item number |
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| 76. | Manuscript. ARCHIVE DOCUMENTING THE SEAFARING CAREER OF CAPT. DANIEL T. LOTHROP OF COHASSET, MASSACHUSETTS. This is a collection of over 400 documents pertaining to Lothrop’s career, primarily aboard four vessels. Ship Charlotte, 1825-33, about 30 items - Baltic, Russia, India, Cuba. Ship Steiglitz, 1833-1834, about 30 items - Baltic, Russia, Liverpool, Charleston. Ship Ariosto, 1839-39, about 100 items - Baltic, Russia, Cuba, New Orleans. The highlight of the collection is a group of about 170 items documenting Lothrop’s trading voyage in the ship Tarquin to Batavia and Canton on a trading voyage. These papers include invoices, receipts, bills, letters of instruction, terms of agreement, sailing orders, a partially printed bill of health from the Port of Boston clearing them for the voyage, business letters, and even letters to his wife at home in Massachusetts. Lothrop’s agent was William Allen, for the trading house of Talbot Olyphant in New York and Olyphant & Co. in Canton. Olyphant was famous for being one of the few companies that did not trade in opium. This China trade voyage lasted from 1834 through 1835 and letters pertaining to it run into 1837. Collections with such continuity hardly ever turn up anymore; those pertaining to the American China trade almost never appear. $6500 |
| 77. | Manuscript. COPY BOOK OF LETTERS FROM HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS PRINCE GEORGE OF DENMARK, LORD HIGH ADMIRALL OF ENGLAND... 1705 - 1708. Folio. 37 manuscript leaves. George was Queen Anne’s consort. She secured him a pension of £100,000 and made him Lord High Admiral. One of his duties was administering the Cinque Ports, originally five ports on the Channel coast of England, but expanded somewhat by George’s time. In medieval days they were required to furnish the ships and men of England’s navy, in return for which they were granted fishing and trade privileges. These letters, written 1705-1708, pertain to the administration of the district - naming porters, gunners and regimental officers, as well as settling squabbles about who runs what. But some vestige of the old function remains. There are six letters in this collection having to do with impressing seamen from the area to man the Royal Navy. An “impressive” book itself, all the letters written in beautiful old chancery hand, from Westminster, and bearing the names of George and Henry St. John, Viscount Bolingbroke, who was at that time Secretary of War. Bound in full reverse calf with red spine label $750 |
| 78. | Manuscript. JOURNALS OF FERNWOOD LAKE ICE CO. 1886-1894. 2 vols. about 800 manuscript pages. Lists deliveries of ice to Gloucester fishing schooners and businesses. The Fernwood Lake Ice Co. was created in 1876 by Francis Hohmans, who had an ice house that could hold 10,000 tons of ice. The company merged with the Cape Pond Ice Co. in 1908, and this company still exists. These books document the ice trade in the heyday of the Gloucester fisheries. 2 vols. Some cover wear, contents clean and legible. $500 |
| 79. | Manuscript. LOG BOOK OF THE SHIP AMSTIL (?) FROM THE CAPE VERDE ISLANDS TO NEW ENGLAND, FEBRUARY - JUNE, 1823. Folio, 29 pages of manuscript entries. The Amstil catches the trades west from the Cape Verde Islands in company with two other vessels. Whales and porpoises, winds and weather, latitude and longitude prevail. They reach the Caribbean, make stops to trade unspecified goods, and head for New England. The entries end off Montauk. Aside from some bad weather, it all seems fairly perfunctory, with written entries in a nearly unreadable hand on pre-printed logbook pages. What is unique and wonderful (at least in my experience) about this log is that it was printed by Edmund Blunt in New York, and it bears his graphics and logos. A picture of the store is printed on the front cover and a woodcut of a sailing ship is printed on the back. The title page features information about the Blunt establishment, a woodcut of a quadrant, and a line reading “Compasses and Quadrants repaired, and Cash given for correct Quadrants. August, 1811.” Covers dusty and tanned, interior fresh. A fascinating artifact. $500 |
| 80. | Manuscript. LOG OF SCHOONER JOSIAH CHASE, 1925-1927. Folio. about 100 pp. of manuscript entries on pre-printed logbook pages. This log follows the hardworking schooner as she leaves Bangor, Maine, stops at Bay View, Mass., and heads down the coast for Galveston, then back north via Alabama, loading lumber for New York City. In September, 1926, she grounded in Chesapeake Bay, and nearly foundered. “Could not see Wicomico light and just as we were about to tack ship on western side of river, she ran on the edge of the bank... ship did some pounding on flood tide and started a leak... Ran a kedge well out and tried to heave her off at high water... hold flooded to depth of 11 feet.” They were finally hauled off by a tug. She offloaded her cargo and made her way to Newport News. Covers worn, text clean and legible. $350 |
| 81. | Manuscript. MANUSCRIPT ARTICLES OF AGREEMENT FOR CREW MEMBERS OF THE PRIVATE ARMED SCHOONER FOX (AND) LETTER OF MARQUE FOR THE PRIVATE ARMED SCHOONER FOX. Two folio sheets joined by wax seals to make a single document, 31 x 13 inches. “Articles of Agreement made and concluded this third day of September one thousand eight hundred & twelve by and between the agents for the owners of the private Armed Schooner Fox on the one part, the Captain, her Officers and Company of said Schooner Fox on the other part...” followed by nine articles setting the terms for a cruise not to exceed ninety days. Beneath this document three columns list the 87 crew members, their stations and their prize shares. The Letter of Marque is a partially printed document measuring 13 x 15 1/2 inches and signed in type by James Madison and James Monroe. It describes the Fox as a schooner of 208 tons, mounting two swivel and twelve carriage guns, with a crew of 85 men, Capt. Elihu Brown, and Henry Salter and Joseph Stoodley, first and second officers. On the reverse, the collector, J. Ladd in 1813 certifies the document as a true copy. Rare paper from the War of 1812. 3 large sheets, suitable for display. $1200 |
| 82. | Manuscript. PAPERS OF CAPTAIN DAVID THORP, SHIPMASTER OF PROVIDENCE, RI. About 100 items documenting the trading activities of Thorp and several associates from 1830-1836. These men were involved in trading Haitian mahogany, coffee and hides; cargoes were shipped to Puerto Plat (now in Santo Domingo) and return shipments were made from there to New York where they were sold. Ships involved were the Citizen, New York, Henry, Albert, and Mary Ann. Thorp himself was master on voyages of the Citizen and the Henry. At one point he even takes the son of a Spanish trading partner as his ward. A most interesting collection. $1000 |
| 83. | Manuscript. TABLES OF INFORMATION REGARDING THE ROYAL NAVY, CIRCA 1715 55 manuscript pages. Fragment of a 77 page manuscript account, done in an ornate but legible 18th century hand, detailing such matters as salaries of officers, value of ships, allowances of ordnance and food, lists of vessels with manning allowances and guns, dimensions of various vessels. A remarkably detailed look at the British navy of 1700, probably a copy prepared for use of Admiralty officials. Back cover, with color rendering of Georgian flag, bound in. Rebound in modern cloth over boards with paper label. $1250 |
| 84. | Marestier, (Jean Baptiste). MEMOIRE SUR LES BATEAUX A VAPEUR DES ETATS-UNIS D'AMERIQUE, AVEC UN APPENDICE SUR DIVERSES MACHINES RELATIVES A LA MARINE... Paris. 1824. b/w plates. 4to. (4), 290 (1 errata) pp. Elephant folio atlas, title page plus 17 plates. First edition of a major work on early American steamboats. “One of the most important works on the historic steamboats; many chapters on small boats, the first steamboats; their engines, the experiments of Fulton, boats from Boston, New York, Philadelphia, steamboats on the Mississippi, the Ohio, the Missouri, etc.”—Polak 6384 Howes M-282 (“b” item). Text is bound in later plain boards, but is entirely uncut, with original printed wrappers bound in. The atlas, measuring a generous 19 x 24 inches, is bound in original plain wrappers, uncut, wrappers repaired at edges. It features XVII full page engraved plates of steamboat plans, propulsion plants and apparatus. From the Library of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects, with their bookplate, and no other markings. A fine set, in close to as-issued condition. Rare to the market. $6000 |
| 85. | Marine Manufacturing and Supply Co. CATALOG -H. New Brunswick, NJ. 1930. b/w plates. 4to. 124 pp. This company billed themselves as “manufacturers of heavy marine hardware and ships auxiliary machinery.” This is their illustrated catalog. Some price corrections on pencil, a few use-smudges, but a good copy, solidly bound. $75 |
| 86. | Marryat, Capt. (Frederic) POOR JACK. Lon. 1840. b/w engravings. 12 parts. 384 pp. First appearance of the first edition of a work written at the height of Marryat's powers, this novel takes place in Greenwich, and is set around its great hospital for naval pensioners. With 46 engraved plates by marine artist Clarkson Stanfield. Calf backstrip and morocco label show only light wear, but marbled boards are quite rubbed. Scattered foxing internally. A Good copy overall. $100 |
| 87. | Marryat, Capt. Frederic. WORKS. NY. n.d. (ca. 1900) b/w and toned engravings. 20 vols. Complete set of Marryat’s works, most of them seafaring novels. Born in 1792, Marryat ran away to sea as a boy and joined the Royal Navy in 1806. He served with the brilliant, impetuous Cochrane (one of the models for O'Brian's Captain Aubrey). He recast many of his naval adventures into his novels of the sea, and is noted for breathing fresh life and realism into the genre. He also wrote historical novels and children's adventures. 20 vols. in green cloth, only minor wear, VG $300 |
| 88. | Mass. Hist. Soc. PROCEEDINGS, OCTOBER 21-JUNE, 1922. Bos. 1923. b/w plates. xv-387 pp. This volume of the Mass. Historical Society’s annual report contains Gardner Weld Allen’s paper on Captain Hector McNeill. It is one of the very few published accounts of this controversial Revolutionary War naval commander. McNeill, captain of the frigate Boston, was blamed for not coming to the aid of a sister ship during an engagement with the British. He was court martialed and dismissed from the navy. This article contains his letters, an autobiographical sketch, and a journal. VG with most pages unopened. $75 |
| 89. | Maury, Nannie Belle. WHALERS AND WHALING. New Bedford. 1896. b/w photo plates. Oblong 8vo. 72 pp. A pretty book, and scarce 19th century popular description of the whaling industry. Some unusual photographs and New Bedford wharf scenes. We believe Nanny Belle was one of Matthew Fontaine Maury’s daughters. Jenkins p. 126. Minor spotting. VG $150 |
| 90. | McFarland, Raymond. SKIPPER JOHN OF THE NIMBUS. NY. 1918. Color frontis. 294 pp. First edition of a very scarce novel by McFarland, who also wrote a history of the fisheries. The Nimbus, of course, is a fishing schooner. Color frontispiece illustration by Anton Otto Fisher. Spine top chipped, else a good copy with pictorial cover intact. $75 |
| 91. | (McLean, Duncan.) DESCRIPTION OF THE LARGEST SHIP IN THE WORLD, THE NEW CLIPPER GREAT REPUBLIC, OF BOSTON. DESIGNED, BUILT AND OWNED BY DONALD MCKAY, AND COMMANDED BY CAPT. L. MCKAY... Bos. 1853. 6 b/w folding lithograph plates. 24 pp. First and only edition of a rare pamphlet describing the greatest ship of its day. The Great Republic, launched in 1853, was the largest merchant sailing ship ever constructed in the United States. This pamphlet, in its own way, is a grand production. It features six folding plates of plans and lines of the great ship, two of which open out to more than 3 feet in length. The plates are all on thin paper but have survived in remarkable condition, as has the pamphlet itself. Bound in original printed wraps, housed in a green cloth clamshell box. Quite a rare item, not in MacDonald, Brewington, NYPL list, or Scott. No holdings in listed OCLC. $1850 |
| 92. | (Merrill, Rufus. Publisher.) THE CHILD’S BOOK ABOUT WHALES. Concord, NH. 1843. b/w wood engravings 32mo. 16 pp. A pretty juvenile on whaling, in blue pictorial wrappers, measuring 2 1/2" x 4", with woodcut illustrations of whaling. VG $75 |
| 93. | Meyer, Henry Hixon. COASTING TO CAPE SMOKY. Boston. n.d. b/w plates. 116 pp. Summer cruise in 1937 from Padanaram to Cape Breton in the Ketch “Sirius”. Privately printed and scarce. Not in Toy or Morris & Howland. Signed by Meyer. VG $75 |
| 94. | Millet, Samuel. A WHALING VOYAGE IN THE BARK "WILLIS" 1849-1850. Bos. 1924. b/w plates. vi, (6) 46 pp. Account of an actual whaling voyage, with detailed explanation of whaling tools and methods of the day. Privately printed, limited to 475 copies. VG $100 |
| 95. | 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. VG condition, rebound in marbled boards with leather spine and leather cover label $1250 See Illustration |
| 96. | Moses, Henry. PICTURESQUE VIEWS OF RAMSGATE, WITH DESCRIPTIONS. Lon. 1817. b/w folding plan, 23 engraved plates. 8 pp. plus plan and plates. Moses was one of the great engravers of his day. This is his first book and, true to form, it contains gem like engravings of shipping and craft, and dock and port scenes. One of his later, more famous productions was “Sketches of Shipping” but this work retains a freshness and charm all its own. See DNB and Archibald, “Dictionary of Sea Painters,” p. 189. Bound in original boards expertly rebacked in morocco, publisher’s printed label on the front board. Scattered foxing, but an attractive untrimmed copy. $750 See Illustration |
| 97. | Murphey, Charles. A JOURNAL OF A WHALING VOYAGE ON BOARD SHIP DAUPHIN, OF NANTUCKET, COMPOSED BY CHARLES MURPHEY, 3D MATE, ON THE VOYAGE. Mattapoisett, MA. 1877. b/w ill. 39 pp. This work is notable for its recounting of the rescue of survivors from the Whaleship Essex (which had been sunk by a whale) and for its unusual form. The cover title is “Thrilling Whaling Voyage Journal in Poetry” and indeed the entire account is given in rhymed quatrains. “Dauphin, Captain Zimri Coffin, sailed on 4 Sept. 1820, returning in July 1823. Voyage included Galapagos and Hawaiian Islands (1822) Poem recounts the finding of boat from the Essex with two survivors aboard. An officer list also provided.”—Forster. At least two editions of this work exist, but I can find no mention anywhere in the literature of a copy bound in pictorial wrappers, as this copy is. The woodcut cover illustration depicts a whaleship being struck by a whale. Forster 71. Jenkins p. 129. A brilliant copy in original wrappers - Fine condition, and most unusual thus. $1250 |
| 98. | Murray, Marischal. SHIPS AND SOUTH AFRICA. Lon. 1933. b/w plates. 4to. xxvi, 360 pp. “A maritime chronicle of the Cape with particular reference to mail and passenger liners from the early days of steam down to the present.” Quite a difficult book to find, and still the best single source on ships and lines in this area. VG $200 |
| 99. | Nelson, Horatio. NELSON’S LETTERS FROM THE LEEWARD ISLANDS AND OTHER ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS... Lon. 1953. b/w plates. 4to. 73 pp. Handsome production of the Golden Cockerel Press, #37 of 60 copies specially bound in tricolor full morocco by Sangorski & Sutcliffe. Edited by Geoffrey Rawson. Engravings by Geoffrey Wales. Fine in slipcase. $1250 |
| 100. | Newhall, Chas. L. THE ADVENTURES OF JACK; OR, A LIFE ON THE WAVE. Southbridge. 1859. 134 (4) pp. “Whaling experiences in the Pacific Ocean aboard the ‘Copia’ of New Bedford... (Hawaiian Islands, North Pacific, Ladrones), ‘Bowditch’ of Warren, RI... (Bonin Islands, North Pacific, Hawaii) and ‘Dover’ of New London... (Hawaii, Marquesas). Newhall’s account also includes whaling in the Indian Ocean and merchant marine service...” —Forster. For a sailor, Newhall was a good writer. His descriptions are graphic and immediate. He was also a printer, and so was able to publish this work himself. An ad for his printing establishment appears at the back of the book. Scarce, not in Hill, Judd or Hunnewell. Forster 74 cites a reprint edition only. Backstrip laid down with minor chipping to gilt title letters. Boards are clean and text is clean and fresh. $500 |