Trades
The Seven Incorporated Trades of Aberdeen (which comprises the Hammermen, Bakers, Wrights, Tailors, Shoemakers, Weavers and Fleshers) maintain their own archive.
The records of the Aberdeen Dyers or Litster's Society are held by the NRS in Edinburgh under the reference E870/4.
We hold record for the Hammermen, Weaver and Tailor, Glover and Flesher Trades of Old Aberdeen (reference DD71). We also hold Banff Incorporation of Shoemakers (reference DD2880).
Those practicing a craft or trade in a royal burgh would usually have had to become burgesses of that burgh, so Burgess records can also be explored.
For Aberdeen we have a registers of indentures of apprentices, which record those apprenticed to either merchants or craftsmen between 1622 and 1878. An index is available online here: Aberdeen Burgh Registers of Apprentices Indexes.
Businesses
Aberdeen City & Aberdeenshire Archives holds the records of a number of local businesses: key collections are listed below. Please consult our online catalogue for more details about these collections (either via the link in the catalogue reference column, or by using the advanced search and enter the catalogue reference given below in the RefNo field to find the collection level description: add a * to bring up all the entries for the collection). Please contact us to arrange to view any records of interest.
| Catalogue Reference | Business |
|---|---|
| AHB | Aberdeen Harbour Board |
| HR | Hall Russell and Alexander Hall & Co Ltd, shipbuilders, Aberdeen |
| NORCO | Northern Co-operative Society Ltd, Aberdeen |
| DM | Duncan & Munro, architects, Turriff |
| GBM | George Bennett Mitchell & Son, architects, Aberdeen |
| DD31 | John Blaikie, plumber, Aberdeen |
| DD41, DD69, DD786 | Aberdeen Market Company |
| DD49 | Lewis Smith & Son, booksellers, printers and stationers, Aberdeen |
| DD56 | George Donald & Sons Ltd, glass, paint and wallpaper merchants, Aberdeen |
| DD57 | John Fyfe, quarry and granite mechants, Aberdeen (including records of Rubislaw Granite Co Ltd, quarry proprietors and merchants, Aberdeen) |
| DD70 | Scottish Salmon and White Fish Company Ltd (Scot Sal), Aberdeen |
| DD93 | Banchory Gas Company |
| DD97 | William Smith & Son Ltd, seed merchants, Hazlehead |
| DD163 | Aberdeen New Gas Light Company |
| DD286 | Aberdeen Property Investment Building Society |
| DD414 | Macqueen & Findlater, solicitors, Aberdeen |
| DD527 | WJC Reed & Sons, solicitors Laurencekirk, including records of Laurencekirk Lighting Society Limited |
| DD896 | Berrywell Stores, grocers, Dyce |
| DD1066 | North Eastern Agricultural Co-operative Society, later North Eastern Farmers |
| DD1066A | Northern Agricultural and Lime Co. Ltd. and predecessors, Aberdeen |
| DD1189 | Glegg & Thomson Ltd, ironmongers and steel stockholders, Aberdeen |
| DD1231 | Esslemont & Macintosh Ltd, retail and wholesale drapers and warehousemen |
| DD1462 | Huntly Property Investment & Building Society, Huntly |
| DD1514 | John Shirras, traction engine owner, Auchinblae |
| DD1551 | Lawson, Turnbull & Co Ltd, plumbers' merchants and electrical factors, Aberdeen |
| DD1744 | Richards Ltd, flax spinners and manufacturers, Broadford Works, Aberdeen |
| DD1745 | Donside Paper Company Ltd, paper manufacturers, Aberdeen |
| DD1837 | John Robertson (Canisters) Ltd, Aberdeen |
| DD1905 | Aberdeen Combworks Co. Ltd, comb manufacturers |
| DD1917 | John Fleming & Co. Ltd, sawmill and timber merchant, Aberdeen |
| DD2865 | Richard Irvin & Sons Limited, trawler owners and fish salesmen, Aberdeen, Peterhead and North Shields |
| DD3295 | Aberdeen Steam Fishing Vessels Owners' Association Ltd |
| PD2 | Gray & Gray, solicitors, Peterhead (includes records of James Sutherland (Peterhead) Limited, bus operators) |
| PD3/2 | Allan, Buckley, Allan & Co, solicitors, Aberdeen, including Nairn Fishing Co. Ltd, Nairn |
| PD20 | William Spence (Huntly) Ltd, knitwear manufacturers, Huntly |
| PD59 | Sellers, salmon fishers, Macduff |
| PD68 | Buckie Gas Light Company |
| uncatalogued | Kincardineshire Auction Mart Ltd, cattle dealers, Laurencekirk |
| uncatalogued | Brookes Limited, granite merchants, Pittodrie |
| uncatalogued | Edward Copland, painter, decorator and stained glass window maker, Aberdeen |
| uncatalogued | McCombie & Mennie, architects, Inverurie |
| uncatalogued | Farquhar & Gill, paint, oil and wallpaper manufacturers, Aberdeen |
| uncatalogued | William L Gavin Ltd, grain millers, Peterculter |
| uncatalogued | Allenvale Granite Works, Aberdeen |
| uncatalogued | Joseph Brown, stonemason, Banff |
| uncatalogued | John M Henderson (Machines) Ltd, engineers, Aberdeen |
The University of Aberdeen Special Collections Centre also hold many collections for North East businesses. You can also check on the UK National Archives Discovery (use the Advanced Search/Record Creator option) or the National Register of Archives for Scotland to find records held in other record offices around the UK. Historic Post Office Directories may provide you with some basic information about a business and are available to view online on the National Library of Scotland's website.