Librería Samer Atenea
Librería Aciertas (Toledo)
Kálamo Books
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Librería Elías (Asturias)
Donde los libros
Librería Kolima (Madrid)
Librería Proteo (Málaga)
A living record of London’s mercantile heart.A rare civic ledger survives. Meticulously compiled by W. Grantham, this indispensable historical reference book gathers the Grocers’ Company’s wardens from 1345 to 1907, drawn from ordinances, remembrances and wardens’ accounts (described historically as the 'Black Book with the Lock'), the quires of wardens’ accounts (1454-1750), the register of freemen and apprentices (1447-1504) and the minute books (1556-1907). As a collection of primary source documents the volume lays out names, dates and civic acts that together trace the life of a city guild across the 14th to the 20th century.Set against the sweep of British social history, these pages illuminate medieval trade guilds and the evolving role of City of London guilds in commerce and civic governance. Genealogists and historians will find incomparable leads in the freemen and apprentices records and wardens’ accounts; local historians and students will value it as an academic research resource and a guide to London livery company records. Far from dry rolls, the minute books record routine decisions, apprenticeships, disputes and office-holding that reveal networks of patronage, craft practice and municipal life. Accessible prose and faithful transcription make the volume rewarding for the casual reader curious about London’s past, while classic-literature collectors and archival enthusiasts will appreciate its documentary worth and its place within a broader guild history collection and London historical archives. Because it preserves primary source documents with fidelity, the collection bridges manuscript archive and usable printed text: entries from the 'Black Book', the quires and minute books render guild procedure, membership rolls and everyday commercial practice legible to modern readers. For family historians those freemen and apprentices records can supply vital evidence of occupation and apprenticeship across generations; for libraries and collectors it functions as an archival companion to city repositories.Republished by Alpha Editions in a careful modern edition, this volume preserves the spirit of the original while making it effortless to enjoy today - a heritage title prepared for readers and collectors alike.
