecol.mbinwardsstraw.i0009.pdf
Jones, Diana Hats Off! The story of George Carter and Sons, BPR, 2008
McKnight, Penny Stockport Hatting, Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council, 2000.
Nevell, Michael; Grimsditch, Brian; Hradil, Ivan Denton and the archaeology of the Felt Hatting Industry, Volume 7 Archaeology of Tameside series, Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council, 2007
Reeve, Amy J. Practical Home Millinery, Longmans, Green & Co., 1903
Lace making
Browne, Clare Lace from the Victoria and Albert Museum, V&A, 2004
Channer, Catherine C.; Roberts, M.E. Lace Making in the Midlands Past and Present, 1900
Goldenberg, Samuel L. Lace, its Origin and History, 1904 via Project Gutenberg
Gray, Kirsty Tracing your West Country Ancestors, Pen and Sword, 2013, Chapter 7.
The Lace Guild; information on lacemaking and history in Stourbridge www.laceguild.org www.bbc.co.uk/legacies/work/england/nottingham; lace making in Nottingham
Newport Pagnell Historic Town Assessment Report, English Heritage, September 2010 www.buckscc.gov.uk/media/130580/newport_pagnell_consultation_report.pdf
Industrial Museum, Wollaton Hall, Nottingham Industrial Museum www.nottinghamindustrialmuseum.co.uk, lace making machines
Button Making
Dorset Button Makers www.thedorsetpage.com/history/Button_Making/button_making.htm
Hammond Turner & Sons http://hammond-turner.com/
Johns, Thelma Dorset Buttons, Hand stitched in Dorset for over 300 Years, Natula, 2012
Peacock, Primrose Discovering Old Buttons, Shire, 2008
Chapter 10
Felix, Paul; Siân Ellis; Quinn, Tom The Book of Forgotten Crafts, David and Charles, 2011
Coopers
Guinness archive fact sheet on cooperage www.guinness-storehouse.com/en/docs/Coopering_Process.pdf
Kilby, Kenneth Coopers and Coopering, Shire, 2004
Rootsweb page on coopers www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~flbbm/heritage/cooper/barrelmaking.htm
Saddle and Harness Makers
Cawthorne, Nancy George Emm & Son, Saddlers and Harness Makers of Paulton, Five Arches, journal of Radstock, Midsomer Norton & District Museum Society, Issue 27 Requiem for a Saddler, Issue 68, Summer 2010
Stationers, Printers and Bookbinders
Dagnall, Harry The Taxation of Paper in Great Britain 1643–1861: A History and Documentation, BAPH, 1988
Duff, Gordon E. A Century of the English Book Trade, Bibliographical Society, 1905, printers, stationers and bookbinders from 1457 to 1557 online https://archive.org/details/centuryofenglish00 duffuoft
Hills, Richard L. Papermaking in Britain 1488–1988: A Short History, Athlone, 1988
Packer, Maurice Bookbinders of Victorian London, British Library, 1991
Plomer, H.R. (England); Bushnell, G.H. (Scotland); McDix, E.R. (Ireland) A Dictionary of printers and booksellers 1726–1775, OUP, 1932
Plomer, Henry R. Wills of English Printers and Stationers 1492–1630, 1903 Ramsden, Charles Bookbinders of the United Kingdom outside London, 1780–1840, Batsford, 1954
Ramsden, Charles London Bookbinders, 1780–1840, Batsford, 1956
Wheelwrights, Carriage and Coachbuilders
Bampton, Daphne Bamptons 1933–1979 A History in the Evolution of the Coachbuilding and Repairing Industry, Bampton Bros, 1973
Burgess, James W. A practical treatise on coach-building, historical and descriptive: containing full information on the various trades and processes involved, with hints on the proper keeping of carriages, &c, Crosby, Lockwood and Co., London, 1881, https://archive.org/details/practicaltreatis00burg
Georgano, Nick (Ed.) The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile: Coachbuilding, Routledge, 2001
Mynard, Dennis C. Salmons and Sons, The Tickford Coachbuilders, Phillimore, 2007
Wood, Jonathan Coachbuilding: The Hand-crafted Car Body, Shire, 2008