Collection GB 0074 CLC/B/041 - CHARLES BARKER AND SONS LIMITED

Identity area

Reference code

GB 0074 CLC/B/041

Title

CHARLES BARKER AND SONS LIMITED

Date(s)

  • 1815-1979 (Creation)

Level of description

Collection

Extent and medium

179 production units.

Context area

Name of creator

Biographical history

The company originated circa 1812 as Lawson and Barker, a partnership between James Lawson the printer of The Times, and Charles Barker. The location of its first office is uncertain but from evidence in directories and a letter book (Ms 20011) it was established at 12 Birchin Lane by 1826. The partnership seems to have been dissolved circa 1834, since directory entries from 1835 appear under Barker, and letters in the letter book are signed in the name of Charles Barker only from December 1833. In 1856 the business moved to 8 Birchin Lane. In 1859 Charles Barker died and in 1860 the style of the firm was changed to Charles Barker and Sons, advertising agents. In 1913 it was incorporated as a private limited company, and moved to 2 White Lion Court, Cornhill. In 1921 it moved to 31 Budge Row, in 1957 to Gateway House, 1 Watling Street, in 1962 to 20 Cannon Street and in 1973 to 30 Farringdon Street.

The original partnership was described variously in directories as 'newsagents', 'newspaper agents' or 'correspondence and advertising agents'. It acted as the advertising agent for The Times and provided newsletters of parliamentary and financial affairs to provincial and foreign newspapers, based upon The Times news service, supplemented by a parliamentary reporting staff of its own.

Commercial and financial advertising rapidly expanded through the foreign loans announcements by merchant banks, the railway 'boom' of the 1830s and '40's, and the advertising of joint stock companies from the 1860s. The firm published the Joint Stock Companies Directory (a forerunner of the Stock Exchange Year Book) from 1867 to 1874. After the first world war the company began to accept customer advertising, notably for Rolls Royce, and in the 1950s to make advertising films. In 1962 a public relations department was formed which joined the financial advertising division in 1968 to form a separate subsidiary, Charles Barker City Limited.

In 1970 other specialised subsidiaries were formed:- Charles Barker Recruitment Limited, Charles Barker Advertising Limited (Consumer) and Charles Barker Films Limited. The company has expanded to provincial cities- Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Birmingham- and, since 1973, overseas to Australia, Canada, Germany etc.

Archival history

The loose and filed items in this archive are largely an artifical accumulation made from the records of the firm and from the records in the custody of Mrs P. M. Wood (a descendent of Charles Barker) by James Derriman, Company Secretary in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Derriman's original listing and class location have not been adhered to in the following catalogue, but his numbering has been indicated and his lists have been annotated and incorporated as Ms 20067.

GB 0074 CLC/B/041 1815-1979 Collection 179 production units. Charles Barker and Sons Ltd , advertising agents

The company originated circa 1812 as Lawson and Barker, a partnership between James Lawson the printer of The Times, and Charles Barker. The location of its first office is uncertain but from evidence in directories and a letter book (Ms 20011) it was established at 12 Birchin Lane by 1826. The partnership seems to have been dissolved circa 1834, since directory entries from 1835 appear under Barker, and letters in the letter book are signed in the name of Charles Barker only from December 1833. In 1856 the business moved to 8 Birchin Lane. In 1859 Charles Barker died and in 1860 the style of the firm was changed to Charles Barker and Sons, advertising agents. In 1913 it was incorporated as a private limited company, and moved to 2 White Lion Court, Cornhill. In 1921 it moved to 31 Budge Row, in 1957 to Gateway House, 1 Watling Street, in 1962 to 20 Cannon Street and in 1973 to 30 Farringdon Street.

The original partnership was described variously in directories as 'newsagents', 'newspaper agents' or 'correspondence and advertising agents'. It acted as the advertising agent for The Times and provided newsletters of parliamentary and financial affairs to provincial and foreign newspapers, based upon The Times news service, supplemented by a parliamentary reporting staff of its own.

Commercial and financial advertising rapidly expanded through the foreign loans announcements by merchant banks, the railway 'boom' of the 1830s and '40's, and the advertising of joint stock companies from the 1860s. The firm published the Joint Stock Companies Directory (a forerunner of the Stock Exchange Year Book) from 1867 to 1874. After the first world war the company began to accept customer advertising, notably for Rolls Royce, and in the 1950s to make advertising films. In 1962 a public relations department was formed which joined the financial advertising division in 1968 to form a separate subsidiary, Charles Barker City Limited.

In 1970 other specialised subsidiaries were formed:- Charles Barker Recruitment Limited, Charles Barker Advertising Limited (Consumer) and Charles Barker Films Limited. The company has expanded to provincial cities- Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Birmingham- and, since 1973, overseas to Australia, Canada, Germany etc.

The loose and filed items in this archive are largely an artifical accumulation made from the records of the firm and from the records in the custody of Mrs P. M. Wood (a descendent of Charles Barker) by James Derriman, Company Secretary in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Derriman's original listing and class location have not been adhered to in the following catalogue, but his numbering has been indicated and his lists have been annotated and incorporated as Ms 20067.

They were deposited in the Manuscripts Section of Guildhall Library in 1981 and presented as a gift in 1988. The Guildhall Library Manuscripts Section merged with the London Metropolitan Archives in 2009.

Records of Charles Barker and Sons Ltd, advertising agency, as follows:-
Mss. 19973-19979: Foundation and Constitution: memorandum and articles of association, certificate of incorporation, shares and related papers;
Mss. 19980-19981: Management: minutes and related papers;
Mss. 19982-20007: Finance: private accounts; annual reports and accounts, ledgers, journals, cash books etc;
Mss. 20008-20028: Administration: advertising record and order books, correspondence and miscellaneous papers, clients lists, newsletter of 1824, papers relating to Joint Stock Companies Directory, reports and scripts;
Mss. 20029-20034: Samples of advertising proofs;
Mss. 20035-20038: Scrapbooks of press cuttings relating to clients and bankers;
Mss 20039-20041: Press releases and miscellaneous press cuttings;
Mss 20042-20044: Printed information booklets relating to the company, presentation documents;
Mss 20045-20055: Personnel: records of appointment, remuneration, fees etc. of partners, directors and managers;
Mss 20056-20058: Property;
Mss 20059-20067: Miscellaneous: company history, personal and genealogical papers relating to the Barker family (see also Ms 19982).

Also records of Barker Family (MS 19982, 20007, 20065), 1764-1905. The records comprise private accounts, receipts and notices concerning life assurance policies and investments, and genealogical notes.

Records arranged by MS number, assigned during cataloguing at the Guildhall Library Manuscripts Section.

These records are available for public inspection, although records containing personal information may be subject to access restrictions.

Copyright to this collection rests with the City of London.

English

Please see online catalogues at: http://search.lma.gov.uk/opac_lma/index.htm

Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

November 2010 to January 2011. Information transfer News flow Communication process Advertising Advertisements Information sources Documents Business records News agencies Publishing industry Publishing Newspaper publishing Press advertising Newspapers Periodicals Publications Communications media Information sciences Charles Barker and Sons Ltd , advertising agents City of London London England UK Western Europe Europe

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

They were deposited in the Manuscripts Section of Guildhall Library in 1981 and presented as a gift in 1988. The Guildhall Library Manuscripts Section merged with the London Metropolitan Archives in 2009.

Content and structure area

Scope and content

Records of Charles Barker and Sons Ltd, advertising agency, as follows:-
Mss. 19973-19979: Foundation and Constitution: memorandum and articles of association, certificate of incorporation, shares and related papers;
Mss. 19980-19981: Management: minutes and related papers;
Mss. 19982-20007: Finance: private accounts; annual reports and accounts, ledgers, journals, cash books etc;
Mss. 20008-20028: Administration: advertising record and order books, correspondence and miscellaneous papers, clients lists, newsletter of 1824, papers relating to Joint Stock Companies Directory, reports and scripts;
Mss. 20029-20034: Samples of advertising proofs;
Mss. 20035-20038: Scrapbooks of press cuttings relating to clients and bankers;
Mss 20039-20041: Press releases and miscellaneous press cuttings;
Mss 20042-20044: Printed information booklets relating to the company, presentation documents;
Mss 20045-20055: Personnel: records of appointment, remuneration, fees etc. of partners, directors and managers;
Mss 20056-20058: Property;
Mss 20059-20067: Miscellaneous: company history, personal and genealogical papers relating to the Barker family (see also Ms 19982).

Also records of Barker Family (MS 19982, 20007, 20065), 1764-1905. The records comprise private accounts, receipts and notices concerning life assurance policies and investments, and genealogical notes.

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

Accruals

System of arrangement

Records arranged by MS number, assigned during cataloguing at the Guildhall Library Manuscripts Section.

Conditions of access and use area

Conditions governing access

These records are available for public inspection, although records containing personal information may be subject to access restrictions.

Conditions governing reproduction

Copyright to this collection rests with the City of London.

Language of material

  • English

Script of material

  • Latin

Language and script notes

English

Physical characteristics and technical requirements

Finding aids

Please see online catalogues at: http://search.lma.gov.uk/opac_lma/index.htm

Allied materials area

Existence and location of originals

Existence and location of copies

Related units of description

Related descriptions

Notes area

Alternative identifier(s)

Access points

Place access points

Name access points

Genre access points

Description control area

Description identifier

Institution identifier

London Metropolitan Archives

Rules and/or conventions used

Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

Status

Level of detail

Dates of creation revision deletion

Language(s)

  • English

Script(s)

    Sources

    Accession area