R.G. Dun & Company credit report volumes

The R.G. Dun & Co. credit report collection consist of 2,522 volumes of handwritten credit reports on individuals and firms from the United States, its western territories, Canada, and several foreign countries. Entries include information on the duration of the business, net worth, sources of wealth, and the character and reputation of the owners, their partners, and successors. The reports date from the 1840s to the 1890s, and are most complete from the 1850s to the early 1880s. There are a small amount of loose credit reports for the early 1900s.

The credit report volumes are arranged geographically by state or territory. Each state or territory is then subdivided alphabetically by county and/or city. Most include alphabetical name indices that direct the user to the volume and page where the credit report is recorded. The volumes for smaller states or territories sometimes contain multiple counties within a single volume (for example, Georgia v.32 includes Taylor, Telfair, and Terrell counties.)

When the collection was donated to Harvard Business School, a simple state-level numbering system was imposed on the volumes (i.e., Massachusetts v. 1 to 105.) Researchers should use the state-level number to request a volume or to cite it in a publication. However, it should be noted that these numbers were not used by the R.G. Dun & Co. clerks who originally recorded the credit reports. The Dun clerks numbered the volumes for each county or city independently, and used these numbers in their indices. Researchers will need to convert this original number to its state-level equivalent. For example, the Worcester County, Massachusetts, index created by the Dun clerks might point to a credit report in volume 5. The Worcester County v.5 cited in the Dun index is Massachusetts v.101. When necessary, the inventory below lists both the state number and the original Dun volume number.

Please note that the inclusive dates listed for each volume are approximate.

Some loose credit reports have been removed from the credit ledger volumes and are now located in Box 1 and Box 2.

A list of common abbreviations used in the credit report volumes is available for download at this link: Common Abbreviations used in the R.G. Dun & Co. Credit Report Volumes