Business & Personal Finance

In two previous blogs, Finding Company Histories dated April 12, 2012 and Finding Company Histories at UWO's Web Site dated June 7, 2012, electronic resources were reviewed in relation to finding elusive company histories.

For those interested in finding Canadian company histories in print, there are a number of resources available in the Toronto Public Library system that may be of assistance in addition to the electronic resources.

They are:

1.
Business Information Centre, Toronto Reference Library.  Company Files Index.  Toronto : Toronto Reference Library, 20–. 

Uncatalogued.  Please ask for assistance at the Business, Science & Technology Department's Information Desk, 3rd Floor, Toronto Reference Library.

Approximately 300 files containing Canadian corporate ephemera are available in the Business, Science & Technology Department at the Toronto Reference Library.  Each file is unique.  These files may contain pamphlets with historical information. 

For example, the file on General Motors Canada Limited includes:  "History of the Automobile", "GM in Canada : The Early Years", "75 Years of Progress", "My Eighty Years on Wheels by R.S. McLaughlin as told to Eric Hutton", "GM of Canada War Album", and more.

2.
Grant, Tina, ed.  Canadian Company Histories.  New York; Toronto : Gale Canada, c1996.

Includes 80 of Canada's "most important companies".  Provides information on the founding, development, key events, significant people, historical performance, and future direction of the listed companies.  An Index to Companies and Persons as well as an Index to Industries are available.

3.
Metropolitan Toronto Library.  Researching Older Canadian Companies at the Metropolitan Toronto Library.  Toronto : Metropolitan Toronto Library Board, Reference Division, Business Dept., 1984.

This is a guide intended to help locate information on older Canadian companies that are no longer in existence or for which annual reports are not readily available.

4.
Metropolitan Toronto Library.  Business Dept.  Business Articles Index.  Toronto : Metropolitan Toronto Library.  Business Department, 19–.

Uncatalogued.  Please ask for assistance at the Business, Science & Technology Department's Information Desk, 3rd Floor, Toronto Reference Library.

Citations to articles are listed on catalogue cards.  Coverage is from pre-1965 to 1975.  Articles are indexed from selected magazine sources.  Catalogue cards are organized by subject, company name, and personal name.

5.
Metropolitan Toronto Library.  Business Dept.  Newspaper Clippings and Pamphlets : Pre-1978.  Toronto : Metropolitan Toronto Library.  Business Department, 19–.

This publication is an index to newspaper clippings and pamphlets on approximately 750 Canadian companies.  The clippings and pamphlets are on microfiche and are located in the Business, Science & Technology Department on the 3rd floor of the Toronto Reference Library. 

6.
Newcomen Society of the United States.  Index of Publications : The Newcomen Society of the United States.  New York : The Society, v.

The index covers company histories published from 1933 (Publication # 1) to 1984 (Publication # 1234).  Canadian company histories are included.  

The Toronto Reference Library's holdings are from 1948 (Publication #103) to 1998 (Publication # 1516). But, TPL's holdings are incomplete.  Please ask for assistance at the Business, Science & Technology Department's Information Desk on the 3rd floor of the Toronto Reference Library.

7.
Toronto Public Libraries.  Early Canadian Companies : A Guide to Sources of Information in the Toronto Public Libraries on Selected Canadian Companies over 100 Years Old.  Toronto : Toronto Public Library, 1967.

The sources of information include annual reports, clippings, pamphlets, books, and articles.

Also, remember to search the Toronto Public Library catalogue for books or other materials on the company; i.e. search by author and subject.