Day 9 of the Advent Calendar looks at Trade Directories. These can tell us a great deal about our ancestors’ trades and the areas in which they lived. You can find Trade Directories in Local Records Offices and Archives, and on pay-to-view sites: but there’s a selection which you can view for free here:
http://specialcollections.le.ac.uk/cdm/landingpage/collection/p16445coll4