Library and Archives
The Library is a Registered Charity administered by Trustees, the Master and Wardens of the Company for the time being.
Library
The Company's Library is situated above the Muniment Room and is used by members of the Company and visiting scholars consulting the records. It consists of mostly modern books relating to the Company and the book trade, but includes a long run of almanacks (1620-1910).
Further information on the history of the Company can be found in the following books: Cyprian Blagden's The Stationers' Company: A History, 1403-1959 (London: Allen & Unwin, 1960); The Stationers' Company: A History of the Later Years, 1800-2000, edited by Robin Myers (London: Worshipful Company of Stationers & Newspaper Makers, 2001). Robin Myers's, The Stationers' Company Archive: An Account of the Records, 1554-1984 (Winchester: St Paul's Bibliographies; Detroit: Omnigraphics, 1990) contains a glossary and details of many relevant scholarly books and articles on the Company. Researchers may also wish to consult the three volumes of Stationers' Company Apprentices, 1605-1800 by D.F. McKenzie (Charlottesville: Bibliographical Society of the Univ. of Virginia, 1961; Oxford: Oxford Bibliographical Society, 1974-78).
The Archives
The Company's historic records from 1554 to the present day, housed in its Muniment Room, are remarkably complete and have withstood the ravages of time, fire and war. They form the single most important archival source for the history of the English book trade and have been used by scholars since the mid-eighteenth century. They include a small collection of family papers belonging to former members of the Company, such as the Tottell papers (1448-1714) and the Baskett papers (1740s-1840s).
What do the Archives contain?
- The Stationers' Company Registers or Entry Books of Copies 1554-1842 (the copyright registers, 1842-1911 are deposited at The National Archives (formerly the Public Record Office) at Kew).
- The Court Books, 1602 to the present day.
- Membership Records, 1555 to the present day.
- Legal and Official Records, from 1557.
- Records relating to Bequests, Charities and Pensions from 1593 to 1929
- Records Relating to Property Owned by the Company from 1674.
- English Stock Records 1603-1961
- The Company's Financial Records, from 1605. Recent records are subject to access restrictions.
- Miscellaneous documents, printed records, family papers.
Visiting and use of the Archives and Library
A complete microfilm edition of the Company's Archive, 1554-1920, in 115 reels was prepared by Robin Myers and published by Chadwyck-Healey Ltd (now part of ProQuest Information and Learning) in 1986. The microfilm edition enables researchers to consult most of the Company's Archive at a distance, but the originals can be inspected in certain circumstances. A list of libraries in Britain and overseas that hold sets of the microfilm follows:-
Only by written appointment with the:
Hon. Librarian - Mondays
Hon. Archivist – Wednesdays archivist@stationers.org
