Instructions to Officers of Excise for the Collection and Securing the Duties on State Carriages and Railways in Great Britain

The Honourable Commissioners of Excise:

Published by J Hartnell & Co, London, for The Honourable Commissioners of Excise, 1849

About this Item

70pp + 3 tables of charges, examples of forms etc., blue quarter leather boards, title label tipped on. Ownership note to front flyleaf and some light staining to the paste downs, otherwise the contents are in very good order, with some pencil marginalia noted. The boards are edge worn and grubby with 'Risborough Ride No 3' written on the upper board. Stage coaches in Britain had to pay for their 'plates', the amount due was based on the number of passenger seats in each coach, and also a levy on the number of miles travelled. The railway companies had to pay a 5% levy on all fares over 1d per mile. This handbook for Excise Officers sets out all the rules and regulations, how the charges were to be collected, the paperwork needed etc. The Board of Excise set up a nework of administative areas called 'Collections' mostly corresponding to English counties with four in Wales. These were sub-divided into Districts, which were then further sub-divided into Rides (if covered by an Officer on horseback) or Divisions or Footwalks (if covered by an Officer on foot). As the ownership note mentions Aylesbury, we assume that these instructions were held by the [Princes] Risborough Ride. The binding is original, an example held by the University of Michigan is the same as ours. An interesting piece of social history which we have not seen before. UK shipping for this item will be lower than the ABE default rate. Seller Inventory # 247

Bibliographic Details

Title: Instructions to Officers of Excise for the ...

Publisher: J Hartnell & Co, London, for The Honourable Commissioners of Excise

Publication Date: 1849

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Good