City and county directories were commercially published, individual and business directories prior to telephone books and the yellow pages. They were produced starting in the nineteenth century and continued late into the twentieth century. In Colorado, such directories began in the 1870s. Since they were often produced annually, especially in the case of larger towns and cities, they helpfully augment the federal manuscript census, which only appeared every decade. City and county directories entries typically show a name (sometimes spouse), occupation, business address, and residence. After 1910, there was sometimes a reverse directory by street address. There were often classified sections by business type, usually in the back; municipal information was usually in the front. By the mid-nineteenth century, telephone numbers had started to appear, along with indications of property ownership. A cross index of telephone numbers appeared later. Directories have been useful to social and ethnic historians, and to genealogists, for use in social mobility studies, locating and describing individuals, family and community reconstitution, creating occupational charts, and historic preservation. Currently this collection consists primarily of directories from Leadville, Colorado Springs, and Denver. The collection will continue to grow as new materials are added.
Permanent address to digital collection: https://doi.org/10.25810/dm4s-kf30.
Please use the same link when sharing or citing the collection.
Name of the collection: Colorado Directories
Title derived from original captions on the work by the creator. If the original title is not available titles are created by the cataloger.
Individual(s) or corporate entities that created or are associated with the work.
Common names seen in the collection include: Gazetteer Publishing Co. (Denver, Colo.); Wilhelm, David O.
A term that specifies the characteristics and general type of content of the resource.
Type terms used in this collection include: Text
A term or terms that designate a category characterizing a particular style, form, or content.
Genre terms used in the collection include: Reference works
Location of work creation or publication city.
Places include: Leadville (Colo.); Denver (Colo.); Colorado Springs (Colo.)
The name of the entity that published, printed, distributed, released, issued, or produced the resource.
Examples include: Ballenger and Richards; Corbett & Ballenger; Gazetter Pub. Co.
The date that the resource was published, released, or issued.
Date ranges include: 1880s-1960s
Contains the textual or coded form for the language of the content of the resource.
Language(s) seen in this collection include: English
A particular physical presentation of a resource, including the physical form or medium of material for a resource.
Form terms include: city directories; commercial directories
Standard that indicates the nature and format of a document, file, or assortment of bytes. The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) is responsible for all official MIME.
Media type(s) in this collection: application/pdf
The size or scale of the work.
Typically 1 volume. Might be separated into parts because of digital file size.
The method by which a resource achieved digital form.
Origin for this collection: reformatted digital
Additional notes or description of the content of the item. May contain cataloger's notes as deemed relevant.
A term or phrase representing the primary topic(s) on which a work is focused.
Common subject terms used in this collection include: Directories; Business--Directories; Cities and towns
Geographic location(s) relevant to the item.
Some coverage terms used in the collection include: Leadville (Lake, Colorado, United States, North America) (populated place); New Mexico (United States, North America) (first order administrative divisions); Colorado City (Pueblo, Colorado, United States, North America) (populated place)
Information that identifies other resources related to the one being described. This includes title, item ID, item ARK, and a term to describe how the item is related.
Contains a unique standard number or code that distinctively identifies a resource. Typically the file name.
Example: narv_dir_arizona_1923_ new_ocr.pdf; narv_dir_newMexico_1921_new_ocr_Part1.pdf
Bibliographic number assigned to the item to search for in library's catalog.
Controlled, stable link to the resource.
Example: https://ark.colorado.edu/ark:/47540/s87392464332
The institution or repository that holds the resource or where it is available: University of Colorado Boulder Libraries Rare and Distinctive Collections
Shelfmark or other shelving designation that indicates the location identifier for a resource.
Example: F809.7 .A74
Information about restrictions imposed on access to a resource.
Statement in collection: The organization that has made the Item available believes that the Item is in the Public Domain under the laws of the United States, but a determination was not made as to its copyright status under the copyright laws of other countries. The Item may not be in the Public Domain under the laws of other countries. Please refer to the organization that has made the Item available for more information. http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/
Statement in collection: This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/