The TATHS Library contains over 1100 books and catalogues on tools and trades, including many that are out of print.
The TATHS Library is located at the Museum of English Rural Life in Reading. It can be visited in the Reading Room without charge but it is necessary to make an appointment.
Some items may be temporarily removed either by MERL for exhibition elsewhere or by the TATHS Librarian. It is advisable to check with the TATHS Librarian, Steve Dowling, before making a visit to view a particular item. Email: The Librarian
The Reading Room is open from 10am to 5pm on Mondays and from 9am to 5pm, Tuesday to Friday. It is open to the public. To make an appointment, telephone: 0118 378 8660 or email merl@reading.ac.uk.
The Museum of English Rural Life, The University of Reading, Redlands Road, Reading RG1 5EX. Further information can be obtained on the MERL web site.
(Note that if you were hoping to visit the library and also see the main MERL collection of rural artefacts, the museum galleries are closed for redevelopment from 1st November 2014 until early 2016. The library remains accessible.)
Click on any of the changing pictures below to see a bigger selection of books in the TATHS Library.
The Library Catalogue is available for download in pdf format. It is fully searchable - in most pdf viewers you can search by clicking on Control + F (or Command + F) or by choosing from a menu.
For other formats, and for any enquiries about the catalogue or the library contents, email the librarian.
The catalogue of items in the TATHS library at the Museum of English Rural Life (MERL) is in title order. The items within the library are filed strictly in TATHS Accession Number order and it will help the library staff if you quote both title and number when requesting to view a particular item.
A Class has been assigned to show whether the item is a Book (B), Almanac (ALM), Trade Catalogue (TC) , Video, CD or Other (O).
An attempt has been made to provide a Category and in some cases Sub Category to give some indication of the subject matter and help to search for a particular subject. On some Trade Catalogue entries the Sub Category indicates the firm involved.
Categories and Sub Categories | |
18th Century Tools |
Leather Trades |