Orders Issued by the Board of Customs, Treasury and Queen, 1846-1848.
A Glimpse into the Daily Operations of British Customs [Board of Customs]. [Great Britain]. [Collection of Orders Relating to Commerce and Trade Issued by the Board of Customs, Treasury, Privy Council and Queen]. [Great Britain: S.n., 1846-1848]. [357] ff. Folio (13-1/4" x 8-1/4"). Contemporary three-quarter vellum over plain paper-covered boards, early hand-lettered title to spine, edges of bound-in sheets untrimmed. Light soiling to exterior, vellum starting to crack through paper, corners bumped and worn, front hinge split causing front board and spine to separate from text block, rear hinge just starting. Most items printed on blue paper and docketed "On the Service of the Customs./ Collector and Comptroller/ at [blank]" in print, some dockets completed "Hull" in ink. Light toning to interior, light soiling to edges, single hole through each item near top (from prior posting?) affecting text, legibility slightly impacted in places, occasional light foxing, a few partial cracks to text block, a few items loosening but secure, early manuscript notes, signatures and/or corrections to many items, some with postmarks or manuscript dockets. $1,500. * This impressive compilation of orders, notices and related material provides a highly detailed look at the daily operations of Great Britain's commercial affairs at the beginning of the height of the British Empire. Likely compiled by a customs officer, perhaps working out of Hull, the collection emphasizes the breadth of the matters that fell under the purview of the Board of Customs during this period, such as fishing, smuggling, preventing the spread of plague and even copyright and its relation to assessed duties. It also illustrates the vast changes the Customs department underwent as trade rapidly liberalized under Peel and his successors and its volume increased with the growth of the empire. Many of the orders in this volume are apparently unrecorded, with no copies located on OCLC or Library Hub.
Price: $1,500.00
Book number 77546