History books on the Meriden - Wallingford - Middletown area, including information on companies

An artdesigncafe / Design Meriden resource.

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artdesigncafé - design | Design Meriden | 11 June 2016 | Updated 6 December 2020
New Haven County history Meriden history book 
Meriden CT history


Material status: = online
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= completely offline


1840s

1849 - book

Perkins, G.W. (1849). Historical sketches of Meriden. [Manufactures in Meriden in 1849, pp. 115-17.] 117 pp. Franklin E. Hinman: West Meriden. (Viewed 11 June 2016. A00779-80).


1860s

1868 - book

Bishop, J. Leander. (1868). "Manufactures in Meriden", (pp. 424-26). In A history of American manufactures from 1608-1860 (3rd edition, revised and enlarged). 643 pp. Philadelphia: Edward Young & Co. (Viewed 15 June 2016. A00816-18).

1868-1931 - directories

(1868 - 1931). Meriden directories, only listing residents (probable reprints). (Viewed 3 November 2017. AAA00686-88).

  • Offline - Meriden Public Library.


1870s

1870 - book

Davis, Charles Henry Stanley. (1870). History of Wallingford, Conn. From its settlement in 1670 to the present time: Including Meriden, which was one of its parishes until 1806, and Cheshire, which was incorporated in 1780. [Manufacturers section: pp. 472-495; illustrations; biographies.] 1086 pp. Published by the author: Meriden. (Viewed 13 June 2016. A00793-94).

1874 - state business directory

(1874). The Connecticut Business Directory for 1874 [including advertisements and listings of historical Meriden area companies and International Silver Co. predecessors]. Briggs & Co.: Boston. (Viewed 18 October 2020. F01535).

1875 - Middletown directory

(1875). Middletown City Directory for 1875-6 [with advertisements of Middletown companies]. Fitzgerald & Dillon. (Viewed 20 October 2020. F01558-59).


1880s

1881 - Meriden directory

(1881). Meriden directory for 1881; containing a general directory of its citizens, business directory, street directory. 248 pp. Price, Lee & Co.: New Haven, CT. (Viewed 10 October 2020. F01486).

1886 - Meriden directory

(1886). Meriden directory for 1886; containing a general directory of its citizens, business directory, street directory, a map.... 384 pp. Price, Lee & Co.: New Haven, CT. (Viewed 10 October 2020. F01485).

1887 - Meriden directory

(1887). Meriden directory for 1887; containing a general directory of its citizens, business directory, street directory, a map.... 403 pp. Price, Lee & Co.: New Haven, CT. (Viewed 19 May 2020. H01590).

1887 - book

Beckford, William Hale. (1887). ["Meriden" and "Leading business men of Meriden" (pp. 223-47), including descriptions of Chapman Mfg. Co.; Griswold, Rochmond & Glock; Meriden Britannia Co. (with illustrations of building; and advert on inside back cover); Meriden Malleable Iron Co.; C. F. Monroe; Wilcox & White Organ Co. (with piano illustration); "Wallingford" and "Leading business men of Wallingford". (pp. 265-70), including descriptions of Simpson, Hall, Miller & Co. (with product illustration) and R. Wallace & Sons Mfg. Co.] In Leading business men of New Haven (county), 284 pp. Mercantile Pub. Co.: Boston. (Viewed 17 June 2016. A00858-59).


1890s

1890 - directory in newspaper

(20 October 1890). [Directory of residents in Meriden, listed by name and by ward.] Meriden Daily Journal, pp. 10-16. (Viewed 6 December 2020.)

1891 - book

Sweetser, Moses Forster. (1891). On the Bradley & Hubbard Mfg. Co. and Meriden Britannia in Meriden, CT, with and two illustrations, (pp. 130 & 134-5) In King’s Hand-book of the United States planned and edited by M. King. [Text by M. F. Sweetser ... Illustrations, etc.] Osgood, McIlvaine & Co.: London; Buffalo. (Viewed 25 June 2006. A00090-92).

1891 - book

Spalding, J. A. (1891). Illustrated popular biography of Connecticut. Case, Lockwood & Brainard Company: Hartford, Conn. (Viewed 28 March 2018. AAA001601-02).

1892 - book

Rockey, John L. (1892). History of New Haven County, Connecticut, v. 1. (Chapters on Wallingford and Meriden, including biographical sketches of selected entrepreneurs, pp. 340-656.) 966 pp. New York: W. W. Preston & Co. University of California Libraries. (Viewed 12 June 2016. A00783-84).

1892 - book

Rockey, John L. (1892). History of New Haven County, Connecticut, v. 2. 1126 pp. (Includes Derby and Waterbury, sites of ISC predecessor companies/ divisions.) New York: W.W. Preston & Co. Allen County Library, Fort Wayne, IN. (Viewed 12 June 2016. A00795-96).

1893 - illustrated atlas

D.H. Hurd & Co. (1893). Town and city atlas of the State of Connecticut. Compiled from government surveys, county records and personal investigations. Boston, MA; 223 pp. (Includes some illustrations of Meriden-Wallingford and ISC predecessor companies and short descriptions at the back of the book.) University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT. (Viewed 12 June 2016. A00085-87).

1893 - photographs and essays

(1893). The Silver City, Meriden, Conn. (“Photomechanical reproductions of photographs of Meriden, Connecticut, accompanied by two short essays titled "Early Meriden" and "The Town and City of Meriden." Includes street views and images of local businesses, residences, churches, and portraits of prominent citizens.”) 140 pp; [Columbia University call no. AA735 M467 Si38 S; Connecticut State Library call no. F104.M5 S5 1893; New York Historical Society call no. F104.M8 S5 1893]. (For more locations, see worldcat.org.) (Viewed 13 June 2016. A00797-99).

1895 - book

Gillespie, Charles Bancroft (compiled by). (1895). Art souvenir edition of the Meriden Daily Journal illustrating the city of Meriden, Connecticut in the year 1895. 86 pp. (Includes a lot of information about Meriden companies and entrepreneurs.) The Journal Publishing Company: Meriden, CT. Courtesy Connecticut State Library, Hartford, CT. (Viewed 12 June 2016. A00787-88).

1895 - book

Gillespie, Charles Bancroft (compiled by). (1895). Souvenir History of Wallingford, Connecticut, 1895. 58 pp. (Includes some information about Wallingford companies and entrepreneurs.) The Journal Publishing Company: Meriden, CT. Cornell University library. (Viewed 14 June 2016. A00805-06).

1896 - encyclopedia, biographies

Hall, Henry. (1896). America’s successful men of affairs. An encyclopedia of contemporaneous biography (vol II). The New York Tribune; 1074 pp. (This volume includes a number of profiles of Meriden area entrepreneurs.) University of California, Berkeley library. (Viewed 12 June 2016. A00083-84).

c. 1897 - book

Davis, William T. (Ed.) (c. 1897). The New England states, their constitutional, judicial, educational, commercial, professional and industrial history [with manufacturing sections on Meriden, Wallingford, etc.], vol. 2. Boston: D. H. Hurd & Co. (Viewed 23 September 2020. A02626.)


1900s

1906 - book

Gillespie, Charles Bancroft & Curtis, George Munson. (1906). A century of Meriden: A historic record and pictorial description of the town of Meriden, Connecticut and the men who made it, from earliest settlement to close of its first century of incorporation. 1248 pp. (Includes sections on Meriden industry and many photographs.) Allen County Public Library, Ft. Wayne, IN. (Viewed 12 June 2016. A00791-92).

1906 - book

Atwater, Francis (compiled by). (1906). Centennial of Meriden, June 10-16, 1906: report of the proceedings, with full description of the many events of its successful celebration: Old Home Week: Meriden, Conn., the "Silver City" / published under the auspices of the General Centennial Committee. 416 pp. Journal Publishing Co.: Meriden. [Includes some photos and a key text by Julius H. Pratt, "The infant industries of Meriden during the second quarter of the last century", (pp. 323-34).] Library of Congress, Washington, DC. (Viewed 13 June 2016. A00800-01).


1910s

c. 1911 - book

(c. 1911). Meriden Illustrated. William S. Kline & Company: Kinderhook, NY. 30 pp. Courtesy Connecticut State Library, Hartford, CT. (Viewed 12 June 2016. A00781; A00786). [1]

1915 - book

Marquis, Albert Nelson. (1915). Who’s who in New England, (2nd ed.). [Entries include George Curtis, Edward Miller, Dexter Parker, George Rockwell, C. B. Rogers, Horace Wilcox, and more.] 1207 pp. A. N. Marquis & Company: Chicago. Courtesy Harvard University. (Viewed 17 June 2016. A00860-66).

1917 - encyclopedia, biographies

(1917). Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, vol 3. [On William Edgerton Bliss and E. A. Bliss, (pp 73-76); Nathaniel L. Bradley and Bradley & Hubbard, (pp. 31-4); Edward Miller and Edward Miller (II) (pp. 5-8); Charles Rockwell (and Miller Brothers Cutlery Company), (pp. 67-8); Gilbert Rogers (and C. Rogers & Brothers), (pp. 342-46); George H. Wilcox, president of International Silver Company, and Horace C. Wilcox (partner, Meriden Britannia; director: Manning, Bowman & Co.; Meriden Silver Plate Co.; Rogers Brothers (Waterbury); R. Wallace & Sons (Wallingford); William Rogers Manufacturing Co. (Hartford), (pp. 70-3).] The American Historical Society, Inc.: Boston, New York, Chicago. Courtesy Connecticut State Library. Viewed 28 November 2016. [AAA00525-41] (Other volumes on archive.org with a few other entries on Meriden-related entrepreneurs. Those found are indicated on the company pages.)

1918 - book

Hill, Everett G. (1918). A modern history of New Haven and eastern New Haven County, v. 1. [Includes detailed information pertaining to industry (Meriden, pp. 284-307; Wallingford, pp. 319-29).] New York; Chicago: S. J. Clarke Publishing Company. Allen County Public Library, Fort Wayne, IN. (Viewed 12 June 2016. A00777-78).

1918 - book

Hill, Everett G. (1918). A modern history of New Haven and eastern New Haven County, v. 2. (Includes biographies of some entrepreneurs.) 907 pp. New York; Chicago: S. J. Clarke Publishing Company. Allen County Public Library, Fort Wayne, IN. (Viewed 13 June 2016. A00802-03).


1920s

1922 - book

(1922). Atwater, Francis. Memoirs of Francis Atwater, half century of recollections of an unusually active life. (A considerable amount of text offers detailed and sometimes critical information about various businesses and entrepreneurs in Meriden.) 313 pp. Horton Printing Co.: Meriden. University of Toronto library. (Viewed 12 June 2016. A00782; A00785).

1922 - Wallingford directory

(1922). Wallingford directory [with many historical company mentions], 246 pp. Price & Lee Co. (Viewed 6 October 2020. E01691-94).


1930s

1932-80 - directories

(1932-70, some between 1971-80). Meriden directories (many showing advertisements). (Viewed 3 November 2017. AAA00686; AAA00688-89).

  • Offline - Meriden Public Library.

1936 - special issue, Meriden Daily Journal

(17 April 1936). The Meriden Daily Journal [Fiftieth Anniversary issue (1886-1936)] [with many photos, adverts, and details about c. 1936 companies and historical ones, as well as other societal matters in Meriden]. Approximately over 90 pages. (Viewed 25 November 2020).


1950s

1956 - book

Wendover, Sanford H. (1956). 150 years of Meriden. Meriden: Meriden Sesquicentennial Committee. [Published in connection with the observance of the city’s sesquicentennial, June 17-23, 1956, includes two chapters focused on Meriden industry ("14. Industry of the 19th Century" and "28. Local industry since 1900") and many photographs.] University of Connecticut Libraries, Storrs, CT. (Viewed 12 June 2016. A00789-90).


1980s

1988 - book

Vumbaco, Brenda J. (1988). Meriden – Connecticut crossroads: An illustrated history. 144 pages. [Includes information about historical and current Meriden industry; produced in cooperation with the Meriden Economic Development Corporation.] Northridge, CA: Windsor Publications. (Updated 9 May 2017. A00804).


2010s

2010 - book

Franco, Jan Leach. (2010). Meriden. [Includes historical photos and advertisements related to Meriden industries.] 127 pp. Arcadia Publishing: Charleston, SC.


Footnote:
[1] While the book is catalogued as "undated", on page 8, a business school in Meriden that is profiled is described as opening in 1896 and in its 15th year of operation.



DESIGN MERIDEN:
1: History books - Meriden / Wallingford / Middletown area | 2: Historical maps - Meriden / Wallingford area | 3: Exhibitions of historical Meriden-area art and design (1851-present)