Introducing #BusinessTreasure: A look back at the Business Records of Scotland on Twitter

By rachaelegan on March 19, 2014 • ( 0 )

As Business Archive cataloguer I have a fantastic opportunity to dive in to the histories of Scottish businesses and get to grips with the varied and fascinating records they created. I will be show-casing these records via Twitter in my new #BusinessTreasure feature!

A particularly rich collection is that of Stoddard-Templeton, carpet manufacturers. In conjunction with the Glasgow School of Art and Glasgow Museums, the University of Glasgow Archive Services secured funds from the National Heritage Memorial Fund, the National Fund for Acquisitions, the Friends of the National Library, and the Friends of Glasgow Museums, to purchase the Stoddard-Templeton Collection. The collection at Archive Services consists of thousands of beautiful design sketches and patterns for carpets, as well as the corporate records of James Templeton & Co Ltd, Stoddard International plc and its related subsidiaries.

The project to catalogue the collection was competed in 2012 with the launch of the on-line catalogue on 19th April 2012. You can search the catalogue here.

Staff photograph from the Templetonian staff magazine, June 1936

There remain a few items to be added, however, including some fantastic photograph albums and loose photographs and I am currently in the process of adding these to the catalogue. These include photographs of: staff at work in the factory; properties; the carpet-making processes; staff events, such as outings and dinners; and visits by movie-stars and royalty!

In the next few weeks I will be revealing some of these fantastic photographs as my #BusinessTreasure so keep an eye on @GUArchives Twitter for some snaps that capture the past of carpet-making in Scotland!