Participating Libraries
American Antiquarian Society
The American Antiquarian Society (AAS) is an independent research library founded in 1812 in Worcester, Massachusetts. The library's collections document the life of America's people from the colonial era through to the Civil War and Reconstruction.
Bodleian Library
The world-famous Bodleian Libraries at the University of Oxford contain a unique collection of printed and manuscript resources on an extensive range of subjects. The Bodleian has been open to scholars since 1602 but incorporates a much earlier fifteenth century library.
Bristol Record Office
Bristol Record Office was established in 1924 and was the first borough record office in the country. Home to 800 years of Bristol's history, the Record Office collects and preserves records relating to the city of Bristol and the surrounding area for current and future generations to consult.
The British Library
The British Library was established by the British Parliament with the British Library Act, 1972. Serving business and industry, researchers, academics and students in the UK and world-wide, their holdings feature 3,000-year old material alongside today's newspapers. The library's collections include over 150 million items, comprising manuscripts, maps, newspapers, magazines, prints and drawings, music scores, and patents.
California Historical Society
The California Historical Society originally started in 1871, and has since been reborn on several occasions, merging with other societies and obtaining new collections along the way. It now has a collection that comprises a diverse body of materials documenting the history of California.
The Field Museum Library, Chicago
The Field Museum was incorporated in the State of Illinois on September 16, 1893 as the Columbian Museum of Chicago. It is an educational institution that seeks to accumulate and disseminate knowledge, and preserve and exhibit objects illustrating art, archaeology, science and history.
The Glenbow Museum
The Glenbow Museum in Calgary combines one of the largest museums in Canada with an art gallery, library and archives, all documenting the cultural heritage of Western Canada. It was founded in 1966 by oil magnate and collector Eric Harvie,and today holds over a million artifacts and 28,000 works of art.
Historical Society of Pennsylvania
The Historical Society of Pennsylvania was founded in 1824 and is home to over 600,000 printed items and more than 21 million manuscript and graphic items. Its extensive collections encompass more than 350 years of America's history, from the colonial period to contemporary life and the contributions of recent immigrants.
Hudson's Bay Company Archives
The Hudson's Bay Company was founded by Royal Charter in 1670, and is the oldest trading company in the world. Its meticulous records were donated to the Province of Manitoba in 1994 and it is now a division of the Archives of Manitoba. The holdings include an extensive collection of both textual and special media material.
Library Company of Philadelphia
The Library Company of Philadelphia is America's oldest cultural institution, founded in 1731 by Benjamin Franklin. It is an independent research library specialising in American history and culture from the 17th to the 19th centuries. The library's vast collection features rare books, manuscripts, broadsides, ephemera, prints, photographs, and works of art.
Liverpool John Moores University
Following its amalgamation with different colleges, what was once a small mechanics institution in 1825 eventually became known as Liverpool John Moores University in 1992, one of the UK's new generation universities. The university played a pivotal role in the cultural renaissance of Liverpool and is at the forefront of exciting developments multimedia, sports science and space exploration.
The Massachusetts Historical Society
The Massachusetts Historical Society was founded in 1791, and is an independent research library offering invaluable resources on American, Massachusetts and New England history, life and culture. The fascinating collections chart America's past through a wealth of rare and unique documents, artefacts, and irreplaceable national treasures.
Mauritshuis, Den Haag
Established in 1822, the Mauritshuis houses a world-famous collection of Dutch masterpieces dating back to the 17th century. The collection has grown considerably over the last 200 years, and currently consists of approximately 800 paintings, 50 miniatures, 20 sculptures, and drawing and prints.
Merseyside Maritime Museum
The Maritime Archives and Library at the Merseyside Maritime Museum house a collection of maritime books and documents spanning three centuries. These include one of the finest collections of merchant shipping records in the UK. Every aspect of Liverpool's maritime history from the early 18th century is featured, but the coverage is national and international.
Nantucket Historical Association
The Nantucket Historical Association Research Library is a repository of primary resources focusing on Nantucket history. Its collections contain more than 5,000 volumes and 50,000 photographs, as well as archival documents such as ship's logs, account books, family papers and scrapbooks.
The National Archives
The National Archives in Kew is the UK goverment's official archive, containing almost 1,000 years of history, with records ranging from parchment and paper scrolls through to digital files and archived websites.
The National Gallery, London
The National Gallery was founded in 1824, and houses the national collection of Western European painting from the 13th to the 19th centuries. Containing over 2,300 works, all main traditions of Western European painting are represented from the artists of late medieval and Renaissance Italy to the French Impressionists.
National Gallery of Art, Washington
The National Gallery of Art was created and given to the people of the United States in 1937 by financier and collector Andrew Mellon. Other art enthusiasts later donated significant parts of their own private collections, and the museum continues to expand thanks to ongoing generosity from donors.
The Newberry Library, Chicago
The Newberry Library is an independent research library for the humanities and social sciences, with an active educational and cultural presence in Chicago. The library offers readers an extensive non-circulating collection of rare books, manuscripts, maps, music and other printed material, spanning six centuries.
New York Public Library
The New York Public Library ranks alongside the British Library, Library of Congress and the Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris as one of the greatest knowledge institutions in the world. NYPL encompasses a set of four major research collections as well as a network of 85 community libraries. The four research libraries are the Humanities & Social Sciences Library, the New York Public Library for Performing Arts, the Science, Industry & Business Library, and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.
Plymouth Museum and Art Gallery
The Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery has been actively collecting objects and artefacts since 1897. Many of the objects are of particular relevance to Plymouth's heritage, including a substantial collection of Plymouth porcelain.
Princeton University Art Museum
The Princeton University Art Museum, founded in 1882, is one of the leading university art museums in the United States. The collections offer over 72,000 works of art, ranging from ancient to contemporary art, and concentrate on the Mediterranean regions, Western Europe, China, the United States and Latin America.
The Robert Opie Collection
Established in 1963, the Robert Opie Collection is the world's largest collection relating to British nostalgia and advertising memorabilia. The collection, which tells the fascinating story of Britain's consumer society, lifestyle and culture since the Industrial Revolution, now contains over 500,000 intriguing items.
School of Oriental and African Studies
Founded in 1916, the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) is the only Higher Education institution in the UK specialising in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. SOAS combines language scholarship, disciplinary expertise and regional focus, and its scholars tackle issues such as democracy, human rights, poverty, religion and legal systems.
Senate House Library, University of London
Senate House Library constitutes one of the world's most significant collections in the arts, humanities and social sciences. Its eight collaborating libraries provide services to over 100,000 registered readers every year, and deliver essential services to individuals, research teams, students and partners from almost 200 countries.
Städel Museum, Frankfurt
Founded in 1815, the Städel Museum's extensive art collection currently comprises approximately 2,900 paintings, 600 sculptures, 500 photographs and more than 100,000 drawings and prints. The museum's rich holdings span 700 years of European art history, from the early 14th century and covering the Renaissance, the Baroque, Early Modern and contemporary art.
The University of Florida, George A. Smathers Libraries
The George A. Smathers Libraries represent the largest information resource system in the state of Florida. The libraries hold extensive collections of catalogued volumes, microforms, documents, maps and images, e-books, electronic journals and electronic databases.
University of Houston
The University of Houston was founded in 1927 and is a leading public research institution. Global Commodities features a variety of rare documents from the university libraries relating to the Texas Company.
Other supporting companies and organisations include:
Canton Tea
Chicago Mercantile Exchange
Commoditytrading.net
Cotton Incorporated
Cadbury's
Divine Chocolate
General Mills
Harveys of Bristol
Imperial Tobacco
International Cotton Association
The Fairtrade Foundation
World Commission on Forests
Meissen Porcelain
British Geological Survey