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2026

Company letterhead

Invoice from H. Morin for Replacement Glasses for a Perfecta Lamp

Cat. No. PRT-2026-020

A particularly informative commercial document issued by Établissements H. Morin, the well-known Paris manufacturer and supplier of scientific, surveying and engineering instruments.

The elaborate letterhead is itself an important piece of corporate ephemera. It presents H. Morin not simply as an instrument maker but as a broad supplier of “instruments and supplies for engineers.” The prominent cluster of exhibition medals emphasizes the firm's reputation and participation in international exhibitions, while the inclusion of the associated Landostyl H. Morin plan-reproduction business illustrates the unusually wide technical scope of the company.

The invoice records a transaction of 24 September 1924 with the Belgian industrial company G. Dumont & Frères at Sclaigneaux. The ordered goods were twelve replacement glasses for a Perfecta lamp, demonstrating the routine supply of replacement components alongside complete scientific and technical instruments. The document therefore offers a rare glimpse into the everyday commercial activity behind the instrument trade: ordering, packing, forwarding through an intermediary, railway transport and receipt by an industrial customer abroad.

Especially noteworthy is the seller’s formal declaration that the goods were not of German or Czechoslovak origin. In the immediate post-First World War commercial environment, statements concerning the national origin of merchandise could have practical importance for customs, tariffs, procurement regulations or commercial preferences. Its presence on an otherwise ordinary invoice makes the document a particularly interesting witness to the economic and political conditions of European trade during the 1920s.

The surviving receiving stamp dated 27 September 1924, only three days after the invoice was issued in Paris, also allows the commercial journey of the shipment from France to Belgium to be followed with unusual precision.

Images

morin_blank_sm

Inscriptions & Annotations

The letterhead identifies the firm as: Établissements H. Morin, Instruments & Fournitures à l'Usage des Ingénieurs; 11, rue Dulong, Paris XVIIe
It also lists Boyelle-Morin and Paul Beau and gives the factory location as Rue St-Armand, Paris.
At the top appears a reference to the associated concern: Annexe “LANDOSTYL H. MORIN” - Reproductions de Plans; 51, rue des Petits-Champs, Paris.
The document is dated 24 September 1924 and addressed to: Sté Anonyme G. Dumont & Frères, Bureau Technique; Sclaigneaux, Belgique

Physical Description

Single-sheet printed commercial form on cream paper, completed by typewriter in violet ink. The upper section carries an elaborate illustrated company letterhead for H. Morin, combining decorative typography with a group of exhibition medals and extensive company and contact information. The form is ruled for catalogue number, quantity, description, unit price and total price. Several filing perforations are present along the left margin. Size: A4.

Provenance

The document was purchased from a private collector in France.

Document Details

Creator

Établissements H. Morin, Paris. Printer unknown

Subject

H. Morin; French scientific and engineering instruments; technical supplies; Perfecta lamp; interwar instrument trade; Belgian industrial customers

Date

24 September 1924

Place of Origin

Paris, France

A receiving stamp records: “Reçu le 27 Sep. 1924 — Sclaigneaux.”

The invoice refers to order No. 2630 of 17 September 1924, entered in the company records under No. 115075.

The shipment consisted of: 12 replacement glasses for a “lampe Perfecta, modèle courant G.M.”

at 7.75 francs each, for a subtotal of 93 francs. Packaging was charged at 8 francs, producing a total of 101 francs net, without discount.

The shipping instructions state that the goods were dispatched through Desmidt & Cie, 20 rue du Mail, Paris, by express freight, carriage unpaid, in a case marked for D.F. Sclaigneaux and sent to Sclaigneaux railway station.

A typed declaration at the bottom certifies that the merchandise was, according to the seller’s records, neither of German nor Czechoslovak origin. The document carries a handwritten signature of H. Morin.

Language

French

GOOD

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