Introduction
touch·stone (t
ch
st
n
)
n.
- A hard black stone, such as jasper or basalt, formerly used to test the quality of gold or silver by comparing the streak left on the stone by one of these metals with that of a standard alloy.
- A basis for comparison; a reference point against which other things can be evaluated; "they set the measure for all subsequent work" [syn: standard, criterion, measure]
What's past is prologue.
History is the study and interpretation of the past. A question is asked in the present-day about a place, person, event, process or other thing in the past, and a historian then undertakes research to establish a body of information which then has to be interpreted in order to answer the question. History is not just research to find or establish "facts." History can be presented as biography, chronicle, genealogy, military history, maritime history (shipwrecks and their cargos), financial/economic/transaction/market history, financial forensic analysis, environmental history, art history/provenance, chain-of-ownership, and many other forms. The results of Touchstone's research are presented to our clients typically in the form of a report.
Expertise
Touchstone’s researchers/historians have worked in the world’s major archives and records repositories. We’re most familiar with records within:
- the US’ National Archives and Records Administration (Washington, College Park, Philadelphia, New York)
- the UK’s National Archives (formerly the Public Record Office), and
- the Archives Nationales Françaises.
We’ve conducted research within the world’s major libraries, including the Library of Congress, Harvard University, Princeton University, Columbia University’s Rare Book and Manuscript Library, the Frick Art Reference Library, the Morgan Library and the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, among many others. We’ve also conducted research within the private archives of several of the world’s major banks and financial institutions.
If the record that you seek or the information that you desire exists, we will be the research firm most likely to bring it to light. In several cases, the records that our clients have sought had been deliberately destroyed; in those cases, we have uncovered other, related and relevant documents upon which our clients were able to draw reasonable, supportable conclusions.
Our Clients
We provide research services to:- Lawyers
- Authors, Journalists and Scholars
- Private Investigators
- Employers, Corporations (Corporate Histories)
- Banks and Financial Institutions
- Film and Documentary Producers
- Veterans (DD Form 214 - Emergency Service, DD214 Express Service, Veterans' Funeral Benefit, 201 File, Military Histories) and
- Other Business Entities, Government Agencies, and Private Individuals