Records of the Amalgamated Society of Operative Lace Makers and Auxiliary Workers, 1851-1973

The collection contains material concerning ASOLMAW and the smaller groups that merged into it. Most prominent of these is ASOLM. It is possible to trace its development from inception in the early 1850s, until 1973 and the incorporation of ASOLMAW with the National Union of Hosiery and Knitwear Workers.

The collection includes complete series of accounts and minute books, split between the accruals, together with papers concerning membership, national insurance, and rules. Also present is official correspondence with employers, various trade associations and official bodies, as well as Board of Conciliation minute books, 1876-1903, and some arbitration awards.

Occasional records from local branches, including Beeston, Ilkeston and Long Eaton, are included.

The Amalgamated Society of Operative Lace Makers and Auxiliary Workers (ASOLMAW) was formed in 1933 following the merger of the Amalgamated Society of Lace Makers (ASOLM), the Auxiliary Society of Male Lace Makers and the Female Lace Workers' Union. ASOLM was itself made up from several earlier groups: the Bobbin, Carriage, Comb and Dropper Makers' Society, the Carriage Straighteners' Society, the Lever Card Punchers' Society, the Nottingham and District Brickmakers' Society and the Warpers' Association.

In June 1971 the members of ASOLMAW voted for an amalgamation with the National Union of Hosiery and Knitwear Workers.

The collection was received in three transfers, and has three catalogues; Lm, Lm 2 and Lm 3. A uniform arrangement within each catalogue allows series to be traced across the collection. Material is divided according to form (e.g. accounts, correspondence) and listed chronologically within sections.

ACCESS: Accessible to all registered readers.

REPROGRAPHIC: Photocopies and photographic copies can be supplied for educational use and private study purposes only, depending on the condition of the documents.

NOTE: Copyright on all Finding Aids belongs to the University of Nottingham.

• In the Reading Room, University of Nottingham Library: Typescript Catalogues; Lm (12 pp), Lm 2 (3 pp), Lm 3 (15 pp)
• At the National Register of Archives, London: Typescript Catalogues; Lm (12 pp), Lm 2 (3 pp), Lm 3 (15 pp)

COPYRIGHT: Identification of copyright holders of unpublished material is often difficult.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 advance in writing from the Keeper of the Department of Manuscripts and Special Collections (email mss-library@nottingham.ac.uk ). The Department will try to assist in identifying copyright owners but the responsibility for copyright clearance before publication ultimately rests with the reader.

LANGUAGE: English.

The University Library received the records from the Society in a series of transfers between 1959 and 1973.