item number |
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| 26. | Downing, Twogood. THE FAN-QUI IN CHINA, IN 1836-7 Lon., 1838. b/w frontis., title cuts. 12mo. xiv, 316; xi, 306; xii, 327 pp. Downing’s narrative was written after the demise of the East India Company’s exclusive charter for trade in China, and on the eve of the first Opium War. It is thus a first hand account of the wildest period in the China Trade. All the specifics of opium and tea trades are laid out, as well as the mechanics of other sorts of commerce, local life and customs, etc. It is a detailed and revealing narrative that lays open the life and culture of this fascinating place, and the interactions of the Chinese with “Fan-Qui” - foreign interlopers. Cordier 74. Lust 218, who calls it, “noteworthy for it close observation, very revealing for British attitudes towards China at the time.” Frontispiece lacking from vol. II. Circular library stamps on each title page, else a VG set, clean and tightly bound in half morocco over marbled boards. Scarce in the trade. $1000 |
| 27. | Egede, Hans. A DESCRIPTION OF GREENLAND. Lon. 1818. b/w folding map, wood engravings. cxviii, 225 pp. Egede was a missionary who started Danish colonization in Greenland and Christian mission work among the Eskimos. This is an enlarged edition of a work first published in 1729, and in English in 1745. The present edition contains information about whaling and sealing activities, plus a folding map. Jenkins p. 97. VG in half calf over marbled boards, rebacked to match. $450 |
| 28. | Ellis, Leonard Bolles. HISTORY OF NEW BEDFORD AND ITS VICINITY. 1602-1892. Syracuse. 1892. 731, 175 pp. Revolution, War of 1812, whaling, shipbuilding, mills, oil industry, genealogies (including histories of the Crapo and Rotch families), as well as the less exciting aspects of local history — average rainfall, annals of the Odd Fellows, etc. in this comprehensive work. Haskell, “Mass. Bib.” 2175. Howes E-120. Sturdily rebound in red buckram with label. VG $200 |
| 29. | Ephemera. CLIPPER SHIP SAILING CARD. ASTERION. Nesbitt, printer. E. C. Gardner, Commander. Coleman Line. 103 x 165 mm. Asterion was a medium clipper, built by Stetson at Chelsea, Mass. in 1854. She displaced 1135 tons and was “built for carrying capacity, rather than speed, although her passages averaged very fast.” - American Clipper Ships. p. 25-27. She joined the California trade about 1860 and completed the passage advertised on this card in 1862, with Hurd, rather than Gardner as Commander. She was lost in 1863. A similar Asterion card in about this condition sold for $1200 in 1990 at the Siegel sale. This card is clean and bright except for an old fold in the upper right, and a small spot and corner chip in the lower left. $2000 See Illustration |
| 30. | Ephemera. CLIPPER SHIP SAILING CARD. CALYPSO. Nesbitt, printer. Baker, Commander. Coleman Line. 103 x 164 mm. Though vessels of this name appeared during the War of 1812, in the 1820s, and in the coastal trade (including that famous packet schooner Calypso) there is no record in any of the usual sources of this clipper ship. The text on the card says, “This little Clipper is new, and built at NEWBURYPORT, expressly for the CALIFORNIA AND CHINA trade.” Obviously a scarce card. Light corner and edge wear, else in very good condition. $2750 See Illustration |
| 31. | Ephemera. CLIPPER SHIP SAILING CARD. CARRIER DOVE. Nesbitt, printer. Jackson, Commander. Coleman Line. 162 x 101 mm. This is one of the most distinctive and charming sailing card images. A similar card brought $1400 at the Siegel sale in 1990. The Carrier Dove was built at Baltimore in 1855. According to American Clipper Ships, I, pp. 51-52 she was “said to have been of beautiful model.” She ran aground in 1876 and was lost. This card show light corner wear, is otherwise in very good condition. $2750 See Illustration |
| 32. | Ephemera. CLIPPER SHIP SAILING CARD. EMERALD ISLE. Nesbitt, printer. Cornish, Commander. Coleman Line. 104 x 166 mm. The Emerald Isle was an extreme clipper of 1736 tons, built in Bath, ME in 1853. See Cutler, Greyhounds, p. 426. On or before 1885 she was sold to the Dutch. She is pictured and described on pp. 26-27 of Ship Sailing Cards, vol. II. This attractive card shows only light soiling at the corners, with a single small chip at the top margin. $2250 See Illustration |
| 33. | Ephemera. CLIPPER SHIP SAILING CARD. FAVORITA. Nesbitt, printer. James Brown, Commander. Coleman Line. 104 x 165 mm. Favorita, 1194 tons, was built in Mystic, CT in 1862. In 1876 she was sold to the Germans, and she survived at least until 1891. Fairburn III, p. 1692. Ship Sailing Cards, II, pp. 36-37 features a card of the same name with a less attractive black and white image, which also sold at the Siegel sale (1990) for $850. This card is bright and in very good condition, with only light corner wear. $2250 See Illustration |
| 34. | Ephemera. CLIPPER SHIP SAILING CARD. FEARLESS. Nesbitt, printer. Thos. A. Holt, Commander. Coleman Line. 166 x 103 mm. Fearless was built by Pook in 1853 and, according to Ship Sailing Cards, vol. I, pp. 16-17, she “is mentioned as resembling a yacht... The Fearless was a fast sailer, made a fine record, and visited many of the usual ports.” She wound up in the lumber trade out of Halifax. An example showing similar wear sold at the Siegel sale in 1990 for $500. This card shows some surface wear and an old fold along the left edge. It is in good condition. $1500 See Illustration |
| 35. | Ephemera. CLIPPER SHIP SAILING CARD. GOV. MORTON. Nesbitt, printer. L. W. Holt, Commander. Coleman Line. 166 x 103 mm. The Gov. Morton was a medium clipper of 1303 tons, built in Somerset, Mass. in 1851. Horton was master of the ship prior to 1868. She burned in 1877, after twenty years in the California trade. See American Clipper Ships I, pp. 247-250. The card is described and pictured in Ship Sailing Cards, vol. III, pp. 45-46. A similar card brought $900 in the Siegel sale in 1990. This card shows light corner wear and a scratch on the top edge. It is otherwise in very good condition. $2250 See Illustration |
| 36. | Ephemera. CLIPPER SHIP SAILING CARD. LIVE OAK. Nesbitt, printer. W.O. Alden, Commander. Coleman Line. 164 x 105 mm. “The only Live Oak we found mentioned was a record in Lloyd’s Register of 1877 of a British vessel of this name... built at Mattapoisett, Mass., in 1832.” Ship Sailing Cards vol. III, pp. 58-59. This card certainly predates her British registration. Not in Siegel Sale catalog. Light corner wear, a handsome image. $2250 See Illustration |
| 37. | Ephemera. CLIPPER SHIP SAILING CARD. NORWAY. Nesbitt, printer. Coombs, Commander. Coleman Line. 103 x 165 mm. Fairburn, p. 1558, cites a 2050 ton ship of this name built in 1857 in New York. Her maiden voyage was to China and on her return her cargo of coolies mutinied. 70 of them were killed in the ensuing melee. If this is indeed the same vessel, the image on the card is an ironic contrast to the violence that occured aboard her. There is no record of this card anywhere. Light corner wear, otherwise in very good condition. $2500 See Illustration |
| 38. | Ephemera. CLIPPER SHIP SAILING CARD. SYREN. Nesbitt, printer. Green, Commander. Coleman Line. 104 x 164 mm. The Syren was a medium clipper, 876 tons, built in Medford, Mass. in 1851. She was condemned and sold in 1888. Repaired and renamed Margaraida, of Buenos Ayres, she appeared in Lloyd’s Register as late as 1920, giving her the distinction of being the longest surviving member of the clipper fleet. This card dates from around 1861, when she returned to the California trade. American Clipper Ships II, pp. 653-56. Ship Sailing Cards II, pp. 82-83. A rather discolored copy of this card sold at the Siegel sale (1990) for $750. This copy shows edge chipping and old creases on both lower corners. $1500 See Illustration |
| 39. | Ephemera. CLIPPER SHIP SAILING CARD. WESTERN CONTINENT. Nesbitt, printer. Lull, Commander. Coleman Line. 104 x 165 mm. An interesting image, picturing the opening of the west, fantasizing about the ideal 100 day passage, and showing the Chincha Islands, a major source of the guano that was such an important cargo. The Western Continent was a 1272 ton ship built in Maine in 1853 for Boston owners. A similar card in worse condition sold at the Siegel sale in 1990 for $500. This card has a light crease in the top edge, some surface wear, and light corner wear. $2000 See Illustration |
| 40. | Ephemera. CLIPPER SHIP SAILING CARD. WM. CHAMBERLAIN. Nesbitt, printer. Carver, Commander. Coleman Line. 103 x 164 mm. The Chamberlain was a 950 ton vessel built in 1854 by William Cramp in Pennsylvania. According to Ship Sailing Cards vol III, pp. 98-99, little is known about her, other than the fact that this is a scarce card. See Queens, p. 384. This is a striking image, the only clipper ship card that shows a ship’s stern. It accents this feature with highlights in gold and dramatic shading. A similar card sold for $850 at the Siegel sale in 1990. The present card shows light corner wear but is otherwise in very good condition. $2500 |
| 41. | Forbes, Robert B. PERSONAL REMINISCENCES. Bos. 1878 b/w frontis. vii, 380 pp. Forbes’ work is one of the liveliest American autobiographies and a rich source of information on the China Trade, of which Forbes was a pioneer. He made his first trip to China at age 13; at 20 he received command of his own ship for a 3 year voyage around the world; by age 30 he had made a fortune; by age 34 lost nearly all of it, and then by age 36 regained it. In later years he became a ship owner and builder and was responsible for improvements in lifesaving devices and ships’ rigs. This work contains a list of vessels built by Forbes. First trade edition after private printing. Howes F-244. Smith F49. Bound in original cloth, a tight, bright copy. $200 |
| 42. | Gibson, James R. FEEDING THE RUSSIAN FUR TRADE. Madison. 1969. b/w plates. xix, 337 pp. Provisionment of the Okhotsk seaboard and the Kamchatka Peninsula.VG, dj. $45 |
| 43. | Hunter, William C. BITS OF OLD CHINA. Lon. 1885. viii, 280, (44) pp. More recollections of the China Trade by the author of “The Fan Kwae at Canton.” Hunter spent all his adult life in the trade and was in Canton during the Opium wars. He ultimately married a Chinese woman. His writings are absolutely authentic. First edition, and scarce thus. In original decorated cloth binding with chipping along spine edges. This is an ex-library copy that has been “doctored” by an earlier owner to remove library marks. $350 |
| 44. | Hutchinson, William. A TREATISE ON PRACTICAL SEAMANSHIP; WITH HINTS AND REMARKS RELATING THERETO; DESIGNED TO CONTRIBUTE SOMETHING TOWARDS FIXING RULES UPON PHILOSOPHICAL AND RATIONAL PRINCIPLES; TO MAKE SHIPS, AND THE MANAGEMENT OF THEM; AND ALSO NAVIGATION, IN GENERAL, MORE PERFECT, AND CONSEQUENTLY LESS DANGEROUS AND DESTRUCTIVE TO HEALTH, LIVES, AND PROPERTY. Liverpool. 1777. b/w plates. 4to. xiv, 213, (1), 8 pp. plus plates. According to the DNB Hutchinson was a life-long seaman, having first hand experience in most branches of the maritime trades. He was on an east Indiaman in 1738, in command of a privateer in 1747 and in the West Indies in 1750. In 1760 he was he was appointed a dock-master at Liverpool. This work, his first, is concerned with all aspects of rigging, loading, steering and sailing a ship, as well as more general aspects of nautical science. There is an extra section bound in at the end of this copy, not called for in the table of contents, and apparently unrecorded, entitled, “Addition, 1781. On Exercising Merchants Ships Companies for War.” This section is followed by 11 plates., the 11th of which illustrates the added section. Adams & Waters 2179. Scott 445 (4th edition). Untrimmed. Bound in contemporary marbled boards; rebacked in antique-style calf with red leather label. Front free endpaper inscribed, “A Leverson Gower, HM Ship Cambrian, March 4th 1799.” $2500 |
| 45. | Jal, Auguste. GLOSSAIRE NAUTIQUE, REPERTOIRE POLYGLOTTE DE TERMES DE MARINE ANCIENS ET MODERNES. Paris. 1848. b/w plates, ills. 4to. 1591 pp. “This work contains in one alphabetical sequence words from Latin, Greek, Modern Greek, French, Old French, Italian, Portuguese, Swedish, Dutch, Breton, Genoese, Basque, Catalan, Maltese, and other dialects and tongues; comparatively little in English, German and Russian; monumental work, with full defs., not mere equivalents.” This is the greatest of nautical dictionaries, seven years in the making. Craig, p. 40. Polak 4660. A near fine copy of a very scarce book, bound in morocco over marbled boards. $2250 |
| 46. | (John Williams, translator.) TE KORERO-MOTU OU A TO TATOU ATU E TE ORA E JESU MESIA, KIRITIIA I TE REE RAROTONGA. Lon. 1836. 478 PP. Title translates as, “The Promise of our Lord & Saviour, Jesus Christ. An Extract from the Language of Rarotonga.” This Rarotongan version of theNew Testament was translated by Williams and two others, and taken by Williams to England, where it was printed under his supervision in 1836. Three years later he brought 5000 copies of this work and an iron printing press to the island. Bound in original calf, rebacked in sturdy buckram with gold lettering. $400 |
| 47. | Jonstonus, Johannes. (John Jonston). HISTORIE NATURALIS DE EXANGUIBUS AQUATICUS. Amsterdam. 1657. b/w title cut and 20 plates. Folio. 58. (2) pp. This work on shellfish was first published in Frankfurt in 1650 as one of a multi-part work on natural history. Other sections dealt with birds, mammals, fish and whales, insects, and snakes, and the six books remain the definitive summary of 17th century natural history in Europe. Each book, however, stands alone. 20 handsome engraved plates of molluscs, sponges, crustaceans, and their brethren. Text in Latin. Excellent condition, clean and fresh, bound in modern calf over marbled boards with red spine label. $1250 |
| 48. | Jonstonus, Johannes. (John Jonston). HISTORIE NATURALIS DE PISCIBUS ET CETIS. Amsterdam. 1657. b/w engraved title and 47 plates. Folio. 160 pp. Jonstons’s “Natural History of Fish and Whales” was first published in Frankfurt in 1650 as one of a multi-part work on natural history. Each book stands alone. Most of this book deals with fish, but the fifth section is devoted to whales, and contains four wonderful plates of whales, dolphins and seals. All 47 plates are quite striking, and range from realistic representations of common species to fanciful illustrations of a merman and mermaid. Text in Latin. Excellent condition, clean and fresh, bound in modern calf over marbled boards with red spine label. $2000 See Illustration |
| 49. | Maffitt, John Newland. SERMON PREACHED SEPTEMBER 24, 1823, AT THE DEDICATION OF THE SECOND METHODIST CHAPEL, NANTUCKET. Nantucket. 1823. 19 pp. Fiery sermon in the language of the time, short on historical detail but worthy of a younger Father Mapple, “There is but one door of hope for thy escape; but one ark of safety for thy sinking soul. That door we throw open, this day: - into that ark we earnestly invite thee.” An early Nantucket imprint. Not in Crosby. Bound in later cloth over marbled boards. $150 |
| 50. | Manuscript. ARCHIVE OF SAMUEL MOODY, BATH, MASSACHUSETTS, 1798-1822, REGARDING THE CAPTURE OF THE SCHOONER MARCUS BY FRENCH PRIVATEERS, 1798-99. In the spring of 1798 the Marcus, under Captain Samuel Moody, departed Bath (then a part of the state of Massachusetts) with a cargo of lumber and fish, bound for the Barbados. Seven weeks out she was captured by a French privateer who plundered some of her cargo and crew and put a prize master and five men aboard. Moody overpowered the prize crew, re-took the vessel, and proceded to the Barbados, where he sold what was left of his cargo, took aboard rum and sugar, and departed for Bath. On the way home the Marcus was captured by another privateer who plundered the cargo and loaded her down with captured American prisoners. Being on short rations, she put into Norfolk. Then, in 1799, as she sailed from Jamaica laden with rum and sugar, she was again captured by a French privateer. This time she was sold at public auction in Campeche by the Spanish, without an admiralty trial or condemnation by the Spanish government. Moody learned that the “French” privateers were not French at all, but had fitted out in local ports with local officers and crew - pirates, in effect. In 1822 he was still struggling to be compensated by the Spanish government. A wonderful archive of 30 documents, including instruments of protest, depositions, the vessel’s registration from Bath, letters describing the events, bills, and crew and cargo manifests, documenting the Marcus’ unfortunate career. $3000 |