The City of London Trade Protection Circular was a publication produced by the City of London Trade Protection Society, and primarily aimed at their members, although it was available for wider distribution. It was founded when the Society changed its name from The Guardians: or Society for the Protection of Trade Against Swindlers and Sharpers, and grew out of a private newsletter circulated only to its members, which also continued to be produced and is included here. The Society, founded in the 1770s, was one of a number of organizations founded to act as a collective, sharing the cost of prosecuting shoplifters and circulating information on fraudsters and swindlers. The Circular, combined with the records of the Society, acted as a kind of early credit check, allowing members to check the credential of those they were becoming financially involved with.

As well as containing accounts of fraud, listing names of bankrupts, covering criminal proceedings, and featured news on partnerships entered into and ended, it also included trade advertisements. It used these adverts to keep the cost of producing the publication down, but also marketed itself saying that while ‘In many publications, Trade and Commercial Advertisements never meet the eyes of those to whom they are addressed; but the Advertising columns in this, the Circular of the City of London Trade Protection Society, will always command the attention of persons interested in Trade and Commerce.’ The private circular also contained news of the Society, and any additional information deemed private.

It was decided at a quarterly meeting of the Society that the public Circular should be discontinued, and therefore the previous issue, that of 24 March 1849 was the last published. The private circular continued to be produced and circulated. A new publication instantly appeared, the Trade Protection Record, which was produced along the same lines, but which the Society was keen to stress was neither sanctioned by them nor linked to the Society.

Beth Gaskell, The British Library