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[WINE]. [ENGLAND, PARLIAMENT]., An ACT For LIMITING And SETLING [sic] The PRICES For WINES. At the parliament begun at Westminster the 17th Day of September, Anno Domini 1656.
London: Printed by Henry Hills, and John Field, Printers to His Highness., 1657. Folio: *2. 10-5/8" x 6-3/4". 1st edition (Wing E-1046). Not in Gabler, nor Goldsmith. [2], 2 pp. Printed self-wrappers., sleeve. Commonwealth seal to t.p. ¶ Gabler, though not listing this item, does briefly discuss (& list) divers tracts & pamphlets written in the early 1640s voicing public outrage over a contract between Charles I and the Vintner's Company of London- under said contract the Vintners agreed to pay a 46 shilling tax on every ton of Spanish & French wine & also agreed to annually buy a certain amount from English importers. In return, the vintners were permitted to sell cooked victuals (a proviso *not* in their original charter) & allowed to recoup the tax by charging a penny a quart more that the officially published price. The ultimate effect was to give the Vintners' Company a monopoly on the wine trade, all the while enriching the coffers of Charles I. Needless to say, wine drinkers were livid. Parliament eventually responded in the consumers' favor. [Gabler, pp. 2-3]. This act of Cromwell's establishes limitations on prices for Spanish & French wines, a proclamation issued perhaps in memory of the Vintner's Company earlier attempts at profiteering?
Offered for US$ 825.00 by: Tavistock Books, ABAA - Book number: 26937