Contemporary collection of 4 extremely rare printed ordinances and regulations concerning fishery and the fish trade at Veere, near Middelburg in Zeeland, none recorded in NCC or STCN, plus 7 manuscript extracts from minutes of the meetings of the Veere city council on the same subject. The city had been a leading fish market place since the Middle Ages, held a privilege for the inspection and taxation of fish caught in the region and authorized the auctioneers. To avoid taxes some people transported fish out of the city before it was sold. The first three ordinances attempted to reassert control over the fish trade, though the fact that the authorities found it necessary to issue new ordinances every few years suggests they were not very successful. Each ordinance refers to the previous one, showing that the Council issued none between these three. The fourth printed item gives guild regulations for fishermen using the city harbour, who are required to register their crew members, keep them orderly and make payments to the guild. The manuscript begins on the final integral blank of the 1771 ordinance. From differences in the handwriting it appears that these extracts of minutes were written over the years as the issues came up in the Council. Amusingly, the family name of the printer and publisher of the 1774 regulations is "De Vin" (The Fin).
In very good condition. Spine faded and tattered. A remarkable contemporary collection of unique items concerning fishery and the fish trade in Veere. Cf. Het Utrechts Archief 53 (De Beaufort family archive), item 242 (similar printed ordinance of 1771); NCC & STCN (2 copies of a 1770 ordinance by the Stadholder); for fishing and the fish tade in Veere: Kees Leeman, De geschiedenis van de Veerse visserij 1250-1961, 2nd ed., 1997.