England Directories: Difference between revisions

In 1734 Brown and Kent's ''Directory of the Cities of London and Westminster and the Borough of Southwark'' appeared, the first of an annual series by different publishers. In 1763 Mortimer's ''Universal Directory'' began to include retail shops, being addressed more to the visitor than to the tradesman. The alphabetical and consolidated list of traders known as the Commercial Directory remained, but now separate lists by individual trade, the Trade Directory, was introduced. Holden in 1799 introduced lists of the better class of private residents, later to be called the Court Directory, and Robson in 1823 first regularly listed tradesmen by street. Employees were conspicuous by their absence.  

The involvement of Post Office officials from 1800 onwards led to more accurate directories. The copyrights of one official, Critchett, were obtained by another, Frederic Kelly, in 1836, and his ''Post Office Directory of London'', printed by his brother W. Kelly that year, began a lasting series. Stopped from using the services of Post Office officials in 1847, his firm tried unsuccessfully to establish an exclusive right to the title ''Post Office Directory'', but he still called all his volumes ''Post Office Directories'' and put the Royal Arms on their red covers.  

Kelly's coverage in the London suburbs was not good. Pigot's 1838 and Watkins's 1852-4 directories were better, but they were forced out of business by Kelly. Coverage improved when the two-part Kelly's ''Post Office London Suburban Directories'' for the northern and southern suburbs began to appear in 1860. At the same time the wonderfully detailed ''Buff Books'' for the various London districts started to appear, greatly expanding their coverage in the 1890s. Coverage of private residents in provincial directories was probably always better than in London itself.  

Lists of privatest Office London Suburban Directories addresses first appear in the ''Universal British Directory'' for London in 1790, but are rarely found in provincial directories before the middle of the next century. The first London directory to consist entirely of private residents, Boyle's ''Court Guide'', came out in 1792. It survived until 1925 and with other similar guides provided extensive lists of residents by street, fuller than those in the ''Post Office Directory''.