As Rod Neep is retiring, Archive CD Books Ltd will cease trading and the company will be closed down. The company is not being sold. We expect the close to take place on 30th September 2007, after which this on-line catalogue and ordering will no longer be available.

Any orders received by this date will be processed and posted during the following couple of weeks. Because we expect to be busy making many more CDs than normal please be patient for your delivery.

Catalogue prices shown on these pages are the normal prices, BUT AT THE TIME OF CHECKOUT A 50% DISCOUNT WILL BE APPLIED on all orders where the normal order price is greater than £15.00 (before tax and postage)

Published in 1770

This wonderful old book describes the coats of arms of many people AND has chapters on all of the parts of coats of arms and their meanings.

Includes name index

A superb reference book on the subject.

FULLY SEARCHABLE USING ACROBAT READER

Written by Mark Antony Lower and published in 1843 this book contains essays on historical origins and meanings of English surnames.

A SUPERB BOOK - ONE TO IMPRESS YOUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBOURS WITH THE MEANINGS AND ORIGINS OF THEIR NAMES.

Sections of the book include: History of English Surnames; Surnames derived from place names; from occupations and pursuits; from dignities, civil & ecclesiastical; from personal and mental qualities; surnames derived from Christian names; from natural objects and signs of houses; from social relations, and periods of age, time, etc.; surnames of contempt; (did you know that Gubbins was from the refuse parts of a fish?); surnames from virtues and abstract ideas; foreign names naturalised in England (and the USA) and the corruptions to which such names have been exposed; how surnames change; and historically based surnames.

ABSOLUTELY FASCINATING !

Also included is a list of Latinized names and the Roll of Battel Abbey. This is a list of the names of those supposed to have fought for William the Conqueror at The Battle of Hastings. This Roll comprises the three lists compiled by Leland, Holinshed and John Foxes.

As you can see from the photo, this old and rare book arrived with us in a pretty sad state with no covers. (But the pages were thankfully all intact). This is one that we shall have rebound before donating it to a deserving library or museum. Money from the sales of the CDs will enable that to happen.

CD released July 2005

A superb reference tool which helps to explain the mysteries of old handwriting, abbreviations in documents and their proper meanings.

There are dozens illustrations of old handwriting styles and each letter or symbol has its true meaning presented beside it.

Merchants used 'marks' from at least as early as the thirteenth century and continued to use them for the next four or five hundred years.

In medieval times the risk of piracy or shipwreck was ever-present and it became customary for merchants to divide consignments of goods between several vessels, rather than risk a full cargo in one ship. For this reason adequate marking of goods was essential to avoid confusion and a mark on a bale established legal evidence as to ownership.

Marks were also used by craftsmen such as masons, armourers and goldsmiths. Ownership marks can be found on items such as furniture and there are even 'Swan' marks indicating ownership of swans!

This book details the collection of Toby Elmhirst who owned possibly the largest private collection of marks ever known.

Written by J. B. Whitmore and published in four volumes by The Harleian Society.

This was originally intended to be a supplement to Dr Marshall's 1903 book of the same name, but grew into a major revision of the earlier work which documents sources of pedigrees published in books, biographies, topographical works and many other sources.

It should be noted that this book does NOT contain those pedigrees but it is invaluable as a finding aid.

A follow-up book to Mike Foster's first book on the subject

This book adds further insights into the errors and omissions that pervade the registration records of England and Wales in the period 1837-1899. It is a companion volume to the author's earlier book "A Comedy of Errors, or The Marriage Records of England and Wales 1837-1899", published privately in 1998.

The civil registration of births, marriages and deaths in England & Wales began in 1837 and has created a vast resource of information for those now researching their family histories. This book is the story of the first in-depth research ever carried out into the structure, workings and quality of these 19th century records.

The study has revealed the infinite variety of ways in which the records have suffered from errors and omissions, and is an invaluable reference book for all those with ancestors in England and Wales.

A superb resource and reference book for the family historian.

W. P. W. Phillimore was the great authority on family history, and author and publisher of the Phillimore's Parish Registers series.

A really good reference book for genealogists. Discusses types of records, their uses, and how to go about searching them.