About the archive
Preserving the Past,
Inspiring the Future
The story behind the vintage advertising archive
Nestled in the heart of Stockport lies a treasure trove of advertising history – the Richard Roberts Archive. This remarkable institution was born from the passion and dedication of Richard Roberts, an enthusiastic collector with an insatiable curiosity for the stories behind the ads that shaped our world.
For over two decades, Richard has meticulously curated a one-of-a-kind vintage advertising archive, driven by the belief that these print ads serve as captivating snapshots of change throughout the ages. What started as a private collection soon blossomed into an extensive magazine archive, housing a wealth of print advertisements spanning centuries.
Each piece within our vintage advertising archive offers a unique window into the past, providing researchers and enthusiasts with an opportunity to explore the changing fashions, speech patterns, and cultural norms that these advertisements so vividly captured.
From working-class newspapers to high-society magazines, our advertisement archive embraces the diversity of intended audiences, revealing the intricate tapestry of social dynamics woven into the fabric of advertising narratives. Whether it's a glamorous fashion illustration from the Roaring Twenties or a bold, pioneering automobile advertisement promising power and performance, our advert archive preserves these precious moments in time, ensuring that their stories continue to resonate with future generations.
At the core of our mission is a commitment to public access and preservation.
We strive to connect researchers with the fascinating history of daily life and industries, as told through the lens of advertising. Through public presentations, ongoing digitization efforts, and a dedicated team of experts, we aim to make this invaluable resource accessible to all, encouraging exploration and igniting a passion for the art and storytelling that defined the golden age of print advertising.
Our commitment to preservation extends beyond the printed page. We meticulously maintain each piece in our magazine archive, ensuring that these advertisements remain in their original context, surrounded by the editorial articles, opinion pieces, and social commentaries that once graced the same pages. This holistic approach allows researchers to fully immerse themselves in the zeitgeist of the era, gaining a comprehensive understanding of the cultural landscape that shaped these captivating advertisements.
Join us on this remarkable journey through time, where the essence of advertising history comes alive with every turn of the page, every striking illustration, and every captivating narrative. Together, we can preserve this invaluable cultural legacy and ensure that the art of vintage print advertising continues to fascinate and inspire audiences for generations to come.
The value of this remarkable archive extends far beyond mere nostalgia or artistic appreciation.
Our values
Social history
We aim to preserve, and make available for research, print advertising of any products, in any language and from any period.
The text and images of advertising serve to document changing fashions in everything from speech, clothing, food and transport to entire companies or industries.
The chosen media is also vital to the understanding the intended social audience, from working-class newspapers to society magazines.
Public access
Through the Archive collection we aim to connect with researchers to reveal the fascinating history of daily life and industries through advertising.
We currently provide public presentations using materials housed at the Archive and are working hard to catalogue and digitise the collection for easier access.
Through this we encourage the public to carry out research with the Archive and to spread the word about our collection.
Preservation
Our collection policy is the saving and preserving of print publications from all periods that include advertising.
Our acquisition criteria are broader than simply magazines and newspapers. We consider programmes, brochures and catalogues, commemorative books, leaflets and flyers to be equally important.
We aim to acquire complete publications that retain the advertisement’s context.
Our team
Richard Roberts – Chair
Richard is a mechanical engineer and former information technology project manager who first became interested in advertising in the early 2000s.
His interest turned to a passion that led to the founding of the Richard Roberts Archive. The Archive has since developed from Richard’s private collection to a publicly accessible research centre.
He is the director and archive consultant of the Society of Automotive Historians in Britain. He has owned several Rolls-Royce Silver Shadows and a rare 1956 James Young Silver Cloud saloon.
Dr. Craig Horner – Trustee
Craig Horner is a senior lecturer in history at Manchester Metropolitan University. His research is in late-Victorian mobility, especially cycling and motoring.
He has written on early motoring, most recentlyThe Emergence of Bicycling and Automobility in Britainpublished by Bloomsbury in 2021 and edits theannual albumAspects of Motoring History for the Society of Automotive Historians in Britain.
Peter Moss - Trustee
Peter is a chemical engineer and industrial consultant with a passion for motoring history that dates back to his very earliest years – his family owning old cars as diverse as a 5CV Citroën and a 4½-litre Bentley.
He is a director, publicity officer and webmaster of the Society of Automotive Historians in Britain and has written articles for specialist motoring publications. He has given talks at the 2017 and 2019 European Motoring History Conferences.
In 2021, Peter and Richard published their joint work Making a Marque, the history of Rolls-Royce promotion from 1904 to 1940, which contains many items from the Archive. It is out now from all good bookshops.
Katie Hilton – Trustee
Katie is a designer specialising in creating engaging experiences for the museum and heritage sector.
She holds an undergraduate degree in Graphic Design and is currently undertaking a postgraduate degree in Heritage and Interpretation. Throughout her career spanning over a decade, she has had the pleasure to develop her hobby of visiting museums into helping other visitors access and enjoy heritage collections such as the Richard Roberts Archive.
OUR VOLUNTEERS
Stan - Our Preservation Champion
“I retired and was looking for interesting things to do. I found the archive on Stockport Volunteer Hub in November 2024, with the tempting offer of maintenance and woodworking jobs. After the first visit I was drawn in by the friendliness of the group, the log stove heated office, frequent biscuit-fuelled tea breaks, a variety of interesting tasks and listening to gentlemen of a certain age talking animatedly about old cars. The enthusiasm of the volunteers, even when sorting through and filing scores of the same adverts is strangely infectious, I think they must be putting something in the tea.”
Philip Lloyd – The Collection Care Expert
“ I began volunteering at RRA several months ago, having initially no knowledge of what it would involve other than what I had read on this site. I was immediately made welcome and shown around the Archive to get an understanding about what it was all about. From the start I found it fascinating – not least because of how such a unique and culture-rich collection would be housed in a unit on such an unassuming (I think is the word) trading estate on the edge of Stockport.
My main task is to sort through publications – sometimes from up to a century ago – extracting the advertisements, checking whether they already exist in the Archive and, if not, filing them away, suitably protected, using a well-understood protocol so that they can be easily extracted when needed. That is my main task but I assist wherever needed – including acting as electrician’s mate when one of the Trustees was installing new light fittings: “Hold onto this while I switch the power on to test it. Don’t worry, it is insulated.”
They say that every day is a school-day and I find it compelling what my work at the Archive tells me about changes in social attitudes over the decades – generally, in relation to topics like gender stereotyping and how children should be raised, but also specifically, in noting how advertising of, for example, tobacco products and fur coats has changed and/or become extinct.
The work I do is interesting; the surroundings comfortable and the company of other volunteers and the Trustees most agreeable. Tea is constantly being brewed and – the most important element of any workplace environment – there is usually a plentiful supply of cake. I have found that my time at RRA is very far from being a zero-sum game; I am sure that the knowledge and experience I accumulate each week far exceeds the benefit to the Archive of the little bit of work that I do (but don’t tell Richard.)”