First and only edition of a collection of rare 17th-century tracts concerning herring fishery in Great Britain and the Dutch Republic, which was a common cause of conflict between the two nations. The anonymous compiler of the collection, who may have written the introduction as well, was likely a British man in the mid-18th century, advocating for the establishment of a stronger British herring fishery in his own time. With the two tracts on the Dutch herring fishery by the economic writer John Keymer (1584-1622) and the Dutch grand pensionary Johan de Witt (1625-1672), he tried to show the advantages of the herring fishery for the Dutch Republic, hoping to stimulate the English fishery.
The third tract, written by the English pamphleteer, author, courtier and press censor Sir Roger l'Estrange (1616-1704) outlines how the herring fishery could be of great advantage for Britain and how it can be established.
The work is rare: we have found no auction record. The introduction also notes that two of the 17th-century tracts were already rare and even in their own time largely unknown, probably meaning the pieces by Keymer and De Witt. The critical preface on the Dutch monopoly in herring fishery, moreover, adds a highly interesting later perspective, rather than merely providing new access to the 17th-century tracts. Together they form a rich source of information on the herring fishery and the conflicts between the Dutch Republic and Britain that grew out of it, especially for the 17th century.
Title-page slightly foxed, some occasional spots and stains throughout, but otherwise in very good condition. A new edition of three rare 17th-century tracts on the herring fishery in the Dutch Republic and England with a new introduction relating them to the situation in 1751. Bosgoed, Bibliotheca icthyologica et piscatoria 3335; ESTC T102503 (10 copies); Westwood & Satchell, Bibliotheca piscatoria, p. 264; not in NHSM.