purser

A purser is the person on a ship principally responsible for the handling of money on board. On modern merchant ships, the purser is the officer responsible for all administration (including the ship's cargo and passenger manifests) and supply. Frequently, the cooks and stewards answer to the purser as well. They were also called a pusser in British naval slang.

==History== thumb|Caricature of a purser (Henri Merke, 1799) The purser joined the warrant officer ranks of the Royal Navy in the early 14th century and existed as a naval rank until 1852. The development of the warrant officer system began in 1040, when five English ports began furnishing warships to King Edward the Confessor in exchange for certain privileges. They also furnished crews whose officers were the master, boatswain, carpenter and cook. Later these officers were "warranted" by the British Admiralty. Pursers received no pay but were entitled to profits earned through their business activities. In the 18th century, a purser would buy his warrant for £65 and was required to post sureties totalling £2,100 with the admiralty. The pursers maintained and sailed the ships and were the standing officers of the navy, staying with the ships in port between voyages as caretakers supervising repairs and refitting. thumb|Samuel Crowley, purser aboard HMS Windsor Castle (1790)|HMS Windsor Castle, painted In charge of supplies such as food and drink, clothing, bedding and candles, the purser was originally known as "the clerk of burser." The burser would usually charge the supplier a 5% commission for making a purchase and often charged a considerable markup when the purser resold the goods to the crew. The purser was not in charge of pay, but he had to track it closely, as the crew was required to pay for all of their supplies, and it was the purser's job to deduct those expenses from their wages. The purser bought everything (except food and drink) on credit, acting as an unofficial private merchant. In addition to his official responsibilities, it was customary for the purser to act as an official private merchant for luxuries such as tobacco and to serve as the crew's banker.