The Royal Blue Book 1913

These books are a treasure of detail of those living and working in London, with a slant on society not found in Kelly’s Post Office Directories.
 
This book gives the names and addresses of residents bounded by Hampstead on the North, Chelsea reaches of the Thames on the South, Finsbury Circus on the East and Hammersmith on the West.

It has an alphabetic Directory and gives residents street by street. They state that they list the better class of residents so it may avoid the poorer areas within the above bounds.

The book was produced by royal appointment and in addition it lists the royal household and staff.

The book covers officials of every type and interestingly some obscure departments including the Lunacy Commissioners and the Masters in Lunacy.

It covers social aspects such as Ladies Clubs, Principal Club Houses, Social fixtures such as shows, and sporting events. It also covers the various Royal Institutions, Museums and Railways.

The trades and professions section gives the leading suppliers of all sorts of goods and indicates by a small crown if they supply the royal family.

It also lists all the Aldermen and councillors for the London County Council, giving their details and addresses.

A full list of Peers of the realm of the day is also included.
 
Typical entries for households are as follows:-

Abbingdon Villas, Kensington, W
Marloes Rd to Earl’s Ct Rd

North Side
Abingdon Court
1 Corser, Miss
2 Kemp, Mrs Dixon
3 Lennox, Mrs
4 de Montagnac, Noel
…

The sections are bookmarked as follows:-

• Preface
• Late Corrections
• Abbreviations
• General Index
• Index to Advertisements
• Index to Advertisers
• Almanac of 1913
• Principal Cricket, Polo, Racing and other fixtures
• The Royal Family
• Royal Household
• The Ministry
• Foreign Ministers and Consuls
• Family names of peers
• Titles of eldest sons of peers
• House of Commons and members
• Law Courts
• Supreme Court
• High Court
• Club houses
• Bankers in London
• Street Directory
• Alphabetic directory
• Trades and Professions

As well as being a useful directory of London it also provides an insight into how society functioned. The book when first published would be a must have for anyone of standing giving the social events of the year.

It would also allow you to use the same suppliers as those that supplied the royal family.

So why should a family historian buy it?

It is a great way of tracking down those London ancestors in a period after available census material and just before the start of the Great War. It also allows you to search through the council and parliamentary staff, peers, royal staff and tradespeople.

This directory contains 1676 pages packed with information and details of those living and working in London.