BUTTS (Isaac Ridler).
Laws of the Sea. Rights of Seamen, and Coaster's & Fisherman's Guide, and Master and Mate's Manual ...
Author of Two Years Before the Mast, Richard H. Dana, published a manual called The Seaman’s Friend in 1841, which included a section on maritime law and the rights of seaman. The usefulness of such a guide may have prompted the publication of the two volumes here. Each is a detailed and somewhat exhaustive account. The first concerns the rights and responsibilities of seamen with sections on ships that are un-seaworthy and in the event of shipwreck. While published in Boston, the reach of the first work is indicated in the long imprint which finishes: “ … And by Booksellers and Stationers in California; Oregon and the Sandwich Islands.“ The second caters for ship-owners and merchants, with a section on insurance law. Together, these two works provide a detailed snapshot of the maritime industry in mid-nineteenth-century America.
Isaac Ridler Butts (1795-1882) was a Boston printer active between 1827-1856. The firm printed several guides along similar lines, for example - The Creditor & Debtor’s Assistant, The Business Man’s Assistant, and The Seaman’s Assistant all appeared in 1850.
The copy sold at Goodspeed in 1910 similarly had these two titles bound together, however, the dampstaining to the blanks between the volumes suggests these were separately issued and bound together later.
