Collection of 20 British inn bills, [circa 1780]-1841

collection of twenty engraved and letterpress British inn bills completed in manuscript in various hands from regions throughout England and Wales, dating between circa 1780 and 1841. Many are printed with menus listing food and drinks as well as services, providing insight into what travellers at the end of the Georgian era were offered in any given region in this period; they are also early examples of the growing tourism trade. Beside tea, coffee, milk, soda water, lemonade, cider (cyder), and a wide range of spirits, other options for speciality drinks include: negus, punch, Geneva, perry, and malt liquors. Many of the various services relate to the care and maintenance of horses and carriages; besides blacksmithing, farrier and saddling services, many of the inns offered hay and corn, rush lights, etc. Also on offer were “servant’s eating and ale”, beds with extra charges for “fires in a bed chamber”, and washing; other services listed included “Chaise hire”, servants, providers were sometimes available. Other common services and goods included writing materials, postage, tobacco, and, of course, meals with various foods like fruit listed separately. The printed invoices and menus include some with engraved designs or woodcuts that incorporate a representation of a local attraction or motifs indicative of the trade. Several of the bills also include the imprint of the provincial printer. The majority have manuscript annotations.
Two invoices from Welsh business are produced by “Watton, Printer, Shrewsbury Chronicle” for Bedd Gelert Hotel, Carnarvonshire A. Prichard and Harod Arms Hotel, Devil’s Bridge, a village and community in Ceredigion, Wales, both of which are illustrated on the fronts and backs, with the same image on the back: The Iron Suspension Bridge, completed and opened on Monday, Januaray 30th, 1826, over the Menai Strait from Carnarvonshire into Anglesey. The fronts include the advertisements for the individual business but also include other natural wonders of the area: Cataracts and Aber Glaslyb Bridge, the Salmon Leap and the Pass in Snowden.

  • Title: Collection of 20 British inn bills, [circa 1780]-1841.

Catalog Record 

LWL Mss File 147 & LWL Mss File 148

Acquired June 2019

 

 

 

John Jackson ledgers relating to the naval administration

3 manuscript volumes

Three manuscript volumes comprising the correspondence and bills of John Jackson. His meticulously detailed correspondence and accounts reveal vast amounts about Maltese trade, the mechanics of privateering, and the opportunities for profiteering.

  • Author: Jackson, John.
  • Title: John Jackson ledgers relating to the naval administration, export, and privateering activities in Malta, 1807-1813.

Catalog Record 

LWL Mss Vol. 240

Acquired June 2018

Sir Christopher Musgrave receipts for personal goods

receipts

A collection of receipts and bills, in a variety of hands and mostly signed by the tradespeople, related to Sir Christopher Musgrave’s expenses during the years 1708-1718, with the bulk of the detailed receipts covering the years 1716-1718.

  • Author: Musgrave, Christopher, Sir, 1688-1736.
  • Title: Sir Christopher Musgrave receipts for personal goods and household expenses, 1708-1718 (bulk 1716-1718).

Catalog Record 

LWL Mss 31

Acquired November 2018

Peter Delmé Esqr. bill from Edward Peirce, December 1764

A handwritten receipt or invoice for thatching work carried out by Edward Peirce on various estates of Peter Delmé at “Whetly”, “Posbroock” [Fossbroke, Wiltshire?], “Swanwick Hill Farm” and “Frogmoar” among others for Peter Delme, Esq. It is dated 15th December 1764. The list of charges include supplies such as spars, ledgers, leggers, and rope as well as labor charges for a five month period, August through December.

  • AuthorPeirce, Edward.
  • TitlePeter Delmé Esqr. bill from Edward Peirce, December 1764 : manuscript.
  • Production[England], 1764 December 15.

Catalog Record 

LWL Mss File 141

Acquired July 2017

Collection eighteenth century trade cards and bills, between 1737 and 1756

Album of 43 trade cards, of various formats, which have been used as receipts or invoices by the traders and have stab holes resulting from the pin they where put on by an accountant or secretary. A few trade cards are repeated, four are typographically printed, and the rest are engraved or etched. All trade cards and bills are addressed to Mrs. Forth and give a good idea of the expenses and needs of a fashionable household in mid 18th-century London.

  • CreatorForth, Mrs.
  • TitleCollection eighteenth century trade cards and bills, between 1737 and 1756.

Catalog Record

LWL Mss Vol. 230

Acquired March 2017

Invoice : St. Luke, High Bridge, Newcastle, to Charles Wren

lwlpr32047 (1024x690)

On an engraved billhead illustrated with a medallion of St. Luke mixing paint on a palette, Joseph Bell’s itemized invoice to Charles Wren dated 20 July 1782. Motto at the head of the sheet: “Pictures carefully cleaned, lined & repaired, & funeral achievements accurately painted, and picture frames neatly executed in oil, or burnished in gold.”

  • AuthorBell, Joseph, active 1782.
  • TitleInvoice : St. Luke, High Bridge, Newcastle, to Charles Wren, 1782 July 20.

Catalog Record & Digital Image

LWL Mss File 131

Acquired July 2015

 

Invoices from the Lemon-Tree Tavern and Hotel

LWLACQ000180a (1024x635)LWLACQ000180b (1024x752)

Three printed bills with manuscript completions, issued by the Aberdeen inn, the Lemon Tree and later the Lemon Tree Tavern and Hotel, and dated 1802, 1806, and 1811. The billhead includes a woodcut of a lemon tree and identifies the proprietor as George Ronald. The three bills display typographic differences in the setting of the headings as well as variation in the extensive list of drinks, foodstuffs, and services on offer, and the printer’s devices used to create the columns for prices in pounds, shillings, and pence vary. A note on the 1802 bill records the details of a game of whist including the names of the participants. The 1806 invoice also includes a note about the guests and their travel details.

  • TitleInvoices from the Lemon-Tree Tavern and Hotel : Aberdeen, to various, 1802 June 11, 1806 April 2, and 1811 April 19.

Catalog Record

LWL Mss File 132

Acquired July 2015

Invoice with receipt, from John Greeves

LWLACQ000176a (640x1024)LWLACQ000176b (1024x840)

Manuscript invoice on engraved billhead, recording in considerable detail the fitting out of a town house in Kings Lynn in Norfolk in 1807 by John Greeves for George Edwards Esq. The invoice totals £88 6 s. 1 1/2 d. and includes information about the furniture purchased and details about the curtains, upholstery, and carpeting. Receipt signed and dated 30 April 1807.

  • TitleInvoice with receipt, from John Greeves : Kings Lynn, 1807 April 30-1807 May.

Catalog Record

LWL Mss File 130

Acquired July 2015