Trade marks / trademarks are a rich source of social and economic history, as, though in theory there to show the origin of the goods or services, they are of course used to persuade us to buy.
David Newton, a former member of staff at the British Library specialising in intellectual property, has written a book called "Trademarked: a history of well-known brands from Aertex to Wright's coal tar", published by Sutton Publishing.
Profusely illustrated from the official journals and other sources, it tells the stories behind numerous trade marks within eight themed chapters such as drinks or household goods. Mainly covering British trade marks, it is excellent for dipping into.
I would be delighted if the old trade mark journals, which display advertised marks, could be scanned and made available on the Web. Just browsing through the pages of a specific era can be very evocative, besides the ability to search for specific companies or trade marks. I am not aware of any such projects.
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