In the late 19th century, corporate histories were initially written by Victorian era businessmen, either the founder of a company himself, members of the surviving family owners or long-serving employees.
Relevant records were often discovered by chance and deemed interesting enough to turn into historical narratives which were funded either by the family descendants of the long-dead businessmen in question or, less frequently, the author in association with a publisher.
The result was a classic, two-volume work that transformed the writing of business history in the UK from a public relations exercise into a reputable branch of scholarship.
Wilson's work, about one of western Europe's most important companies, made him the father of modern corporate histories in the UK.
[citation needed] Many companies see their corporate histories as effective purveyors of long-term organizational memory and especially suitable for transmitting strategy.
As of 1999, its collection was overseen by a full-time staff of 11 people, and included 50,000 feet (15,000 m) of documents; 800,000 still photos; 12,000 various gadgets and artifacts, some of them dating back to Alexander Graham Bell; and 16,000 films and videos about AT&T.