Catalogue description Liberty plc records

This is the first major accession of early records from Liberty plc since the initial deposit of archives made in 1976 after the company& rsquo;s centenary (Acc 788). Accession 1932 contains more corporate and financial business records than many earlier deposits, although a few such items may be found in Accession 1166.

Only two early minute books have survived dating from 1887 to 1901, but there is also a detailed index for the period 1947-63 and copies of board resolutions to 1974. This deposit contains a particularly good set of annual reports and accounts from 1897 to 1987 (with very few gaps) and registers of shareholders from 1894 to 1946 as well as various editions of the memorandum and articles of association once Liberty became a limited company in 1894. There are also private ledgers for London, Birmingham, Manchester, Bristol, Paris and Merton Abbey from 1893 to 1910 with a further set, possibly for Merton, continuing until 1977 and various other ledgers, journals and cash books from the company& rsquo;s foundation in 1875 to 1932 and from 1971 to 1981. Copies of correspondence from the Paris branch from the early 1930& rsquo;s are included in this deposit as well as a large series of correspondence files, mainly concerning Liberty trademarks and property, from around 1887 to 1970.

Perhaps the most exciting find in this deposit is a pair of sketch books of silver and pewter designs (reference 1932/243-244) dating from the turn of the century containing beautiful drawings in the Arts and Crafts style, sadly unattributed, but possibly including some by Archibald Knox. These sketch books are the companions to the jewellery sketch book which was deposited in the archives in 1976 (reference 788/64). The other treasure is the earliest catalogue which Liberty produced entitled & lsquo;Eastern Art Manufactures and Decorative Objects& rsquo; in about 1881 (reference 1932/174). Accession 1932 also contains various early 20th century catalogues not previously held in the archives as well as some copies of catalogues in Accession 788 and a small amount of more modern publicity material.

There are also records relating to the shops at East India House and the Tudor Shop as well as the Merton Print Works. The staff records include a register dating from 1883 to 1894, salaries books 1929-76 and application forms for employment from the late 19th century. There is a scrapbook of obituaries of Sir Arthur Lasenby Liberty, the founder of the company, who died in 1917, and other family papers.

Liberty plc, 1875- 1990s department stores

Liberty and Co Ltd, 1875-1990s department stores

Records deposited on indefinite loan by Kay Whitten, Chairman's Secretary, Liberty plc, Regent street, London W1R 6AH, on 18 March 1996

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