He was an illustrator, graphic artist, calligrapher, and decorative designer.

[1] There, he apprenticed as a lithographer with the firm, Maclure, MacDonald and MacGregor, where he was taught the South Kensington Ideal, which preferred the use of flat colours over light and shading.

[2] He married Isabella Harriet Eunice Campbell in 1876, and together they emigrated to Canada and founded a graphic design firm in Toronto.

[1] Howard established himself in the graphic arts community and eventually produced bookplate designs for the Toronto Public Library's first librarian, James Bain, and for the National Gallery of Canada.

Two years later, in 1883, he became a member of the prestigious Royal Canadian Academy of Arts.