Maritime List 206

Items 51-75

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	51. Gower, Richard Hall. A NARRATIVE OF A MODE PURSUED BY THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT TO EFFECT IMPROVEMENTS IN NAVAL ARCHITECTURE. Lon. 1811. b/w plates. 126 (2) pp. This is essentially Gower’s proposal for a new design of a more stable and efficient vessel - a four masted barkentine, the Transit. The three engraved plates make her design elements clear. Gower’s text argues for her advantages, and advises how to sail and man her. Scott 500. First edition. Light water staining around edges of title and plates. Tidily rebound in modern buckram. Scarce $300
	52. Greely Expedition. PROCEEDINGS OF THE “PROTEUS” COURT OF INQUIRY ON THE GREELY RELIEF EXPEDITION OF 1883. Wash. 1884. b/w photo plates, folding maps. 310, 225 pp. Voluminous documentation on the bungled attempt to rescue Greely and his men. The rescue expedition consisted of the Yantic and the Proteus, the latter being lost in Kane Basin. The head of the expedition never followed his orders for re-supplying Greely. Arctic Bib 18416. A VG copy in original government calf over marbled board with spine labels. Backstrip a bit tanned. $350
	53. Grosvenor, J. du V. MODEL YACHTS AND BOATS... Lon. n.d. b/w plates and ills. vi, 183 pp. Early and interesting, though not much interested in racing models. Design, construction and sailing. Illustrated ads and publisher’s catalog bound in at back. Potts & Croxon, 54. A bright copy in original binding. VG $100
	54. Hart, Joseph C. THE ROMANCE OF YACHTING: VOYAGE THE FIRST. NY. 1848. 332, (26 advert.) pp. First edition of an early and scarce American yachting book, by the author of the whaling epic “Miriam Coffin.” This work includes a journal of a transatlantic yacht voyage and a glossary of yachting terms. It includes as well Hart’s notes on the Bacon/Shakespeare controversy (pages 208-243), about which this is one of the key American works. Sabin 30630. Morris & Howland p. 63. Not in Toy. Bound in original black cloth with gilt spine title and ship on front cover. Light foxing, old abrasions on pastedowns, apparently from removal of paper cover. A good copy of a scarce book. $350
	55. Hennessy, Mark W. THE SEWALL SHIPS OF STEEL. Augusta, ME (1937) b/w plates. xxx, 686 pp. Thorough accounting of the steel sailing ships built by this Maine firm, and a scarce Jack London item as well, containing Charmian London’s dramatic narrative of a trip around the Horn from Baltimore to Seattle. Light cover wear, a VG copy of an important book. $200
	56. Howell, John. AN ESSAY ON THE WAR-GALLEYS OF THE ANCIENTS. Edinburgh. 1826. b/w plates. 61 pp. Based on classical sources, this work applies “modern” principles of mechanics to speculation on the design of ancient vessels. 10 lithographed plates and double-page frontispiece. Not in Scott. Bound in handsome half calf over marbled boards with gilt spine decoration. $100
	57. Johnson, Barbara. THE BARBARA JOHNSON WHALING COLLECTION. NY. 1981-83. Color and b/w plates. 4 vols. Various paginations (about 150 pp. each) Sotheby’s four-part sale of about 500 lots per volume. This set the standard for whaling artifacts, prints, paintings and ephemera. It was followed by a lesser sale at Swann’s 15 years later. Out of print and hard to find as a complete set. 4 vols, with prices realized inserted in each volume. Wraps, light wear. $200
	58. Karpinski, Louis C. BIBLIOGRAPHY OF MATHEMATICAL WORKS PRINTED IN AMERICA THROUGH 1850. NY. 1940. xxvi, 697 pp. First edition of a classic reference, useful in identifying American works on navigation. With facsimiles of many title pages. VG $150
	59. Keate, George. AN ACCOUNT OF THE PELEW ISLANDS...COMPOSED FROM THE JOURNALS... OF CAPTAIN HENRY WILSON... Lon. 1789. Folding chart, b/w plates. 4to. xxvii, 378 pp. “This was one of the most popular of all shipwreck narratives, partly because of the happy ending, of the adventure and partly because of the detailed descriptions of the Pelew Islands’ natural features and society... Wilson exercised excellent control over his men, dealt smoothly with the natives... The crew set to work to build a schooner from native lumber, while some of their members fought for their hosts in native wars...”—Huntress. When they returned to England they took one of the Pelew Islanders, Prince Lee Boo, with them. He was a celebrity but unfortunately died of smallpox. Huntress 107C. See Hill 907. This is a third edition, printed the year after the first. Bound in original marbled boards, rebacked in antique style. $250
	60. Key, Astley Cooper. A NARRATIVE OF THE RECOVERY OF H.M.S. GORGON. Lon. 1847. folding b/w plates., map. 113 pp. A British warship was driven ashore in Monte Video in 1844. This is the story of her wreck and her salvage. “18 plates and 23 detailed drawings.” - Huntress 352C. Rebound in green calf over cloth boards. Front board unattached but present, else VG $200
	61. Lancaster, Clay. THE ARCHITECTURE OF HISTORIC NANTUCKET. NY. (1972). b/w plates. 4to. xxxiii, 285 pp First edition. Inhabited continually for 9,000 years, first by Indians, latterly by more upwardly mobile types. Yet, all have shared a fascination with this “Land Far Out To Sea,” which has kept it, if not untouched, then at least a little more chaste than the majority of the early-settled lands. VG, in pictorial dj. light sunning and wear to dj. $75
	62. Leslie, Sir John. NARRATIVE OF DISCOVERY AND ADVENTURE IN THE POLAR SEAS AND REGIONS... AND AN ACCOUNT OF THE WHALE-FISHERY. NY. 1868. 12mo. vi, (2), 373 pp. Summary of 18th and early 19th century exploration, with what was then known of the climate and geology of the area. With nearly 100 pages on the whaling industry. The book was first published in shorter form in 1830. Hill 1008 cites an 1833 edition. Jenkins p. 119 a 5th edition from 1845. Arctic Bib. 9945 states, “Several editions... were published in the 1830s-40s... chapters were added on voyages in the Canadian Arctic. From the 1850s the work continued to appear with further changes.” This is later than any edition recorded in the bibliographies, and has the most pages. However the Arctic map that accompanied earlier editions is not present in this one. VG in original binding. $50
	63. Leyda, Jay. THE MELVILLE LOG. NY. (1951) b/w plates. 2 vols. xxxiv, (494) 899 pp. “A documentary life of Herman Melville. 1819-1891.” Absolutely essential to the study of Melville’s life and work. Documents his experiences at sea as well as maritime influences on his writing. First edition. Forster 128. 2 volumes, VG in lightly worn slipcase. $100
	64. Lind, James. AN ESSAY ON DISEASES INCIDENTAL TO EUROPEANS IN HOT CLIMATES. WITH METHODS OF PREVENTING THEIR FATAL CONSEQUENCES. Phil. 1811. viii, 268 pp. Best known for his work on scurvy, Lind nearly discovered the connection between malaria and mosquitoes. This book is “one of the more important early works on tropical medicine”. See Garrison and Morton, 2264. With advice on rendering sea water fresh and preventing scarcity of provisions, as well as an appendix “concerning intermittent fevers.” This is the first American edition of Lind’s important work, published just in time for the War of 1812. Pages foxed, but otherwise an excellent untrimmed copy. Rebound in calf over marbled boards with spine label. $350
	65. Mac Allester, Oliver. A SERIES OF LETTERS, DISCOVERING THE SCHEME PROJECTED BY FRANCE, IN MDCCLIX. FOR AN INTENDED INVASION UPON ENGLAND WITH FLAT-BOTTOM’D BOATS... Lon. 1767. 4to. 2 vols, in 1. v, 263; 268 pp. A wonderfully odd example of nationalistic paranoia evinced by the Seven Years War. In a series of letters and reprinted documents the author proposed to lay bare the designs of the French Court, assisted by Jesuit spies in London, to launch an attack by an army of 50,000 men, sent across the channel in flat bottomed boats. Contemporary calf binding with label. Hinges cracked but holding. $350
	66. MacFarlane, Robert. HISTORY OF PROPELLERS AND STEAM NAVIGATION. NY. 1851. b/w plates and ills. 144 pp. Survey of existing technology by editor of “Scientific American” with many dead ends and weird inventions documented. Interesting wood engravings of these early attempts. A scarce title. First edition. Sabin 43251. Scott 692. Bound in original cloth with gilt steamship on front cover. Lightly sunned, else a very good copy. $150
	67. MacMichael, Morton 3d. A LANDLUBBER’S LOG OF HIS VOYAGE AROUND CAPE HORN. Phila. 1883. b/w frontis. 150 pp. “Being a journal kept during a four month’s voyage on an American merchantman, from Philadelphia to San Francisco.” Smith calls it, “A delightful account.” - American Travellers M35. There was a trade edition published in the same year, but this is a limited “author’s edition” specially bound, for his “chums.” It is scarce in this format, with Worldcat showing only three libraries holding copies. VG in decorated full leather binding, all edges gilt, with some rubbing to backstrip. Signed by author $150
	68. Melville, Herman. OMOO: A NARRATIVE OF ADVENTURES IN THE SOUTH SEAS... NY. 1847 b/w chart. xvi, 389, (xvi)-xxiii, 16 pp. First American edition of Melville’s popular second novel. Building on the success of his first effort Melville continued his autobiographical portrait of these years. “Omoo” deals with the mutiny aboard Melville’s ship and his subsequent wanderings about various parts of Tahiti and other islands. With 24 pp. of publisher’s advertisements at back. Rebound in full brown morocco with raised bands, gilt lettering and gilt inner dentelles, with cloth from original covers bound in. $350
	69. Mitchell, J.A. THE SUMMER SCHOOL OF PHILOSOPHY AT MT. DESERT. NY. 1881 b/w ills 4to. 24 pp. Two dozen full page plates of whimsical scenes (with captions) from Mt. Desert, Maine, in which summer visitors do their things, witnessed, urged and imitated by little putti sort of creatures... chubby winged babies. Quite the Victorian confection in silver, gold and silver decorated cover. Spine ends worn else VG. $125
	70. Montgery, (Jacques Philippe Merigon de) MEMOIRE SUR LES MINES FLOTTANTES ET LES PETARDS FLOTTANS, OU MACHINES INFERNALES MARITIMES. Paris, 1819. b/w fldg. plate. (2) 78, 2 pp. First edition of a very scarce work, the best contemporary commentary on Fulton’s book “Torpedo War.” Montgery offers a full critique of Fulton’s work and then offers ways of improving upon it. “He suggested, for example, that instead of Fulton’s field of anchored torpedoes, barrages of connected mines should be used to protect harbors and channels. He stressed offensive uses of torpedo boats as opposed to the defensive posture outlined in “Torpedo War... It was in a new and innovative country like the United States, he believed, that such inventions as Fulton’s had their best chance of realization.” - Roland. “Underwater Warfare in the Age of Sail.” pp. 127-128. Andersen 878. The folding frontispiece is a famous image of the ship Dorothee being destroyed by one of Fulton’s torpedoes, which Montgery appropriated from Fulton’s book. Bound in marbled boards with leather spine and leather cover label. VG $350
	71. Moorsom, Capt. C.R. ON THE PRINCIPLES OF NAVAL TACTICS; WITH EXEMPLIFICATIONS OF THE PRACTICE: AND ALSO TABLES FOR FACILITATING THE EVOLUTIONS; WITH AN APPENDIX CONTAINING THE DEMONSTRATIONS. Birmingham. 1846. b/w plates. (6), 17,1-1-36 pp. plus 7 plates. The author of this rather unique treatise takes note of the work of Hoste, Morogues, Bouguer, Clerk, Ekins, Steel and others, but says “My object is to shew that naval tactics are incomplete, and to suggest some simple rules for all the movements that can be required.” Well, as his various formulae, tables and diagrams shew, “simple” might not be the best word for what he proposes. Scarce. Worldcat shows only seven libraries holding copies. Bound in green blindstamped cloth, rebacked to match. Some cover spotting, text clean. $350
	72. Morrell, Abby Jane. NARRATIVE OF A VOYAGE TO THE ETHIOPIC AND SOUTH ATLANTIC OCEAN, INDIAN OCEAN, CHINESE SEA, NORTH AND SOUTH PACIFIC OCEAN. NY. 1833. b/w frontis. 12mo. xi-230, 9 pp. Abby Jane Morrell was the wife of Stonington sealer Benjamin Morrell, author of a book of his own. “Mrs. Morrell accompanied her husband... on his fourth voyage... This is not a mere abridgment of (Capt. Benjamin Morrell) work, but a separately written narrative of great interest.” —Hill 1185. Women's narratives from this period are quite scarce, and this is one of the foremost of them. Pages waterstained, but bound in original cloth with label, and unusual thus. $350
	73. Morris, Paul C. and Joseph F. Morin. THE ISLAND STEAMERS. Nantucket, 1977. b/w plates. 4to. ix, 196 pp. Steamboats to Nantucket and the Vineyard, from 1818 on. First edition. VG, in lightly chipped dj $75
	74. Murphy, John M'Leod & W.N. Jeffers. NAUTICAL ROUTINE AND STOWAGE; WITH SHORT RULES IN NAVIGATION. NY 1849. b/w plates. various paginations (about 300 pp.) First edition of an important work, with sections on spars and rigging, evolutions, and stowage. The Spars and Rigging section was reprinted in in 1933 in a limited edition of 200 and is itself hard to find. McDonald 325.In original gilt decorated covers.Spine top worn and some wear and soil to spine/bds , spine starting along outer front hnge. else VG. $75
	75. National Maritime Museum. BRITISH AND FOREIGN MEDALS RELATING TO NAVAL AND MARITIME AFFAIRS. (AND) SUPPLEMENT. Greenwich, UK. 1937, 1939. b/w plates. Two vols. 307, (1), XXVII plates; 95, (1) pp. A useful reference which, for some reason has not yet been reprinted by Kessinger and similar vultures. Contains some information pertaining to American campaigns. Two vols. in stiff covers. $150

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