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Introduction Acknowledgments Abstract Log Articles of Agreement Bill of Health Bill of Lading Bill of Sale (1856) Bond for Duties (1825) Bonds for Foreign Voyages Charter Party Classification Certificate (1863) Clearance Certificate Coasting Permit (1809) Consular Certificates (Miscellaneous) Contribution Certificate "Morning Star" (1856) Convoy Instructions (ca. 1800) Crew List Customs Certificates and Forms (Miscellaneous) Drawback Forms and Certificates Enrolment Certificate Freight Circular (1857) Freight List (1857) Letter of Marque/Privateer Commission License (Coasting/Fishing Vessels) Logbook (1828) Manifest Marine Insurance Marine Society Membership Certificate (1839) Master Carpenter's Certificate/Measurement Certificate (1853) Master's Certificate (1861) Mediterranean Passport/Sea Letter Oaths and Affirmations Passenger List Pilot's License Port Rules and Regulations Portage Bill (1852) Receipts (Miscellaneous) Registry Certificate/Ship's Register Sailing Card (ca. 1860) Sailing Orders (1830) Seamen's Protection Certificate Shipbuilding Agreements and Contracts Steamboat Regulatory Documents Whalemen's Shipping Paper (1840) Appendix Selected Bibliography

American Maritime Documents, 1776-1860 - Stein, Douglas L.

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These were usually handwritten documents, varying in size, containing a detailed description of the obligations and responsibilities of all parties involved in the contract. These "Agreements" might be concluded between an owner and a shipyard, to cover the construction of a vessel, or it could be written for specific work such as rigging, iron work, etc. Included are the signatures of both parties, as well as required witnesses to the agreement. Some documents may display notary stamps or seals, but this was evidently not generally required.

Illustrated above are Shipbuilding Agreements typical of the kind often found in manuscript collections from the nineteenth century. On the left is a portion of a four-page document for the construction of a ship at the agreed rate of forty dollars per ton. The contract on the right is a rigging agreement for $437.00.