Brands have been registered in Utah since 1851. Brand books were used locally to prevent the duplicate use of brands by livestock owners, and as a means of identifying and controlling animals left in estray pounds or that were being sold. Later, as regulations expanded state control over inspection for disease, transportation, and slaughter of livestock, maintenance of a central brand registry became even more important.; The law regulating the printing of brand books was passed by the first session of the territorial legislature in 1851. It required the "general recorder to furnish printed copies of all marks and brands to the clerks of different counties," who were also established as auxiliary recorders by the act. [An Act in Relation to Marks and Brands, in Acts, resolutions, and memorials passed by the first annual and special sessions of the legislative assembly... (Salt Lake City: Brigham H. Young, Printer) 1852, p. 84-88]. Auxiliary recorders used them to help prevent duplication of brands assigned to individual livestock owners, and as a means of identifying and controlling animals that had been put into estray pounds or that were being sold in each county. Later, as regulations expanded state control over inspection for disease, transportation, and slaughter of livestock, maintenance of a central brand registry became even more important in the regulatory process. Subsequent revisions of the 1851 law expanded the list of officials who were to automatically receive the brand books, provided for public distribution, and changed the frequency of its publication. [Major revisions of the act occurred in 1866, 1897, 1917, 1921, 1939, and 1979].; Brand books contain all livestock brands and ear marks registered with the State Department of Agriculture. Livestock is assumed to include all types of animals raised for pleasure or for profit. The 1917 law was the first to specifically mention cattle, horses, and mules as livestock [ Laws of Utah, chapter 105 (1917)], although the brands of these and perhaps other animals may have been recorded before then. Subsequent revisions of the brand law expanded the definition of livestock to include several other animals.; The first surviving book in the series is an 1874 cumulation that records all brands that had been issued in the territory since 1849. A second cumulative brand book was published in 1884 covering the previous ten years, followed by several supplements. The practice of regularly rerecording brands every ten years started in 1901. The pattern was to publish a cumulative issue with supplementary books published more frequently that would include all new brands registered since publication of the last cumulative issue. Brands and marks not renewed were dropped from the brand book and could be reassigned.; Regular cumulative issues start with the 1901 edition, but some issues are not included in Archives holdings. Beginning in 1976, cumulative issues start appearing at five year intervals. Many annual supplements are also missing from the series as well; and it is possible either that both the supplements and cumulative issues were never published, or that copies were simply not found in the series when it was processed. Laws required publication of supplements only "as often as was deemed necessary".; Entries in the brand books include the brand symbol, name of the person registering the mark or brand, the location on the body of the animal, county of residence of the applicant, and the date the brand was recorded. Graphic illustrations of where the marks and brands appeared on the body were added to the books with the 1901 volume. Brand registry numbers were added beginning in 1922.; Chronological by publication date; Brands recorded within each book are organized in the following order: first by brands consisting of letter, then by those consisting of numbers, and finally by those consisting of some type of symbol. Separate sections of ear marks or other identification marks follow the brands.; Brand books; Dec 1849-Dec 1874; Dec 1874-Dec 1884; Jan 1885-Dec 1888; Jun-Dec 1890; Jan-Jun 1891; Jul-Dec 1891; Jan-Jun 1893; Jul 1893-Mar 1894; Apr-Jun 1894; Jan-Jun 1896; ca. Dec 1897-Jun 1901, index; Jun 1901-Jun 1902; Oct 1904-Oct 1905; Oct 1905-Oct 1906; Oct 1909-Oct 1910; ca. Jul 1911-Oct 1912, index; Oct 1912-Oct 1913; Oct 1913-Oct 1914; Oct 1915-Oct 1916; Oct 1916-Oct 1917; Oct 1917-Sep 1918; Oct 1918-Sep 1919; Oct 1919-Sep 1920; n.d.-Oct 1922, index; Oct 1922-Nov 1923, p 1-9; Oct 1922-Nov 1923, p 10 cont., index; Oct 1923-Sep 1924, index; Oct 1924-Sep 1925, index; Oct 1925-Sep 1926, index; Oct 1926-Sep 1927, index; Oct 1927-Sep 1928, index; Oct 1928-Sep 1929, index; Oct 1929-Sep 1930, index; May 1931-Sep 1932, index; Oct 1932-Sep 1933, index; Oct 1933-Dec 1934, index; Jan-Dec 1935, index; Jan-Dec 1936, index; Jan-Dec 1937, index; Jan 1940-Aug 1941, index; Sep 1941-Oct 1942, index; Nov 1942-Dec 1943, index; Jan-Dec 1944, index; Jan-Dec 1945, index; Jan-Dec 1946, index; Jan-Dec 1947, index; Jan-Dec 1948, index; Jan 1950-Aug 1951, index; Sep 1951-Jun 1952, index; Jul 1952-Jun 1953, index; Jul 1953-Jun 1954, index; Jul 1954-Jun 1955, index; Jul 1955-Aug 1956, index; Aug 1961-Feb 1962, index; Feb 1962-Aug 1963, index; Jan-Sep 1967, index; May 1971-Jul 1976, index; n.d.-Sep 1981, index; Mar 1986-Mar 1988, index; n.d.-Mar 1991, index; Mar 1991-Oct 1993, index; n.d.-Mar 1996, index; 2001-2006
