Pigot & Co's Directory Of London 1839

Pigot & Co's Directory of London 1839 - Digital Download or CD-ROM

Product Description:

Step back into the bustling streets of Victorian London with this high-quality digital reproduction of Pigot & Co's Directory of London 1839. This invaluable genealogical resource is available as an instant digital download or on a traditional CD-ROM, providing a fascinating snapshot of the metropolis during the early reign of Queen Victoria.

Navigating the Directory: A Note on Format This directory consists of high-resolution scanned images of the original book. While the text is not natively searchable in the traditional sense, the genius of Pigot’s layout makes navigation incredibly simple. The directory is meticulously organized alphabetically—by street, by trade, and by surname. Furthermore, if you are using a modern PDF reader (such as Adobe Acrobat), you can utilize the "Recognize Text" (OCR on the fly) feature to instantly search for specific surnames, occupations, or addresses, giving you the best of both worlds: authentic historical imagery with modern search capabilities.

The Perfect 1839 Census Substitute For genealogists, the year 1839 sits perfectly within a notorious "census gap." Because the 1841 census was the first to list individual names (though with limited detail) and the 1851 census is the first to provide exact birthplaces and family relationships, directories like this are absolute goldmines. If your ancestors were living, working, or doing business in London in 1839, this directory bridges the gap, placing them squarely on the map just before the first national census.

A Glimpse into 1830s London: Famous Residents & Fascinating Facts London in 1839 was the largest and most populous city in the world, a sprawling hub of the Industrial Revolution. While browsing these pages, you are looking at the same London streets walked by legendary figures of the era:

• Literary Giants: Charles Dickens was living in Doughty Street at this exact time, serializing Oliver Twist and Nicholas Nickleby.
• Engineering Pioneers: Isambard Kingdom Brunel was actively working on the Thames Tunnel, while the London to Birmingham Railway (completed just a year prior in 1838) was revolutionizing transport.
• Science & Medicine: Michael Faraday was conducting his groundbreaking experiments at the Royal Institution, and a young Florence Nightingale was living in the city, soon to begin her nursing career.
• Industry & Commerce: The docks of the East End were overflowing with goods from the Empire. The printing, silk weaving, and watchmaking industries were massive employers.
• Sport & Leisure: Lord's Cricket Ground was already the spiritual home of cricket, governed by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), while bare-knuckle boxing and rowing along the Thames drew massive crowds.

What’s Inside: Detailed Breakdown of Sections Pigot's directories are celebrated for their comprehensive layout. This volume includes:

• London & its Suburbs: Covering not just the City of London, but spreading out to Marylebone, Paddington, Islington, Hackney, Kensington, Chelsea, and beyond.
• Commercial & Banking Section: A who’s who of London’s financial powerhouses, including bankers, merchants, insurance brokers, and East India Company directors.
• Street Directory: An alphabetical listing of principal streets and squares, detailing the head of household or business at each address. Perfect for tracing exact property locations.
• Trades & Professions: An alphabetical index of occupations from Accordion Makers to Zinc Workers. Find your ancestor's specific trade and see who their competitors were.
• Nobility, Gentry, & Clergy: Listings for the aristocracy, MPs, and the established church, providing context to the social hierarchy your ancestors lived under.
• Public Offices, Hospitals, & Institutions: Details of workhouses, infirmaries, and guilds—vital for tracing poorer ancestors who may have relied on parish relief.

Important Disclaimer Regarding Maps Please Note: Original copies of Pigot’s directories were sometimes issued with fold-out maps. Due to the age of these volumes and the way they were previously bound, maps were frequently removed, damaged, or lost long before they were digitized. Therefore, we cannot guarantee the presence of the original map in this specific scan. However, if the map is present in our source copy, it is included as a fantastic bonus!

Whether you are a seasoned genealogist, a local historian, or simply fascinated by the streets of Dickensian London, Pigot & Co's 1839 Directory is an essential addition to your digital library.