item number |
To order, email tenpound@shore.net |
| 26. | Douglas, Sir Howard. A TREATISE ON NAVAL GUNNERY. Lon. 1820. b/w fldg plates, tables. xii, 319 pp. plus plates. First edition of a classic text. It is an exhaustive work, covering theoretical, practical and tactical aspects of gunnery. Douglas was a prolific writer and of such influence that the gunnery training ship Excellent was established in part as a result of this book. (See DNB). Full calf, with an early reback, retaining gold panel decorations and original label. Hinges cracked but holding. 5 folding plates are clean and fresh. This edition is uncommon. $300 |
| 27. | Draper, (William). COLONEL DRAPER’S ANSWER TO THE SPANISH ARGUMENTS, CLAIMING THE GALLEON, AND REFUSING PAYMENT OF THE RANSOM BILLS, FOR PRESERVING MANILA FROM PILLAGE AND DESTRUCTION... Lon. 1764. 43 pp. Untold riches gathered in the East were conveyed each year in a Manilla Galleon to Acapulco and then to Spain. They were tempting prizes but only four were ever captured. The last of the four, the Santisima Trinidad, was captured by British Admiral Cornish during the Anglo-Spanish war of 1762-63. In this pamphlet Draper, who participated in the action, argues against returning the galleon and its treasures, or making reparations. His account contains details of the capture and of Spanish galleon operations. Bound in old marbled wrappers. Ex-lib, with oval stamp, else VG $1250 |
| 28. | Durand, James. THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF JAMES R. DURAND. Rochester, NY. 1820. 12mo. iv-129 pp. Durand was born in New Haven. After an early career on American merchant ships, he joined the Navy in 1804 and served aboard John Adams, Enterprise, and Constitution in the Mediterranean during and after the Barbary wars. Upon leaving the service (he went AWOL from Constitution in 1806) he joined a merchant brig bound for France, but was captured by HMS Shannon and impressed into the British navy. Durand remained in the British Navy from that time until discharged in 1815. He was serving on the British brig Narcissus during the War of 1812 when that ship was ordered to attack Stonington, Connecticut, and tells about that event in this biography. An early reprint of a book first published three years earlier. See Howes D-591. Bound in calf over boards with original printed cover laid down. Perforated library stamp on title, else a good copy of a scarce book. $600 |
| 29. | Ekins, Charles. NAVAL BATTLES, FROM 1744 TO THE PEACE IN 1814, CRITICALLY REVIEWED AND ILLUSTRATED. Lon. 1824. b/w charts, plates, some folding. Ills. in text. 4to. xxix, 425 pp. First edition. Primarily concerned with naval action in the Revolutionary War, also Napoleonic wars, with battles of St. Vincent, the Nile, Trafalgar and others reviewed and charted. Constant reference is made to Clerk’s work, but this book and its 79 engraved plates goes into a deeper analysis of specific battles. Also contains an interesting illustrated appendix on positioning of guns in rounded sterns of vessels. Smith I, 489 “Much praise of Admiral Rodney” NMM Cat V, 1108. This is a clean copy, but with typical scattered foxing and offsetting. Bound in calf over marbled boards, rebacked, with original label. $350 See Illustration |
| 30. | Elliot, Major George H. REPORT OF A TOUR OF INSPECTION OF EUROPEAN LIGHT-HOUSE ESTABLISHMENTS, MADE IN 1873. Wash. 1874. Color, b/w plates, ills. 288 pp. In 1873 Elliot, who was Engineer-Secretary of the Lighthouse Board made a four month tour of the lighthouse establishments of Europe, where he met with Tyndall, Stevenson and other important figures engaged in the design and construction of lighthouses. He found the Europeans to be far in advance of the Americans, and in this exhaustive work he describes the technologies he encountered there. Lavishly illustrated with 50 wood engraved plates (3 in color) and 31 text illustrations. On the front blank Elliot has penned a 12 line note to a Mr. J.H. Saville, a Treasury Department official, thanking him for making his journey possible and asking his opinion of the book. Most unsual. VG $300 See Illustration |
| 31. | Ellis, Henry. (and) John White. JOURNAL OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE LATE EMBASSY TO CHINA; ... (AND) HISTORY OF A VOYAGE TO THE CHINA SEA. Phila. (and) Bos. 1818 (and) 1823. b/w fldg maps. plates 282 pp. (and) (2, x) 376 pp. Ellis’s Journal, first published in London in 1817, is the official account of Lord Amherst’s embassy to China, on which Ellis was the third commissioner. Apart from the substantial Chinese information, it includes accounts of Manila, Batavia, the Cape of Good Hope, St. Helena, and of the shipwreck of the Alceste. The White narrative is a rare book, and an important one. White sailed from Salem in 1819 on a joint venture with the brig Franklin and the ship Marmion to Cochin China. They were the first American vessels to ascend the Donnai, and spent considerable time in Saigon. A great deal of information on Vietnam and the Vietnamese, and as well on Batavia and the Philippines. Four of the plates depict Vietnamese small craft. The map is a detailed map of the Dong Nai and its newly-dug canal: “an accurate mapping of the tricky system of waterways was a key to Saigon-based interests hoping to tap the potential of the Mekong.” - Suárez, Early Mapping of Southeast Asia, p. 253 (and the map shown in fig. 158). Griffin p. 22. Smith, American Travelers Abroad W65. Not in Paullin, American Voyages to the Orient. The two titles bound together in contemporary mottled calf, gilt, a marginal stain beginning at about a third of the way through the second title, getting wider towards the back, still an attractive volume. 2 vols. in one. $1250 |
| 32. | Ephemera. BOSTON MARINE SOCIETY MEMBERSHIP CERTIFICATE. Engraved folio sheet 15 x 10 inches, finished in manuscript. This document certifies that Capt. Henry K. Loring is voted a member of the Boston Marine Society. It is signed by Thomas English, Secretary, and Daniel C. Bacon, President, July 2, 1838. The certificate is surrounded by engraved vignettes picturing Neptune in his chariot, a shipwreck, a whaling scene, a ship entering Boston Harbor, a harbor scene with Boston in the background, a view of the Marine Hospital, and an allegorical view of the family of a shipwrecked mariner, by “Callender, sculpt. State St. Boston.” An attractive decorative item and a relic from Boston’s great seafaring days. With original wax seal, in antique gold frame under old glass. VG, and quite scarce. $850 See Illustration |
| 33. | Ephemera. CUSTOMS FORMS FOR EXPORTATION OF GOODS AND MANUSCRIPT INVOICES OF GOODS. 1789-1792. These appear to be bonds on goods in the carrying trade, which were shipped into New York and were then intended to be shipped to foreign countries. They are all from the Port of New York, and they date from the earliest years of the Customs Service, which was established July 31, 1789. (The earliest document in this collection is dated November, 1789.) As such, they present an excellent picture of the goods flowing through New York from such places as China and the West Indies, bound for various European ports. In the printed document, New York merchants pledge a cash bond on goods which they guarantee are reladen and due to be shipped to a foreign country. Names of the merchants, and vessels are entered in manuscript as is a description of the cargo to be exported. There are over 100 of these documents, which are printed folio sheets finished in manuscript. They are accompanied by over 200 manifests itemizing cargo and in many cases stating the port from which it was shipped and the port to which it is bound. Some are quite elaborate and detailed. Many of these documents include tea and other articles shipped from Canton and Bombay in New York’s early China Trade days, and many recognizable names are present, including Robert Livingston, John J. Roosevelt and John Pintard. Much edge chipping. Signatures and seals clipped from many documents. About 350 items. $850 |
| 34. | Fairburn, John (publisher) and Archibald Duncan. FAIRBURN’S EDITION OF THE LIFE OF ADMIRAL LORD NELSON CONTAINING A CORRECT ACCOUNT OF ALL HIS NAVAL ENGAGEMENTS AND ... DEATH... (AND) A CORRECT NARRATIVE OF THE FUNERAL OF HORATIO LORD VISCOUNT NELSON... Lon. n.d. and 1806. b/w folding plates. 12mo. 40; 47, (1) pp. Two scarce pamphlets that were published shortly after Nelson’s death at Trafalgar in October 1805, and state funeral in January 1806. Cowie dates the Fairburn pamphlet 1805. These are the pamphlet equivalents of newspaper “extras” covering late breaking news. They are quite ephemeral, and full of the hero worship of the moment. Cowie 76 and 86. Both items are bound together in old marbled wrappers. The frontispiece in the first volume has been moved to the back. $500 |
| 35. | Gavin. C.M. ROYAL YACHTS. Lon. 1932. Color and b/w plates. 4to. 338 pp. Full and documented account of British royal yachts and their owners from the earliest times to 1932. Includes lists of Royal yachts from the Restoration to 1932, with data on design, building, armament, origins of names, etc. Fine printing job on rag paper with tipped in color plates, etc. Toy 31. VG in cloth over boards with spine label. $500 |
| 36. | Guest, Montague & Boulton, William B. THE ROYAL YACHT SQUADRON. Lon. 1903. b/w plates. x, 525 pp. Memorials of its members, with an enquiry into the history of yachting and its development in the Solent; and a complete list of members with their yachts from the foundation of the club to the present time... “Very well illustrated.” - Toy, 58. VG $350 |
| 37. | Harris, Thomas, M.D. THE LIFE AND SERVICES OF COMMODORE WILLIAM BAINBRIDGE, UNITED STATES NAVY. Phila. 1837. b/w frontis. (xvi) 254 pp. First edition of an early work on Bainbridge. Scarce, not in Howes. Smith II 1077, who calls it “Still useful.” Harbeck p. 73. Owner’s name torn off top corner of half title, cracked at front gutter, else VG in original patterned cloth with spine label. $150 |
| 38. | 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. Original cloth, gilt spine title and ship on front cover, lightly foxed within, expertly rebacked, with about 60% of the original spine preserved; embossed and perforated library stamps on title, but not at all a bad copy. $350 |
| 39. | Haselden, Thomas. THE SEAMAN’S DAILY ASSISTANT, BEING A SHORT, EASY, AND PLAIN METHOD OF KEEPING A JOURNAL AT SEA; IN WHICH ARE CONTAINED RULES, SHEWING HOW THE ALLOWANCES FOR LEE-WAY, VARIATION, HEAVE OF THE SEA, SET OF CURRENTS, &C. ARE TO BE MADE, AND TO CORRECT THE DEAD-RECKONING BY AN OBSERVATION, IN ALL CASES: AND ALSO ALL THE TABLES THAT ARE ANY WAYS NECESSARY FOR THE SEAMAN’S USE IN KEEPING A JOURNAL... Phila. 1777. Small 4to. (8), 160 pp. This is A.S.W. Rosenbach’s own copy of the first book on navigation published in America. Here is how he wrote it up in his catalog, “The Sea.” - “FIRST AMERICAN EDITION, THE FIRST BOOK ON PRACTICAL NAVIGATION TO BE PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES. A very rare work, we have been unable to trace the appearance of any other copy of this edition. In the life of Haselden in the Dictionary of National Biography we do not find this listed among his works, although the biographer does remark, ‘In 1788 there was issued a new edition of the Seaman’s Daily Assistant, said to be by Haselden....’ Haselden is described on the title of the present volume as Late Teacher of the Mathematics in the Royal Navy, and a forwarding address to the reader is signed by him in type. The work includes a table of difference of latitude to each degree, instructions for working out positions according to Mercator, tables of high water, the sun’s ascension and declination, and the positions of the stars, rules for laying a course, and other matters of great and practical nautical importance. With a note of presentation from James Fleming to James Linn, dated 1823.” Despite Rosy’s bloviation, OCLC shows at least two institutional holdings, and Adams and Waters several more. However, Rosenbach’s claims are correct in the sense that this is an important book, that it is quite scarce in the trade. A&W 2040. Rosenbach 314. Evans 15360. Bound in original sheep, rebacked. Front fly lacking. With several inscriptions by an early owner, James Fleming, dated as early as 1786. $8500 |
| 40. | Hawks, Francis L. NARRATIVE OF THE EXPEDITION OF AN AMERICAN SQUADRON TO THE CHINA SEAS AND JAPAN... UNDER THE COMMAND OF COMMODORE M.C. PERRY... NY. 1856. b/w plates, maps. vii, 624 pp. Hawks was engaged as editor of the mass of documentation resulting from Perry's expedition, and he worked with Perry to produce both this abridged single volume report and the three volume work. Both were issued in the same year. (The present work is probably scarcer than the widely distributed three volume set.) This edition contains 11 folding maps, 9 steel engravings, 67 wood engravings, and numerous illustrations in the text. Rebound in antique style green morocco over marbled boards with red spine label. A clean copy $500 |
| 41. | Herreshoff, L. Francis. THE COMMON SENSE OF YACHT DESIGN. NY. (1946, 1948) b/w plates, lines. 157, 176 pp. One of the more important and difficult to find works on yacht design, by one of the great writers in this field. Toy 4752. Both volumes are first editions. VG in identical bindings. Both in chipped dj’s, and scarce thus. $500 |
| 42. | Hillary (William). OBSERVATIONS ON THE CHANGES OF THE AIR AND CONCOMITANT EPIDEMICAL DISEASES IN THE ISLAND OF BARBADOES. Lon. 1766. (8) xiv-360 (4) pp. "To which is added a treatise on the putrid bilious fever, commonly called yellow fever; and other such diseases as are indigenous or endemical, in the West Indian islands..." Second edition of one of the best known early treatises on Caribbean diseases, this work includes good accounts of lead colic and infactive hepatitis, and was the first to give a correct description of tropical sprue. Far more sailors died of yellow fever in the West Indies than from combat, so books like this were of great contemporary interest. Sabin 31877, Garrison & Morton, 1770. Some browning on outer blank margins of title and following leaf, else VG in contemporary calf, rebacked, with spine label. $500 |
| 43. | Hutchinson, William. A TREATISE ON NAVAL ARCHITECTURE FOUNDED UPON PHILOSOPHICAL AND RATIONAL PRINCIPLES, TOWARDS ESTABLISHING FIXED RULES FOR THE BEST FORM AND PROPORTIONAL DIMENSIONS IN LENGTH, BREADTH AND DEPTH, OF MERCHANT SHIPS IN GENERAL, AND ALSO THE MANAGEMENT OF THEM TO THE GREATEST ADVANTAGE, BY PRACTICAL SEAMANSHIP... Liverpool. 1794 b/w engraqved frontis., 12 plates, plans. one folding. 4to. xv, (1), 303 (1) pp. Hutchinson was a seaman who became Dock Master at Liverpool. This is the fourth and best edition of a work that started its life in 1777 as, “A Treatise on Practical Seamanship.” Material was added with each edition until the present one, which contains information on shipbuilding, stowage, seamanship, naval gunnnery and tactics, and health and diseases of seamen - making it a virtual compendium of 18th century naval practice. Scott Coll. 445. Adams & Waters 2182. A nice clean copy, bound in full morocco with gilt ornaments and goffered edges. Minor scuffing and wear. Some offsetting to plates, else a fresh, tall copy. $1500 See Illustration |
| 44. | Imray, James. THE ATLANTIC NAVIGATOR... Lon. 1854. b/w recognition views in text, folding and double paged charts. xii, vi, 532, 32 pp. “Being a nautical description of the coasts of France, Spain and Portugal, the west coast of Africa, the coasts of Brazil and Patagonia, the islands of the Azores, Madeiras, Canaries and Cape Verdes... to this is added... a description of the principal harbours on the coast of North America...” Fourth edition. 12 double page charts, dozens of engraved recognition views in text. A few cover spots, else a very nice copy with gold ship illustration on cover, and an unusual purple circular chronometer maker’s label on front pastedown. Imray catalog of charts and navigation books at back. $250 See Illustration |
| 45. | James, William. AN INQUIRY INTO THE MERITS OF THE PRINCIPAL NAVAL ACTIONS BETWEEN GREAT BRITAIN AND THE UNITED STATES... Halifax, N.S. 1816. folding tables. vi, 102 pp. “Comprising an account of all British and American ships of war, reciprocally captured and destroyed since the 18th of June 1812.” James was a proctor in the Vice-Admiralty court in Jamaica. At the beginning of the War of 1812 he was detained as a prisoner for several months before escaping to Halifax in 1813. He certainly had cause to dislike the Americans, and as Smith notes, all his historical works are violently pro-British. In this work, by narrating and analyzing each naval encounter of the war, he “showed that the American frigates were larger, stouter and more heavily armed and more strongly manned than the English which they had captured; that the statements officially published in the United States were grossly inaccurate; and that the victories of the Americans were to be attributed, not to superior seamanship nor to superior courage, but to superior numerical force.”—DNB. James’ work caused much controversy when it was published. This is a first edition, preceding the later London printing. Howes J-53. Smith II 1187. VG in 19th century half morocco over marbled boards with wraps bound in. Front board detached, else a Very Good copy of a rare book. $1500 |
| 46. | Jenkins, J. THE NAVAL ACHIEVEMENTS OF GREAT BRITAIN FROM THE YEAR 1793 TO 1817. Lon. (1816-1817) b/w engraved title plus 55 handcolored plates. Folio. (2), vii, 55 plates with two or more pp. accompanying text. First edition of the most important visual documentation of the Age of Nelson, and Britain’s heroic era at sea. This copy is inscribed to Admiral Sir Edward Hamilton, hero of the famous “capture of the Hermione” in 1799, an exploit pictured on p. (84) of the book. Hamilton was in command of the Surprise when he encountered the Hermione, a British frigate whose crew had mutinied and surrendered the ship to Spain. He was wounded in the valiant re-capture of the vessel. This is a subscriber’s copy, and one of the earliest issues of the first edition, with the engraved title page uncolored, and pre-publication watermarks. See Abby 337, NMM Cat V, 2159, Tooley, 282. The coloring is excellent, with almost no foxing or offsetting, and the physical condition is similarly fine, with only one plate having a small marginal tear. Bound in full contemporary calf with raised bands and gold stamping and gilding, bearing the contemporary binder’s ticket of “Hering, 9 Newman St.” It has the bookplate of Lewis Motley, an earlier owner, and the presentation inscription, “The Gift of Lady Lawford to Admiral Sir Edward Hamilton Bart. KCB” $15000 |
| 47. | 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. Hill p.160. This is a third edition, printed the year after the first. Bound in contemporary half leather over marbled boards. Minor repair to folding map, otherwise a nice copy. $500 |
| 48. | Kemp, Dixon. A MANUAL OF YACHT AND BOAT SAILING. Lon. 1891. b/w folding plates, ills. xii, 736 pp. plus 8 pp ads. Despite its title this work is more concerned with yacht design and details of construction than with seamanship. 101 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 calls this book “A classic work by a central figure in British yachting...”—Toy 2152. $500 |
| 49. | Laflin, P.J. LIST OF OFFICERS COMPOSING WHALING FLEET 1888 SAN FRANCISCO, CAL. (San Fran. 1888.) 48 pp. Vessel, agent, date of sailing and officers names and stations - master, mates, boatsteerers, steward, cook, cooper, engineer. Some light staining to original wrappers, but VG $300 |
| 50. | Laflin, P.J. LIST OF OFFICERS COMPOSING WHALING FLEET 1889 SAN FRANCISCO, CAL. (San Fran. 1889.) 48 pp. Vessel, agent, date of sailing and officers names and stations - master, mates, boatsteerers, steward, cook, cooper, engineer. Original wrappers. VG $300 |