item number |
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| 51. | Erskine, Charles. TWENTY YEARS BEFORE THE MAST. Bos. 1890. b/w plates, ills. x, 311 pp. “With the more thrilling scenes and incidents while circumnavigating the globe under the command of the late Admiral Charles Wilkes 1838-1842.” This is the privately printed first edition, not listed in Judd or Haskell, with covers illustrated in gold, scarce thus. Spine top chipped, else VG, with gold cover decoration still bright. $75 |
| 52. | Esquemeling, John. THE BUCCANEERS OF AMERICA. Lon. n.d. b/w plates. xix, 480 pp. “A true account of the most remarkable assaults committed of late years upon the coasts of the West Indies by the buccaneers of Jamaica and Tortuga (both English and French)...” Well-known and oft-reprinted work, the illustrations are reproduced from the original Dutch edition (Amsterdam, 1678). Nice copy. $40 |
| 53. | Evans, W.W. A CHAPTER IN THE HISTORY OF THE QUEEN’S CUP, WON BY THE YACHT “AMERICA” IN 1851. NY. 1885. 23 pp. “A chapter that might have been lost but for the snarlings of the Saturday Review, to which is appended the Times’ account of the great race.” Evans’ 7 page narrative, occasioned by the Saturday Review’s snarl, pertains to the “great yacht race of 1851” and has “never seen daylight in print.” It is followed by a longer account of the race from the London Times. This is truly, in the words of Rulon-Miller, “one of the great rarities of cup literature.” No holdings on OCLC; no appearances that I know of in dealers’ catalogs; no sales at auction at auction in the past 25 years. Not in Toy. Morris & Howland, p. 49. Rulon-Miller Checklist #4. Bound in original printed green wrappers. Old vertical fold mark down center of pamphlet, outer half of back wrapper lacking, else a clean copy in an excellent state of preservation. $2000 |
| 54. | Falconer, William. THE SHIPWRECK, A POEM, BY WILLIAM FALCONER, A SAILOR... London 1811. b/w engravings. xlvi, 214 pp. One of the best known English poems with a nautical theme. See Huntress 74C. This pretty edition is illustrated with engravings and vignettes after paintings by marine artist Nicholas Pocock. It contains a biographical memoir and a long section of notes referring to the paintings by Pocock, and explaining nautical terminology. (Falconer was also the author of the important Universal Dictionary of the Marine.) The book has been rebound in sturdy black buckram with gold spine lettering. $75 |
| 55. | Firth, Raymond. PRIMITIVE POLYNESIAN ECONOMY. Lon. (1939) b/w plates. xi, 387 pp. “Modern economic theory” looks at a South Seas community. Such concepts as labor, capital, value applied to primitive conditions. First ed. VG, dj. $50 |
| 56. | Fitchett, W. H. NELSON AND HIS CAPTAINS. Lon. 1902. b/w plates. 322 pp. Second impression. Cowie, 288. Spine lightly sunned, else VG $40 |
| 57. | Footner, Hulbert. SAILOR OF FORTUNE. THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF COMMODORE BARNEY, U.S.N. NY (1940) b/w plates. 323 pp. A privateer in the Revolution, a flag officer in the War of 1812, Barney was universally respected. First ed. VG $25 |
| 58. | Foss, Daniel. A JOURNAL OF THE SHIPWRECK AND SUFFERINGS OF DANIEL FOSS, A NATIVE OF ST. MARY’S (GEORGIA) WHO WAS THE ONLY PERSON SAVED FROM ON BOARD THE BRIG NEGOCIATOR, OF ALEXANDRIA... Bos. 1816. b/w frontis. 12mo. 24 pp. There are several variants of this narrative in which details differ slightly. The main point is that Foss’ ship struck an iceberg in the north Pacific. The crew escaped in a longboat, but eventually dwindled to just three men who drew lots to decide which of them should be eaten to keep the other two alive. After three months at sea the two survivors found a small island, but Foss’ companion died in the landing attempt. Foss lived there alone for another five years, existing on seal meat, fish and rainwater. As Huntress states, “since Foss was the only survivor of the crew we must accept his word on what happened... But if Foss did not tell the truth of his adventures, no one will ever know.” His story must have been a sensation in its day, as at least four versions of it were printed. All are rare now. See Huntress 185 C, S&S 37630. This version argues its primacy on the title page, stating that Foss’ oar is on deposit at the Charleston Museum. VG in new wrappers. $1500 See Illustration |
| 59. | Francillon, R.J. JAPANESE AIRCRAFT OF THE PACIFIC WAR. NY (1970) b/w plates. xiii, 570 pp. Authoritative and bountifully illustrated. VG, dj. $50 |
| 60. | Furlong, Capt. Lawrence. THE AMERICAN COAST PILOT... Newburyport. 1806. 13 b/w charts, some folding. xii-408 pp. Fifth edition of Blunt’s famous Coast Pilot. Variously owned by Lymon Evans, who executed a handcolored “LE” monogram with floral sprig beneath on a front blank, and Azor Ferris. Someone took penmanship practice on the backs of some of the charts, and ink spots show through in a few places. Otherwise this is a decent copy internally. The backstrip is perished but the book is still intact and in Good condition. $400 |
| 61. | Gardiner, Samuel Rawson (ed.) FIRST DUTCH WAR, 1652-54. (UK) Various dates, 1898-1912. 5 vols. Various paginations. Navy Records Society. Five of six vols. VG $200 |
| 62. | George III A PROCLAMATION... (AND) A PROCLAMATION DECLARING WHAT ENSIGNS OR COLOURS SHALL BE BORNE AT SEA... n.p. (Quebec) n.d. (1801) b/w ills. 4to. 11pp. “...Proclaiming his Majesty’s pleasure concerning the Royal stile and titles appertaining to the Imperial Crown of the United Kingdom... and also the ensigns, armorial, flags and banners thereof.” First Canadian edition of the proclamation creating the Union Jack, printed in English and French on facing pages, with 2 text illustrations of Union Jacks, giving color schemes. Hare & Wallot 2, Gagnon, I, II. Removed from larger volume. Clean. $250 |
| 63. | Gibbs, Jim. PACIFIC SQUARE-RIGGERS. NY. (1977.) b/w plates. 4to. 192 pp. “Pictorial history of the great windships of yesteryear.” Reprint ed. VG, dj. $25 |
| 64. | Gilfillan, S.C. INVENTING THE SHIP. Chi. (1935) b/w plates. xvi, 294 pp. “A study of the inventions made in her history between floating log and rotorship.” This is a neat book. VG, dj. $45 |
| 65. | Gilkerson, William. THE SCRIMSHANDER. San Francisco. (1978) b/w plates, signed drawing. 4to. (8), 116 pp. Excellent essay on scrimshaw in all its forms, with many illustrations, including the author's own work. This is #6 of 10 copies especially bound for the author in half leather over boards, with Gilkerson’s ink drawing of a whaleship on front blank, signed by him. VG in slipcase. $250 |
| 66. | Gould, Rupert T. THE MARINE CHRONOMETER, ITS HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT. Lon. (1973). b/w plates. 287 pp. The chronometer, aside from saving lives, made possible faster trans-oceanic passage times, thus a surer transport of goods was achieved between distant colony and homeland. This is the truly imposing story of the origins of that extra-accurate timepiece and its early development. Quite scarce and very much in demand. VG, dj. $300 |
| 67. | Grant, James (ed.) THE OLD SCOTS NAVY, 1689-1710. (UK) 1912. b/w frontis. lix, 448 pp. Documents herein prove there was one. Interesting introduction puts it in historical perspective, back as far as 14th century. Navy Records Society. VG. $50 |
| 68. | Grove, Eric J. (editor). DEFEAT OF THE ENEMY ATTACK ON SHIPPING, 1939-1945. (UK) (1997) Color charts. lxii, xiv, 360, xiv, plus tables and plans. Combination of two originally classified papers. History and workings of the convoy system. VG-Fine $75 |
| 69. | Gutteridge, H.C. NELSON AND THE NEAPOLITAN JACOBINS. (UK) 1903. b/w maps. cxvii, 351 pp. Documents relating to the suppression of the Jacobin revolution at Naples, June, 1799. Cowie, 822. A publication of the Navy Records Society. VG $75 |
| 70. | Halpern, Paul G. THE ROYAL NAVY IN THE MEDITERRANEAN, 1915-1918. UK. 1987. b/w folding maprs. xv, 623 pp. Initially a secondary theater, the Med. increased in importance and German submarines restricted commerce. VG, dj. $50 |
| 71. | Halpern, Paul G. (ed.) THE KEYES PAPERS. (UK) 1979, 1980. b/w frontis, fldg. map. 3 vols. xxiv, 547; xiv, 468; xiv, 398 pp. Activities of Lord Keyes up to WW II. Navy Records Society. Blue cloth, VG $125 |
| 72. | Harrison, James. THE LIFE OF THE RIGHT HONORABLE HORATIO LORD VISCOUNT NELSON: BARON NELSON OF THE NILE, AND OF BURNHAM-THORPE AND HILBOROUGH IN THE COUNTY OF NORFOLK; KNIGHT OF THE MOST HONORABLE MILITARY ORDER OF THE BATH; DOCTOR OF LAWS IN THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD; VICE-ADMIRAL OF THE WHITE SQUADRON OF HIS MAJESTY’S FLEET; DUKE OF BRONTE, IN FARTHER SICILY; GRAND CROSS OF THE ORDER OF ST. FERDINAND AND OF MERIT; KNIGHT OF THE IMPERIAL ORDER OF THE OTTOMAN CRESCENT; KNIGHT GRAND COMMANDER OF THE EQUESTRIAN, SECULAR, AND CAPITULAR, ORDER OF ST. JOACHIM OF WESTERBURG; AND HONORARY GRANDEE OF SPAIN. Lon. 1806 b/w plates. 2 vols. xii,392; 512pp A fascinating work that created a scandal in its day. It was “written under the dictation of Lady Hamilton, with the view of supporting her claims upon the government; and it is disgraced by disparaging, and unjust allusions to Lady Nelson. The work contains, however, some Letters, and a few statements not printed elsewhere” - Nicolas, Dispatches and Letters of Lord Nelson, p. ix. Oman says, “James Harrison, stands, by general consent, lowest in esteem of Nelson biographers. He was a man of dreadful calling, a hireling, and his duty, as he understood it, was to produce, against time, a two-volume biography of Nelson, designed at all costs to exalt the claims of Lady Hamilton to a Government pension. The result, published in 1806, has been described by David Hannay, a severe critic, as ‘one of the most nauseous of known books,’ and it has always been so much resented for its insincerity that the fact it contains a little information obtainable nowhere else is usually overlooked." - Oman, Nelson, pp. 6 & 7. (See also Cowie, #131.) Interesting enough, but this copy also happens to be Admiral Lord Keith’s copy, With a fine “proof” engraving by H. R. Cook of Sir William Beechey’s portrait of Lord Nelson, dated 12 April 1806, and the engraved bookplate of Admiral Lord Keith. Bound in contemporary full calf, expertly rebacked; all edges gilt. 2 vols. $1500 |
| 73. | Henderson, David A. MEN & WHALES AT SCAMMON’S LAGOON. Los Angeles. 1972 b/w plates, duotone fldg. charts. 313 pp. Natural history of the California Gray whale, Indian knowledge of whales and the lagoon, Spanish accounts, the American fishery, and Scammon. With a useful 25 page bibliography. No. 29 of the Baja California Travels Series. Limited to 700 copies and just about impossible to locate. VG $150 |
| 74. | Herreshoff Manufacturing Co. YACHTS BY HERRESHOFF. Bristol, RI. n.d. 4to. Color and b/w plates. 53 pp. A handsomely produced catalog of current Herreshoff yachts (ca. 1940s) and scenes from the past, with sail plans of yachts and specially produced color plates of the eight America’s Cup defenders built by the company. VG in original glassine. $150 |
| 75. | Hichborn, Philip. STANDARD DESIGNS FOR BOATS OF THE UNITED STATES NAVY. Wash. 1900 Line ills. b/w halftone photo ills. Oblong folio. 96 pp. 222 full page plates An excellent resource for small boat design and construction. Specifications, schedules of material, weights and cost, plus scaled plans and photographic illustrations for small craft of 40 feet and under. Included are steam cutters, whaleboats, dinghies, balsas and punts. In original binding. Some wear to backstrip, hinges weak. Text and plates clean. An important book, quite hard to find. $450 |
| 76. | Hollond, John. HOLLOND’S DISCOURSES OF THE NAVY. (UK) 1896. Discourses from 1638 and 1661. Navy Records Society. With Slyngesbie’s discourse appended. Minor soiling. VG $50 |
| 77. | Horsford, Eben and Cornelia. LEIF’S HOUSE IN VINELAND (AND) GRAVES OF THE NORTHMEN. Bos. 1893. b/w plates, ills., folding map. 4to. 40 pp. Interesting and handsomely produced, but largely discredited theory that the Vikings landed at the head of the Charles River in Massachusetts. The Horsfords spent much time and money propounding this view and have left us with several books on various aspects of the theory. Useful information on Viking and Indian ways. $75 |
| 78. | Hoyt, John Colgate. OLD OCEAN’S FERRY. NY. (1900) b/w ills. 266 pp. The sort of thing a passenger might take along to amuse and inform. Interesting chapters on “navigation for passengers,” “ship facts,” “sea superstitions” etc. Minor cover soiling else VG. $50 |
| 79. | Hunter, Lieut. Francis. BEATTY, JELLICO, SIMS AND RODMAN. NY. 1919. b/w plates. xvi, 204 pp. “Yankee gobs and British tars as seen by an Anglomaniac.” WW I in the North Sea. VG $25 |
| 80. | Huntress, Keith. NARRATIVES OF SHIPWRECKS AND DISASTERS, 1586-1860. Ames, IA. 1979. b/w plts. xiv, 194 pp. Standard reference. Checklist of shipwreck narratives. Out of print and hard to find. Covers slightly sunned, else VG $75 |
| 81. | Hydrographic Office. REPORTED DANGERS TO NAVIGATION IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN, INCLUSIVE OF THE CHINA AND JAPAN SEAS AND THE EAST INDIA ARCHIPELAGO... PART I. NORTH OF THE EQUATOR. Wash. 1871. 143 pp. Over 1100 hazards listed, located and described. Covers dusty, edges of pages waterstained. $75 |
| 82. | Jackson, T. Surges (ed.) GREAT SEA FIGHTS, 1794-1805. (UK) 1899. color frontis, fldg. chart. 2 vols. xv, 345; 343 pp. Navy Records Society. Journals and logs from some of England’s greatest sea battles; St. Vincent, Camperdown, the Nile, Copenhagen, Trafalgar. 2 vols. VG $125 |
| 83. | Johnson, Samuel Roosevelt. CALIFORNIA: A SERMON NY. 1849. 19 (1) pp. Preached in Brooklyn on the occasion of the barque St. Mary’s departure for California. Johnson’s son was on this ship, and the sermon discusses all the other reasons for going to California than “the mere hunger for gold.” Cowan p. 315. Minor foxing. Original printed wraps, VG $125 |
| 84. | Jones, C. G. Pitcairn (ed.) PIRACY IN THE LEVANT, 1827-8. (UK). 1934. xxxiii, 325 pp. Navy Records Society. VG-Fine $75 |
| 85. | Jones, John Paul. LETTERS OF JOHN PAUL JONES. Bos. 1905. b/w plates. 123 pp. Printed from unpublished originals with introductory remarks by General Horace Porter and Franklin B. Sanborn. Light spotting on spine, else a clean copy, unopened. $50 |
| 86. | Kebabian, John S. THE HENRY C. TAYLOR COLLECTION. New Haven. 1971. b/w frontis. xxii, 88 pp. Taylor’s collection included books on navigation and the discovery of America. The checklist contains 410 items with brief collations and plate counts. Useful. VG. $50 |
| 87. | Kelley, Lt. J.D. Jerrold. THE NAVY OF THE UNITED STATES. n.p. n.d. (ca. 1899) Color plates and b/w ills. Oblong folio, 107-241 pp. This is the second half of “The United States Army and Navy.” It contains 18 color lithographs of naval actions, ships and uniforms. These are quite impressive, in brilliant colors and full page spreads. The ships and uniforms are particularly impressive. In addition 5 advertising posters are bound in. Three of them are for steamship lines. Inner hinges broken. Some binding wear. Cover dusty, but plates are in excellent condition, fresh and clean. $450 |
| 88. | Kemp, Dixon. A MANUAL OF YACHT AND BOAT SAILING. Lon. 1884. b/w ills. folding plates. xi, 624 pp. Despite its title this work is more concerned with yacht design and details of construction than with seamanship. 75 full page and folding plates as well as hundreds more illustrations in the text detail British and American yachts, their designs and rigging. With interesting chapters on steam yachts and canoes. Toy 2152. Some cover wear, front hinge partially cracked. Text clean. $400 |
| 89. | Kemp, P. K. (ed.) THE PAPERS OF ADMIRAL SIR JOHN FISHER. (UK) 1960, 1964. b/w diagrams. 2 vols. xxvi, 413; xii, 472 pp. Organizing the Royal Navy in the buildup to WW I. Navy Records Society. VG $50 |
| 90. | Kilby, Kenneth. THE COOPER AND HIS TRADE. Lon. (1971) b/w plates, ills. 192 pp. Wonderfully written and profusely illustrated from contemporary sources. The tools, methods and history of this ancient trade are brought to light. First ed. VG, dj. $50 |
| 91. | Kotzebue, Otto von. A VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY, INTO THE SOUTH SEA AND BEERING’S STRAITS, FOR THE PURPOSE OF EXPLORING A NORTH-EAST PASSAGE, UNDERTAKEN IN THE YEARS OF 1815-1818... Lon. 1821. Color plates, b/w charts, some folding. 3 vols. xv, (2) 359; (4), 443; (4), 442 pp. First English edition, published the same year as the German edition. This is the complete text, not to be confused with a single-volume abridgment also published in London in 1821. One of the great early Pacific exploration narratives. Kotzebue’s ship, the Rurik, rounded Cape Horn, visited Chile, Easter Island, and the Marshall Islands. He also explored Hawaii and the North American coast in search of a north east passage. Hill calls it “A very important and much-prized work.” 9 color plates and 7 maps. See Hill, p. 165. Streeter 3512. Abbey 596. Cowan p. 335. Forbes, 528, who notes that the color plates in this work, as in the German edition, are by the famous artist Louis Choris, including “the famous ‘red vest’ portrait of Kamehameha.” 3 vols handsomely rebound in antique style mottled calf over marbled boards with raised bands and black and gilt spine labels. Scattered light foxing, but a very handsome set, in a beautiful binding. All plates and charts present. $3750 |
| 92. | La Perouse, Jean Francois. A VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD, PERFORMED IN THE YEARS 1785, 1786, 1787, AND 1788... Lon. 1798. b/w plates, maps. 3 vols. x,(2),532; x,498, viii,446,60 pp. This is curious little mess of a set. It is the first English edition of La Perouse’s epic voyage. It is complete in all respects, having the correct pagination and its full complement of 42 maps and plates, many of which fold. However, each volume lacks the title page! LaPerouse deposited the journals from which this account was taken at Botany Bay, and then sailed off into the Pacific, never to be seen again. Hill 974. Sabin 38963. Howes L-93. Bound in 19th century calf over marbled boards. Minor wear. Plates and text clean. A good set lacking title pages, and priced accordingly. Thrown in for good measure is a 2 volume set in matching bindings of Labillardiere’s “An Account of a Voyage in Search of La Perouse.” Lon 1802. (Hill 955) This is the second English edition, complete textually, but lacking plates. The lot of 5 books pertaining to La Perouse $750 |
| 93. | Lambert, Nicholas. THE SUBMARINE SERVICE, 1900-1908. (UK) 2001. xliv, 397 pp. Correspondence and documents of the British Submarine Service prior to WW I. $25 |
| 94. | Latham, Robert. (editor) SAMUEL PEPYS AND THE SECOND DUTCH WAR. (UK) 1995. xxix, 488 pp. Pepys’ naval white book transcribed here. VG $25 |
| 95. | Laughton, John Knox (ed.) DEFEAT OF THE SPANISH ARMADA, (UK) 1894,1894. 2 vols. lxxxiv, 365; 418 pp. Navy Records Society. Documents, manuscripts, published items relating to this, “one of the decisive battles of the world.” 2 vols. VG $125 |
| 96. | Lay, William and Cyrus M. Hussey. A NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY ON BOARD THE SHIP GLOBE, OF NANTUCKET, IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN, JAN. 1824. AND THE JOURNAL OF A RESIDENCE OF TWO YEARS ON THE MULGRAVE ISLANDS... New London. 1828. 168 pp. First edition. This rare narrative relates the bloody mutiny and murders perpetrated by harpooner and boatsteerer Samuel Comstock, who was himself murdered by natives on Mili. Lay and Hussey were the only survivors of this incident and were later rescued by Lieut. Paulding of the U.S. Schooner Dolphin. Forster 63, Hill p. 176. Howes L-158. Bound in full calf. Chip in backstrip affecting edge of spine label, else a good copy. $2000 |
| 97. | Leland, Charles Godfrey. FUSANG. OR, THE DISCOVER OF AMERICA BY BUDDIST PRIESTS IN THE FIFTH CENTURY. (Lon. 1973.) xix, 212 pp. Polymath Leland provides us with the 19th century’s version of that wretched recent best-seller showing how the Chinese discovered America. Leland here translates and expands on Prof. Neumann’s thesis that the travelogue of Hoei-Shin, a Buddhist missionary, was in fact a description of a voyage to the west coast of Mexico. This work includes a translation of the original narrative, Neumann’s commentary, and Leland’s attempts to link Chinese and American relics. Modern reprint of 1875 original. VG, dj $40 |
| 98. | Lethbridge, T.C. BOATS AND BOATMEN. Lon. (1952) b/w ills. viii, 199 pp. Anthropological look at boats and boating in the European tradition, particularly in its examination of the magical and religious ideas that underlie surviving nautical customs. VG, dj. $20 |
| 99. | 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 $50 |
| 100. | Leyland, John. (ed.) DISPATCHES AND LETTERS RELATING TO THE BLOCKADE OF BREST. 1803-1805. (UK) 1899, 1902. b/w frontis., folding charts. 2 vols. lxvi, 369; liii, 390 pp. An essential complement to Nelson’s “Letters and Dispatches.” Cornwallis’ tenacity paved the way for Trafalgar. 2 vols. VG. $150 |