Henry Clay Frick Papers, Series X: Invoice Books

The Henry Clay Frick Papers, Series X: Invoice Books, 1881-1896, consist of receipted invoices pasted chronologically into seven volumes. The earliest invoices in this series date from the spring of 1881, while Henry Clay Frick was still a bachelor. He married Adelaide Howard Childs in December of that year, and these books document expenses from their honeymoon and the establishment of their household together.

These invoices also provide a picture of the Fricks' growing family and their social position in Pittsburgh through a wide range of expenditures. Examples include household goods, repairs, and services; silver and jewelry; books, periodicals, and stationery; catering and musical entertainment; flowers, plants, seeds, and bulbs; medical care and prescriptions; livestock and pets; photography; eductional expenses; memberships; taxes; and donations. Correspondence or other documents related to a transaction occasionally accompany an invoice. These volumes also contain expense reports submitted to Frick by several of his employees on a monthly basis. These employees include Clyde Duniway, a tutor to Frick's son Childs, and George Megrew, a secretary whose monthly compilations contain the earliest payroll records at Clayton.

Invoices in these volumes provide a snapshot of the businesses and other organizations that would have catered to prominent members of society in the late 1800s. While the bulk of the firms represented here are based in Pittsburgh, Frick also patronized businesses in New York and other cities, notably Tiffany & Co., Davis Collamore & Co., and Steinway & Sons.

Frick began phasing out this sytem of record-keeping in 1892, when he instituted payment vouchers as part of his bill-paying process (see: Henry Clay Frick Papers, Series III: Voucher Files). From 1892 to 1896, however, these systems operated concurrently, thus documentation may be found in one or both places. The invoice books were completely discontinued as of 1897.

Due to the poor condition of these volumes, they have been disbound and rehoused into folders. The bindings have been retained and housed separately. Pagination is irregular in some volumes, resulting in missing page numbers. There is, however, no physical evidence that any pages are missing from these volumes.