Billing & Howard Invoice, April 1896. Invoice for Mr Howling from Billing & Howard, Coal, Coke, Lime & Cement Merchants. Cartage of every description.

An invoice from Billing & Howard, Coal, Coke, Lime & Cement Merchants for Mr. Howling. The invoice includes a list of materials Mr. Howling had ordered from Billing & Howard such as cement, pipes and lime. It provides him with pricings as well as a total sum for his order across January, February, and March.

The invoice was created at Potters Bar, Hadley, Barnet in April 1896 at a time when steam-powered rail travel was widespread. Billing & Howard shared offices with the Great Western Railway and made their profits exclusively from selling supplies high in demand by railway companies.

Its short-term impact may have been relatively minor, however, the invoice gives us useful information about the financial transactions, methods and materials that were in use when railway construction and maintenance was developing into a world-wide industry.