Microforms Research Collections: Goldsmiths’-Kress Library of Economic Literature

Resources in the Economic, Social, Business, and Political History of Modern Industrial Society

Location: Microfilm Cabinets 21-22 and book truck next to Cabinet 24.

Scope: This collection merges the holdings of the Kress Library at Harvard and the Goldsmiths’ Library at the University of London and includes resource materials in mercantilism, usury, European colonial expansion, demographic patterns in 18th century England, financial background to the French Revolution, textile industry and technological advances, early business and technical education, Irish-English relations, commerce in Italy, scholastic economics, poverty and the work ethic, etc.

Segment 1 covers printed books through 1800. Segment 2 covers printed books 1801-50, and Segment 3 covers serials and periodicals.

Note: UNO cancelled its subscription to this collection in the late 1980’s and therefore does not own the entire collection. Holdings include reels 1-1050 of Segment 1, reels 1-150 of the Supplement to Segment 1, reels 1670-2219 of Segment 2, and reels 3381-3633 of Segment 3.

How to search the collection:
Finding aids which are located on the Multimedia Index Table include:

Goldsmiths’-Kress Library of Economic Literature. A Consolidated Guide to Segment 1 of the Microfilm Collection. Volume 1 through 1720. Volume 2 covers 1721-1776; Volume 3, 1777-1800; Volume 4, 1801-1820; Volume 5, 1820-1831; Volume 6, 1832-1850; and Volume 7 which is a Supplement to monographs from 1468-1800. The collection is arranged chronologically by year in 14 subject categories, then alphabetically by main entry (usually author) within each subject category. These subject categories include agriculture, corn laws, population, trade and manufacturers, commerce, colonies, finance, transport, social conditions, slavery, and politics, etc. Also on the Multimedia Index Table are the individual catalogs of the Goldsmith and Kress Libraries which may give more bibliographic information regarding the items, but do not give identifying reel numbers.