The household books of Sir John Howard, later Lord Howard and from June 1483, Duke of Norfolk, are one of the major primary sources for the political, social and economic history of late fifteenth-century England. They cover the period 1461-1471 and 1481-1483 and give details of almost every aspect of his expenditure, from the purchase of small articles of clothing for his family to the administration of his estates. Howard was one of the most diligent and versatile royal servants of the Yorkist period and this too is reflected in the household books, most particularly in his conduct of military affairs. He was also an astute businessman, a substantial shipowner and increasingly the Crown's chief agent in East Anglia. The household books were first printed in two volumes for the Roxburghe Club in 1841 and 1844 and their comparative rarity has meant that they have not been used as widely by scholars as their content merits. The reprinted volumes are here prefaced by a lengthy new introduction on Howard's life and career and the appendix contains transcripts of a number of previously unpublished Howard documents.