American maritime documents 1776-1860 : illustrated and described

Includes examples of many of the most frequently found documents in use by the American maritime industry during the period 1776-1860 such as Customs and Consular forms, Manifests, Bills of Lading, Clearance Certificates, Bonds and Oaths, Marine Insurance, Ships' Registers and many others. Each piece is illustrated and described to help the reader accurately identify a particular document. An appendix is provided with a selected list of US statutes and their dates related to the Federal regulation of American shipping during this period.