I helped with this project so am pleased to see it now available for viewing on the Findmypast website. This is one of the datasets now online as part of the joint venture between The Society of Genealogists and Findmypast.

Here is the description of the material from the website …

This project is an index to British shopkeepers, businessmen and women, “captains of industry” and their companies. The initial source material is a series of books published in the 1890s by the London Printing and Engraving Company and the Brighton firm of Robinson, Son and Pike which later became W T Pike. They seem to have travelled to large towns and cities all over the British Isles, offering the local corporation and businesses the opportunity to appear in a book containing a history of the area, its attractions, major institutions and its commercial life. There are sometimes details of town councillors, often with vignette-sized photographs and one has a picture of the local football team! Shops, businesses and manufacturers probably had to pay for inclusion, the amount depending on the size of the entry. The proprietor or manager seems to have been visited at work and interviewed to provide the copy for the book.

www.findmypast.co.uk