Hidden Hands and Missing Persons

Abstract

This article offers reflections on a pilot study that examined an incomplete set of mid-20th-century lace manufacturer’s business records. The Nottingham Trent University Lace Archive holds the partial business records of W. J. Walker & Son Ltd., which offer an interesting insight into the industry in a complex trading period. The research interrogates these business records not to assess the profitability of the business but to evidence the large number of hidden hands, technology, and processes involved in the Nottingham lace industry. The breadth of the documents highlights the wide influence of this branch of the lace trade through direct employment and its external supply chain. Purchases include everything from soap to machine parts and thread to insurance, the latter including “war damage.” Wages books evidence the planned wartime contraction of the industry as well as the names of employees. Documents from lacemaking trade unions and entries in the wages books can be read as vivid accounts of the variations in pay scales according to skill levels and gender. Correspondence from companies in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and Kenya highlights the international scope of the industry. This is further emphasized by the international lists of potential purchasers for the lace machines when the company ceased trading. The findings of this pilot study indicate that the business records of companies engaged in the lace trade, which are an under-researched area, are worthy of greater study especially in relation to their social history content.