Only a small group of the society's papers has survived. They begin with the foundation of the second Amalgamated Society of House Decorators and Painters in 1872. There are no papers of the East London or Bermondsey societies taken over in 1900. These books comprise basic lists of members entering the Society during this period. The two volumes are arranged alphabetically by the initial letter of the surname and, within each letter, by the date of the member s admission to the Society.
Searches are time-consuming, because members are arranged by their date of entry.
The Centre's staff can only do a very limited amount of searching. For detailed or more extensive enquiries, the Centre will put you in touch with a researcher who will search for a fee. Often, the two registration books are not able to provide any further information - indicating that the person in question was not a member of the union. Enquirers are asked to bear this in mind. Similarly, most members recorded in the books are in their 20s and 40s.