An Universal Dictionary of the Marine… Now Modernized and Much Enlarged, by William Burney

Item #43728
An Universal Dictionary of the Marine… Now Modernized and Much Enlarged, by William Burney
(Falconer, William).
T. Cadell and W. Davies, ( 1815), London
4to, 28 cm. xv, 707, (1 errata), 87, (1) pp. plus 35 engraved b/w copper plates plates.
Price: $750

First edition thus. “A copious explanation of the technical terms and phrases employed in the construction, equipment, furniture, machinery, movements and military operations of a ship. Illustrated with (a) variety of original designs of shipping, in different situations, together with separate views of their masts, sails, yards and rigging… to which is annexed a vocabulary of French sea-phrases and terms of art.” This is the best edition of a most important work on shipbuilding, updated by William Burney, master of the Naval Academy at Gosport, to reflect changes in technology and focus following the Napoleonic wars (hence the French vocabulary). The book is noted for its 35 informative plates (as opposed to 12 in the earlier editions) and its hundreds of definitions of shipbuilding terms. See Scott 518, MacDonald 300, who calls it “essential.” Scattered foxing. Early owner’s signature on front blank and title. Solidly bound in full diced calf with backstrip laid down.

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