Papers relating to the Lace Industry collected by Norman H. Cuthbert, primarily focussing on the Nottingham area

The collection comprises records relating to the Nottingham lace manufacturers Fisher & Company and the Fisher family's business interests (MS 977/1), records of several lace workers' trade unions (MS 977/2), and a small quantity of ephemeral material collected by Norman H. Cuthbert during his research into the lace industry (MS 977/3-7), of particular note is a photograph album to commemorate a visit by King George V and Queen Mary to the works of Thomas Adams Ltd, Nottingham in 1914.

Papers collected by Norman H. Cuthbert, probably in the 1950s, for his research into the lace industry on behalf of the Amalgamated Society of Operative Lace Makers and Auxiliary Workers, which resulted in the publication: 'The Lace Makers' Society: a Study of Trade Unions in the British lace industry, 1760-1960' (1960), and PhD at the University of Nottingham under the supervision of Prof. F.A. Wells. Cuthbert's interest in the lace industry began in the 1940s during his undergraduate degree in Economic History under the tuition of Prof. J.D. Chambers.

The papers have been divided by originating body or creator (being Fisher and Company, and the Amalgamated Society of Operative Lace Makers and Auxiliary Workers), and then arranged into series by record type.

Accessible to all readers, but see our Access Policy for details of exceptions.

Copyright in all finding aids belongs to The University of Nottingham.

Online: Available on the Manuscripts Online Catalogue, accessible from the website of Manuscripts and Special Collections.

Identification of copyright holders of unpublished material is often difficult.

Permission to make any published use of any material from the collection must be sought in writing on our Permission to Publish form (see the Reprographics Services part of our website or email mss-library@nottingham.ac.uk)

Reprographic copies can be supplied for educational and private study purposes only, depending on access status and the condition of the documents.

The papers were found by Norman H. Cuthbert's son when sorting through his father's papers, and offered to the University in 2013, a further accrual was accessioned retrospectively in 2015.

Cuthbert's collection of records of the Fisher family's business interests were previously stored on the premises of A.C. Gill Limited, along with the rest of the records of this family business which now form the University of Nottingham's main Fisher Collection (Fi).

A small quantity of records relating to the Amalgamated Society of Operative Lace Makers and Auxiliary Workers and predecessor bodies appear to fill gaps in the University of Nottingham's main collection of records of this society (Lm), which were acquired by the university between 1959 and 1973. It would appear that Cuthbert's material was probably acquired from the society prior to 1959 during his research into the history of the society.

Papers of James Fisher and Company, Lace Manufacturers, Nottingham (Fi)

Records of the Amalgamated Society of Operative Lace Makers and Auxiliary Workers (Lm)