Reminiscences of a Gauger
by Joseph Pacy (1873)
With a new Introduction and Commentary by Ian Buxton
Joseph Pacy’s Reminiscences of a Gauger is one of the most important works of its period. Pacy spent some 40 years as a ‘gauger’ or Excise Officer in Scotland and England rising eventually to the rank of Collector in Lincoln.
In 1873, after Pacy’s son had died tragically, he published this account of his life and work in an effort to raise funds for his son’s widow and four children who had been left destitute by their loss. All profits from the sale of the book went to his daughter-in-law. The book sheds much light, not only on the day-to-day routines of the Excise, but also airs Pacy’s often enlightened and controversial thoughts on the organisation of the Excise service and the adverse affects of high rates of duty on free trade.
It also provides a dramatic and, at times, highly personal account of his work at a number of locations round the country. In particular, Pacy worked with the colourful and dogmatic Captain Fraser at Royal Brackla Distillery. His book is the only known contemporary account of Fraser at a time when this distillery (still in production today) was one of the most highly regarded in the whole of Scotland.
“I know that I never encountered a man either in or out of the service that tested my courage, my prudence, or my honesty, more than this same distiller.”
Previous to this in Campbeltown he broke a malt fraud ring. The account of this is extremely engaging as his professional duty is weighed up against his understanding of the reasons for the crime:
“The difference of the tax on the two kinds of malt was a temptation to attempt to pass barley on the excise for bere and bigg, which, considering the regulations I have alluded to, was not easy to resist.”
Reminiscences of a Gauger exists only in the rare 1873 edition and has never been reprinted. You might expect to pay £250-£300 for a good copy - if you could find one.
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Specifications
| Format: | Portrait, 20 x 13cm. |
| Extent: | 176 pages of which 128 are original text, 40 are original adverts and 8 are prelims and Introduction. |
| Other Information: | Text is printed on 80gsm Vancouver cream bookwove, volume 17.5. Each book is case bound in maroon Wibalin cloth and gold blocked on the cover and spine. Coloured endpapers. Each book is individually numbered on the title page which includes the Roll of Founding Subscribers. Each book is presented in a maroon, Wibalin, foil-blocked slipcase with the free CD-Rom packaged inside the slipcase in a clear plastic sleeve. |
| Limited Edition: | Numbered edition of 300. |
Founding Subscriber - now closed
Published Price : £50 (plus carriage)
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About Ian Buxton (if you haven't had enough already)
Ian is a well-known whisky author and former Marketing Director of one of Scotland’s most famous single malt whiskies. He writes regularly in Whisky Magazine and other titles, has published a number of books and lectures on whisky. Ian is also a Keeper of the Quaich, the highest honour of the Scotch whisky industry. In fact, he's as sound as a pound; an all-round good egg and kind to animals.
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