The Atkins / Atcraft Archive

Atkins-Atcraft was first established in 1879 by Edwin Atkins as 'E. Atkins', a firm of furniture manufacturers, with factories in Bethnal Green, East London and Birmingham. The name changed to Atcraft Ltd in the late 1920s and production was moved to a factory at Alperton, near Wembley in Middlesex. Atcraft's products ranged from chairs and tables to hammocks and camp beds, and included playpens, prams and invalid chairs. In later years the product range focused almost entirely on producing nursery and garden furniture. The firm ceased trading in the 1980s; the Archive itself was later acquired by Ed Blackburn, a member of staff at the (then) London College of Furniture.

This archive includes:

• trade catalogues, 1913-1983
• ledgers
• private ledgers
• day books and salary books, 1915-1960s (the run of each series is incomplete)
• sales summaries, 1933-1973
• balance sheets, 1908, 1911, 1913-1915
• articles of association, 1922
• changes to articles of association, 1946
• minutes of Directors' meetings, 1922-1946
• designs of cartoons for nursery furniture
• address book of staff and travellers
• stocktaking book, 1881-1882
• exhibitions accounts book, 1921-1963
• address book of staff and travellers
• tables of descendants of Edwin Atkins and George Clifton Sunley
• papers relating to centenary celebrations of the firm, 1979
• photographs of company vehicles, 1950s
• press cutting of photograph of retired staff [1940s-1950s]

Many of the earlier trade catalogues bear the name of Claude Cyril Atkins, one of the Directors of the firm, and a son of Edwin Atkins the founder of the firm.

Further information regarding this Archive is held by the Archives Hub and may be found on the Atkins Atcraft Archives on the Archives Hub.

Please send any enquiries you may have about the archive via email: specialcollections@londonmet.ac.uk Tel: 0207 320 3516