item number |
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| 51. | Hanson, John Wesley. NEW YORK’S AWFUL EXCURSION BOAT HORROR. NY. (1904) b/w photo ills. 326 pp. Fire and sinking of the excursion boat General Slocum near Hell’s Gate, NY in 1904. Yellow journalism at its worst. First chapter heading is “hundreds roasted alive...” Unlike the old accounts in which horrors could only be pictured in crude engravings, this one features gory photography. A very nice copy, if such a description is applicable in this case. $150 |
| 52. | Harris, John. NAVIGANTIUM ATQUE ITINERANTIUM BIBLIOTHECA; OR, A COMPLEAT COLLECTION OF VOYAGES AND TRAVELS... Lon. 1705. b/w plates and maps, many folding. Folio. 2 vols. (12), lxvii, 862, (14); (4), 928, 56, (12) pp. First edition, with two engraved frontispieces and 30 maps and plates. “This great collection appears to have been got up in competition with Churchill’s... The first edition is valuable for the original impressions of the fine series of maps by Herman Moll, including a very good one of America, a current chart of the Channel from observations by Edmund Halley, and a map of the Indies on Mercator’s projection, with improvements by John Seller and Charles Price, showing the northern coast line and part of the west and south coasts of Australia, together with parts of Van Dieman’s Land and New Zealand. [Harris] adds some valuable and useful historical accounts of the growth of trade, habits of commerce, growth of Companies with exclusive rights, etc.” Cox I, p. 10. There are substantial portions with maps and illustrations on the Arctic, America and the South Seas. Hill says this edition is “valuable for the original impressions of the fine series of maps by Herman Moll, including a very good one of America.” Hill 774. Original full calf, rebacked in later calf with labels. Backstrips are scuffed. Contents are clean and fresh. See Illustration $7500 |
| 53. | Hauk, Z. William. THE STONE SLOOPS OF CHEBEAGUE. Bos. 1953. b/w ills. 167 (15) pp. Closely researched history of these vessels, with firsthand narratives, biographies, genealogies and line drawings by Hauk, containing a good bit of Maine local history. Scarce first edition, #43 of 250 copies. Haskell "Maine Bib." 2809. Baker p. 11. VG $200 |
| 54. | Hennessy, Mark W. THE SEWALL SHIPS OF STEEL. Augusta, ME (1937) b/w plates. xxx, 686 pp. Thorough accounting of the steel sailing ships built by this Maine firm, and a scarce Jack London item as well, containing Charmian London’s dramatic narrative of a trip around the Horn from Baltimore to Seattle. Minor cover soiling, scattered light foxing, but still a VG copy of an important book. $250 |
| 55. | Hiroa, Te Rangi (Peter H. Buck). ARTS AND CRAFTS OF HAWAII. Honolulu. 1957. b/w ills. and plates. xv, 606 pp. First printing of this important text, published by the Bishop Museum. Scarce. Spine lightly sunned, but VG. $300 |
| 56. | Holmes, Rev. Lewis. THE ARCTIC WHALEMAN, OR, WINTER IN THE ARCTIC OCEAN: BEING A NARRATIVE OF THE WHALE SHIP CITIZEN, OF NEW BEDFORD... Bos. 1857. b/w engravings. 296 pp. “An account of whaling in the Bering and Chukchi Seas; the wreck of the 'Citizen' in Sept. 1852; and customs and behavior of the natives of the Chukotsk Peninsula... as experienced by the ship's survivors during a nine-month sojourn there. Part Two gives history (in general) and details of whaling, the various whales and outfitting.” — Arctic Bib. 7321. Huntress 406C. Jenkins p. 110. First edition in original decorated binding, some cover wear, spine laid down. Text and ills foxed, a Good copy of a scarce book. $200 |
| 57. | Hunt, Cornelius E. THE SHENANDOAH: OR THE LAST CONFEDERATE CRUISER. G.W. Carleton. NY. 1867. 12mo. b/w frontispiece. 273 pp. First edition of a first hand account of the incredible adventures of this vessel, as told by the master's mate. After being converted and refitted in Great Britain she sailed into the Pacific, and then north, where she raised havoc with the Arctic whaling fleet. Because of poor communications she kept up her activities long after the war was over. When she finally learned of the end of the war and surrendered, she had remained at sea for over 12 months, had traveled 58,000 miles and captured 38 prizes, mostly whalers, and two-thirds of them after the close of hostilities. Howes H-798. A VG copy in original pebbled cloth. $200 |
| 58. | Kynaston, Lieut A.F. CASUALTIES AFLOAT: WITH PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS FOR THEIR PREVENTION AND REMEDY. Lon. 1849. b/w plates, ills. x, 185 pp. Drunkenness and suicide as causes for man overboard. Life preservers, and ship maneuvers for man overboard. All illustrated with real life anecdotes. Also literally illustrated with cuts of ships performing various evolutions, and designs of various life preservers. First ed. in original decorated cloth binding, worn at spine top. Two pages torn, but complete, with no loss. See Illustration $250 |
| 59. | Life-Saving Service. ANNUAL REPORT OF THE OPERATIONS OF THE UNITED STATES LIFE-SAVING SERVICE FOR... 1884. Wash. 1885. b/w illus. 476 pp. Minor wear, else VG. $125 |
| 60. | Lind, James. AN ESSAY ON DISEASES INCIDENTAL TO EUROPEANS IN HOT CLIMATES. WITH METHODS OF PREVENTING THEIR FATAL CONSEQUENCES. Phil. 1811. viii, 268 pp. Best known for his work on scurvy, Lind nearly discovered the connection between malaria and mosquitoes. This book is “one of the more important early works on tropical medicine”. See Garrison and Morton, 2264. With advice on rendering sea water fresh and preventing scarcity of provisions, as well as an appendix “concerning intermittent fevers”. This is the first American edition of this important work, published just in time for the War of 1812. Bound in original plain paper over boards, rather worn. Pages untrimmed. Wormed in upper corner of first 10 pages, not affecting text. Text tanned, with scattered foxing. $600 |
| 61. | MacAskill, Wallace R. OUT OF HALIFAX. NY. 1937. b/w plates. 4to. Unpaginated. MacAskill's timeless marine photography, with much on the North Atlantic commercial fisheries. Photos on recto with captions on verso. #574 in a limited edition of 950 copies for the U.S. Cover shows some modest wear; contents are fresh and Fine. $150 |
| 62. | Manscript. LETTER BOOKS AND COMMISSION OF CAPTAIN ISAAC MCKEEVER, 1815-1856. McKeever was born in 1793 and died in 1856. He entered the navy as a midshipman in 1809, and attained the rank of captain in 1838. This lot includes four letterbooks of his official correspondence for 1815-1825, 1837-1840, 1847-1851, and 1851-1856. The first of these is perhaps the most interesting, documenting his adventures in the first Seminole War with General Jackson, his capture of two Indian leaders, and his battles with pirates and slavers, (including a mention of Lafitte). This volume also includes copies of letters to and from Jackson, a list of books aboard the USS Constitution (McKeever was briefly stationed aboard her), a copy of Jackson’s speech to his soldiers, and a copy of “Proposals which the Civil and Military Commandant of the Province of West Florida make to his Excellency Andrew Jackson” - the surrender of Fort Barrancas in Pensacola. The other three letter books are interesting from a historical point of view, covering McKeever’s tour in the Pacific Squadron, with much political news, a duel and a madman, his tour at the New York Navy Yard, whence he supplied marines for the Astor Place riot, his removal to the Brazil Station aboard the frigate Congress, and his subsequent tour at Gosport Navy Yard, with much on flogging and its abolition, and on the ravages of yellow fever. Four quarto letter books containing perhaps 800 pages. These are accompanied by McKeever’s framed commission to Lieutenant in 1814, signed by Madison, and by a watercolor of “Clipperton Rock” presented by Admiral Reynolds to McKeever in 1850. The letter books are in worn bindings with contents clean and legible. The framed commission shows some water staining along the margins, but Madison’s signature is clear. The lot $8500 |
| 63. | Manuscript. A PRACTICAL COURSE OF ARTILLERY: BY CHARLES GRAY. DEC 14TH. 1839. Small 4to. 269 pp. manuscript entries. This is a fairly common type of manuscript, appearing in various forms throughout the 18th and 189th centuries. Typically, a young sailor or cadet would seek to solidify his knowledge of a certain field - usually gunnery or navigation - by making a copy book of information pertaining to that field. Some of it was practical knowledge from shipboard or the trenches, some of it was copied from books or tables. Usually these exercise books were illustrated. I’ve seen some attractive examples of the genre, but this one outshines them all. The illustrations are of professional quality and Mr. Gray, no matter what kind of artilleryman he might have been, was a gifted artist. The book covers all phases of land and naval artillery, including making rockets and all other sorts of ordnance and ammunition, pointing, firing, spiking, signaling, naval cannon - all phases of the technology as it was practiced in 1839. There are several part and full page color illustrations, and dozens of pen and ink drawings, all executed to perfection by Gray. Also extensive tables of ordnance, elevations, dimensions, etc. Bound in old marbled boards rebacked in black morocco. A work of art as well as a source of documentary information. See Illustration $2500 |
| 64. | Manuscript. ARCHIVE PERTAINING TO THE LIFE AND CAREER OF GEORGE ELLIOTT, JR. At the approach of the War of 1812 a loyalist sea captain named George Elliott took his wife, who had Long Island connections, to England where, in 1810, their son, George, Jr., was born. Elliott, Sr. died and the wife, Elizabeth, came back to America and married a typefounder from New York named Hill. George, Jr. was apprenticed as a typefounder but ran away to sea after 6 months. He went sealing out of Stonington with N. B. Palmer in 1829-31, then married a Connecticut woman named Hannah Peters. However he continued his life at sea going on various whalers throughout the 1830s. There are 6 whaling and sealing journals among his papers, as well as a 7500 word lecture he gave later to local groups about life as a whaler, in which he related the story of the Essex disaster, as he'd heard it from one of the surviving crewmen. There are also over 170 letters, 1813-1861, (most quite lengthy, many in excess of 500 words) written between mother Elizabeth, George, Jr. and wife Hannah, which provide a complex and detailed background to the whaling journals. They reveal the stresses of life at sea on the marriage, George returning home (he seems to have been based in Brazil) just often enough to keep his wife pregnant, never sending enough money, and always finding another reason to postpone his return. She finally accuses him of cheating on her. He then accuses her of the same. The domineering mother tries to intervene, to counsel her son on his domestic duties, and to support Hannah. A good many of the letters from this period are shipboard letters, describing conditions in whatever branch of the industry George found himself. In some cases he worked for a New York owner, transhipping whale oil and supplies between whaleships. Toward the end of the 1830s, he nearly got command of a ship, but he couldn’t get papers for the vessel and the deal fell through. He wound up in Mobile for a time, working river steamboats, but couldn’t make a go of that, either. Finally he returned to New England and tried to find work as a mechanic, carpenter, millwright or blacksmith, partnering with several people in failed businesses. He bounced from job to job, often away for extended periods, trying to support a burgeoning family of 8 boys and 2 girls. He was hounded by debts and petty lawsuits. For a while he worked at the Colt arms factory in Hartford. He tried to invent and produce a machine for making envelopes. He developed and manufactured an instrument for plotting courses on charts - a sort of combination parallel rule and protractor - and went to New York and tried to sell it to Blunt, and to other mariners, all of whom rejected it as being too expensive. (Two prototypes of these “instruments,” fabricated by Elliott out of brass and housed in wooden cases, are included in the archive.) Meanwhile the mother’s second husband died and she found herself on the edge of poverty in New York. The letters document her many attempts to open boarding houses, to do sewing, to find mill work. She finally self-published an account of her adventures - “A Widow's Offering” - and peddled this throughout New England. The letters describe her adventures with printers and prospective buyers, and also her near miss of the horrible Lexington steamship disaster. There are also a few letters in the early 1850s from relatives in California, several of which describe in detail the 1850 Sacramento flood. In short, the letters supplement the whaling journals, but also provide a wonderful view of real people struggling through real lives, almost all of their struggles having to do with money and employment. The archive also includes: a miniature of George, Sr. in a leather case about a dozen whale’s teeth and tusks 2 canes tipped in whale’s teeth 2 boxed sets of George, Jr.’s “instruments” fabricated in brass 2 copies of mother Elizabeth’s book miscellaneous publications such as prayer books a whalebone fan a letter sander George, Jr.’s hat a wooden chest covered in leather a broadside offering Sch’r Penguin’s Cargo of Fur Seal Skins, July 7, 1831 misc. ephemera and ms. items, including some of George’s plans for machinery. The contents of the journals is as follows: Journal of a Sealing Voyage from Stonington Towards Cape Horn AD 1829 and Completed 1831. by George Elliott. Folio, 74 pp. manuscript entries. Oct. 2, 1829 - Jun. 6, 1830. This is an important journal. The “schooner” in which Elliott sailed is unnamed, but a printed broadside laid into the book identifies it as the schooner Penguin, a topsail schooner, which was one of the vessels in what would turn out to be Captain Nathaniel Brown Palmer’s last sealing expedition. The voyage started October 2, 1829, and Elliott’s ship met up with the Annawan and Capt. Palmer on Jan. 5. Then their sealing adventures commenced. Palmer is mentioned frequently, most notably when he fell into a 30 foot crevasse. Elliott notes, “had he fallen another 8 feet to the left or right he would have been irretrievably lost.” Plenty of seals were taken on this voyage and, according to the accompanying broadside, were sold at auction on July 7, 1831. The DAB mentions this voyage as an exploration rather than a sealing expedition, but according to the log Palmer seems to have been actively engaged in sealing. Palmer’s associate Benjamin Pendleton and other officers are also mentioned in the log. The DAB concludes “their search for new islands to the westward of the Palmer Peninsula was unsuccessful.” This log ends mid-voyage, June 6, 1830. Journal of Voyage on Schooner Energy 12mo. 32 pp. manuscript entries. Sep. 4, 1833 - Oct. 16, 1833. Plus other entries. Elliott returned to Connecticut after his sealing voyage and married Hannah Avery in June 1833. He soon went back to a life at sea, working on this coasting schooner before departing on a longer voyage. The Energy fitted out at Rocky Hill on the Connecticut River, then sailed up to Hartford, then downriver, picking up freight along the way - mostly produce and locally manufactured items such as soap and twine. They stopped in New York and then sailed to Norfolk where they discharged their cargo before sailing up to Richmond for a load of coal. Elliott comments on life along the way. He hears a sermon which impresses him “in respect to the falsity of the Bible.” Of the women in Richmond he says, “if this is a specimen of Virginia beauty they need not boast much of it.” There is a long description of Richmond and an admiring essay on the lock system leading to that river port. The rest of the journal is taken up with domestic entries made by Hannah. A Journal of a Whaling Voyage from Stonington in the Brig Uxor William Edward Wheeler Master, as tender to the Ship Charles Adams, Charles T. Stanton Master. Commenced November 14th, 1833. Finished Dec. 7th, 1834. Folio, 84 pp. manuscript entries. Nov. 14, 1833 - Dec. 3, 1834. George Elliott returned to sea soon after getting home from Richmond. According to Starbuck and Lund the Uxor was a brig and the Charles Adams was a ship, both of unknown tonnage. The Uxor's trip was busy and prosperous, with over 40 whales taken. However, she did not have a try works, and after cutting in would discharge her blubber ashore or onboard the Charles Adams. Starbuck reports that she came home with 650 barrels, but she had a much better voyage than that. Elliott is an intelligent and active reporter, and a good artist, drawing recognition views of the Falklands, and making drawings of whale carcasses and flukes rather than using stamps (although two stamps appear toward the end of the journal.) On a couple of occasions he got to work as a substitute boatsteerer, once aboard the Adams. Frequent mention is also made of the schooner Antarctic, Captain Benjamin Morrell's legendary vessel, which was in those waters at the same time. They fished heavily and successfully off the Falklands and then put into Patagonia for repairs and supplies, and had success whaling there as well. There were two deaths on the voyage. Elliott reports each with a drawing of a coffin. A lock of long blonde hair is laid into this journal - a fitting addition, given the name of Elliott's ship. He was married in 1833 just before departing on this voyage. Journal of a Voyage to the South Atlantic Ocean on Board the Ship Mercury, Chas. T. Stanton Master, for the Purpose of Obtaining Whale Oil, the Brig Henry Acting as Tender. Commenced 1835, Terminated 1836… (and other voyages and vessels.) Small 4to, about 170 pp. manuscript entries May 24, 1835 - Jul. 30, 1838 If Elliott’s 1833 voyage in the Uxor represented the high point of his whaling career, with at least part-time employment as a boatsteerer, this voyage, or rather, series of voyages, represents the unraveling of his career as a mariner. According to Starbuck and Lund the Mercury was a ship, the Henry a brig, both of unrecorded tonnage. Stanton had been the master of the Adams on Elliott’s last voyage, and Elliott shipped with him again, this time aboard the Mercury. The Uxor and the Charles Adams showed up in Patagonia, and arrangements became complex, with the Adams and the Mercury working as factory ships, trying out oil from whales caught by the Uxor and the Henry. Starbuck says the Mercury returned with 2400 barrels and the Henry with 600, but the situation was more complicated than that, with oil being offloaded and transshipped continually. (Apparently, all these vessels were owned by a New York merchant named Silas E. Burrows.) Furthermore, Elliott never came home with them. On June 22, 1835, he boarded the shallop Eagle enroute to the schooner Alonzo, which was carrying oil to Bense Island Harbor, and which he thought he would take command of. The vessel failed to get the proper papers and Elliott boarded the brig Medina of New York (also owned by Burrows) and recommenced whaling. After any number of adventures, all meticulously recorded by Elliott, and none of them particularly successful from a whaling point of view, the Medina put in at Rio in December of 1836. There, Elliott boarded the bark Elizabeth of New York. By this time Elliott was broke and discouraged, and his adventures or thoughts were sufficiently unsavory to be rendered by him in code. He eventually found work ashore as a for a company named Strong Lyman & Co. Machinists. He got sick, was robbed, and finally after two months, in April 1837, found a site as whaling master on a Brazilian whaling brig, Ulysses. However, after readying the ship for sea, the next entry is from the brig Ames on July 30, 1838. The Ames had gone ashore on a land beach “with shoals outside of us as far as the eye can reach.” About 20 leaves are cut out of the book - perhaps Elliott wanted to excise this melancholy episode. The last few leaves are taken up with a list of “Articles Received on board the Ulysses” including provisions, whalecraft and dry goods. Abstract of a Journal kept on board the Brig Ulysses of Rio de Janeiro, 1837-8 Small 4to. 18 pp. manuscript entries May 3, 1837 - Feb. 1, 1838. This abstract documents a confused and mostly futile whaling cruise in the South Atlantic, during which a sperm whale was caught, a dead whale picked up, and whales escaped almost daily. One boatsteerer was demoted for his bad aim with the harpoon; the crew was several times nearly in a state of mutiny; boats were stove, and equipment failed on a regular basis. (With) Summary Recapitulation of the Log Book 4 pages of manuscript entries outlining the key events of the Ulysses’ unhappy voyage. Journal of a Whaling Voyage from Rio de Janeiro by G. Elliott. Folio, approx 70 pp. manuscript entries, 1838-1843. Laid into the front of this log is a contract between Elliott and Silas Burrows making Elliott first officer of either the Medina or the Ames, both of which were owned by Burrows. The voyage departed from Rio on June 13, 1837, and does not appear in Starbuck or Lund. On July 7, having made the Medina ready for her whaling voyage, Elliott, “by the request of Mr. Wm. B” (Burrows’ brother?) was sent aboard the Ames as first officer. Thus it was that, on July 30th, as his earlier journal stated and this journal confirms, the Ames “grounded on a sand spit in what appeared to be a passage between breakers.” They attempted to anchor her and take the most weighty articles ashore. At low tide they found her to be 300 paces from the water with her rudder unshipped. They emptied all the salt water from the casks in the hold and tried, unsuccessfully, to kedge off. After a week they saw another vessel, rowed out to her and “examined a chart of the Beagle’s survey: find our chart to be entirely incorrect.” They were then informed of “10000 wild Indians at no very great distance who should they know of our being here would probably murder all hands.” The crew then told the captain that they had no wish to remain aboard the Ames, given the Indian situation and the unlikely prospects of her being refloated. They stripped the Ames and carried sails, rigging, copper, etc. to the other ship, the crew grumbling continually because they would not be paid for this work. On August 18th they abandoned the Ames and got on the other ship, bound for Rio Negro. About two months later, after filing protests and salvaging as much as possible, Elliott departed on the other ship, the Edward, for Montevideo. The consul there gave him passage to Salem, Mass in the bark Chalcedony. They reached Salem on December 2nd, 1838. The next few pages of this journal are taken up with accounts, cures and recipes from 1838 to 1860. These are followed by Elliott’s 500 word essay “Casual Remarks Whils’t Employed by Mr. Allen/ Learnt the Trade of Moulder,” with his time sheet at the foundry for 1842-3 (by which time he had returned home.) Then more recipes, and a highly detailed account of “Family Expenditures” for 1839. Mixed in with all this are miscellaneous items such as a page of “proportion of Ships Spars” and several of Elliott’s drawings of ironwork and fanciful machines. Lecture on Whaling 4to, 39 pp. ms, entries, about 7500 words. Post 1850. This is a lecture that George Elliott gave at some point to learned society or social group, as he heads his address, “Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen.” He describes different species of whales and their habits, tells about life aboard a whaleship, and about whale boats and various whaling tools and implements. He gives a detailed account of a chase, with an Indian mate urging the crew on, and a highly dramatic rendition of the kill. He recounts the story of the Essex, as he heard it from one of the surviving crewmembers, and tells the tale of Old Tom off the Galapagos, tricked by Yankee ingenuity. His lecture also includes some received wisdom, such as the idea that swordfish and thresher sharks attack whales. $50000 See Illustrations |
| 65. | Manuscript. AUTOGRAPH LETTER, SIGNED, BY STEPHEN DECATUR, FEBRUARY 11, 1820. WITH OTHER MATERIAL RELATING TO DECATUR. A one page letter from Decatur, in his hand and signed by him, advising its recipient that there is an opening for Store Keeper in New Orleans and that Decatur would be happy to recommend him. Decatur was killed in his famous duel with Barron a month later, so this is among the last things he wrote. The letter is accompanied by four 19th century hand colored wood engravings of Decatur and of the United States and the Macedonian, and by a commemorative bronze medal measuring about 2 1/2 inches in diameter, with Decatur’s portrait on one side and the Macedonian-United States sea battle depicted on the other (which is visible through the back of the frame.) According to Julien, this was one of 50 such medals minted after 1850. The letter, the medal and the prints are matted, under glass, in a frame measuring 28 1/2 by 18 inches. $2250 |
| 66. | Manuscript. BILLS OF LADING FOR STEAM BOATS DEPARTING FROM THE PORT OF NEW ORELANS, 1847 - 1849. Oblong 4to. Unpaginated. Approx. 220 leaves. Printed forms accomplished in manuscript. Approximately 220 of these provide manuscript entries for owner, name of vessel, master, destination, cargo, recipient and date. Because of the nature of the document, each cargo is specified in detail. “1 Barrel Flour, 1 small bag coffee,” etc. Each form dated and signed by the clerk of the Port of New Orleans. A wonderful documentation of the river traffic of this era. Bound in old calf over marbled boards. VG. See Illustration $2500 |
| 67. | Manuscript. CORRESPONDENCE PARTAINING TO THE CASE OF JAMES FOSTER. Here’s material for a short story. This archive begins with a series of letters from a seaman named James Foster in the 1860s to his brother and sister. He sails for France, he writes about life in Rochfort and aboard his ship. He later deserts in Mobile, then signs aboard another vessel. By the 1870s he is sailing in the Pacific. He writes from San Francisco, Portland, and other west coast ports describing his ships and adventures, and from places like Sydney and Newcastle, NSW. In 1884 he loses his bank book in a storm at sea. He writes to his bank in San Francisco informing them of the loss. Then he goes missing in the South Seas. His sister, having not heard from him, and assuming he is dead, tries to to have the money in his account transferred to her account in Beverly, Mass. The case drags on until the records are destroyed in the San Francisco earthquake and fire of 1906. No resolution is ever reached. The fate of the missing man, James Foster, is never settled. He never shows up, and his $147 languishes forever in the Hibernian Savings and Loan Society, Market McAllister & Jones streets, San Francisco. About 100 pieces, some damaged. $300 |
| 68. | Manuscript. FIVE LETTERS FROM NANTUCKET, 1820 - 1832. These are detailed letters from various members of the Hussey family on Nantucket to John Milton Earle in Worcester, Mass., and his daughter Anne. They talk about weather and local conditions on Nantucket, family news such as the fever epidemic in Philadelphia survived by Earle’s sister. One letter is particularly rich in domestic details, discussing cooking, sewing and cleaning, making parting calls, taking tea, and quilting. Another talks about ships, and friends and relatives who have gone to sea - “Laban Mitchell will sail in a few days for the Indian Ocean... a third mate’s berth was offered him, a rare thing for once who has so little experience.” Yet another tells of cutting a channel in the ice with “long saws” so that the mail packet could arrive, and religious matters - “Hast thou read Buckminster’s Sermons?” - all in the quaint Quaker manner of speech. About 3500 words total. All clean and legible, with typed transcriptions. All in stampless covers, some with Nantucket cancels. The lot of 5 letters $450 |
| 69. | Manuscript. JOURNAL OF SHIPS ARUNDEL, GEORGIA PACKET AND LIGHTFOOT Folio. Pre-printed log accomplished in manuscript. Approximately 80 pp entries. This log documents the voyages of several vessels - the Arundel, Georgia Packet and Lightfoot from London to the Baltic and from London to Georgia and back in 1774; the Georgia Packet from Newcastle to Georgia in 1775; The ship Lightfoot from Charleston to London in 1781; and the Arundel, Georgia Packet and Lightfoot from London to Jamaica in 1782. All the entries are by the same captain, who occasionally inserts a personal note - “I have found my reckoning only for part according to the long., of... the Lizard.” He enters mostly perfunctory observations of weather, shipboard evolutions, vessels spoken, position and bearing, with some additional information about things like provisioning a vessel inbound from India, and turpentining the sides of the ship. For at least some of the time the Arundel seems to have been part of a convoy. There are mentions of naval signals, frigates, etc. A good look at the mechanics of colonial transport. VG in plain wraps. $750 |
| 70. | Manuscript. LEDGER FOR MARINE HARDWARE BUSINESS, NEW YORK, 1835. Folio, about 100 pp. Many vessels named, both for payments and material purchased. Mostly line, nails, lumber, paint, turpentine, and marine accessories like boat hooks, anchors, etc. Entries legible. covers detached but present. $150 |
| 71. | Map. THE PROVINCES OF NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY; WITH PART OF PENSILVANIA, AND THE PROVINCE OF QUEBEC. DRAWN BY MAJOR HOLLAND ... Lon. 1776. London map seller Thomas Jefferys published maps of much of the world but was known particularly for his detailed maps of the American colonies. After Jefferys’ death in 1771, his successors, Robert Sayer and John Bennett, gathered the most significant of Jefferys’ individual maps of the American continent and issued them in 1775 as “The American Atlas.” This map, in two sheets (each composed of two smaller sheets, joined), was one of the most important maps in that famous atlas. Plate size of each sheet is about 20 1/2 x 27 1/2 inches. The top sheet shows the Province of Quebec and Lake Champlain extending southward into southern Vermont. There are three inset maps of New York City, Hudson River, and Amboy. The bottom sheet continues the map as far south as Delaware Bay and has a handsome cartouche with an engraved view of a primeval harbor. There is some marginal chipping not affecting plate area, a 4 inch tear in the bottom sheet extending into Delaware Bay and a 7 inch tear in the top sheet extending into New York City. The top sheet is backed with heavy paper but the mounting is reversible and the map easily removable. Both sheets are tanned, but the original coloring is still clear. See Streeter, 71-72, Phillips Atlases 1165. Minor condition flaws, but a good example of a rare and important map $2500 |
| 72. | Morse, William Inglis. ACADIENSIA NOVA. (1598-1779) Lon. 1935. b/w folding maps. 2 vols. xxx, 222; x,170 pp. A wonderful and little known collection published in a limited edition by Quaritch of London. Contains articles on early voyages, settlements and fisheries of Nova Scotia and Maine, including voyage of de Meulles, 1685, Acadian census of 1688, Sable Island and de la Roche’s expedition, 1598, examination of Nova Scotia by DesBarres, and many other articles and historical fragments of interest. With over two dozen maps and portraits. This is #342 in a limited edition of 375 copies printed at the Curwen Press. VG-Fine in dj. 2 vols. $300 |
| 73. | Nautical Instruments. GROUP OF THREE NAUTICAL SLIDE RULE INSTRUMENTS. “Scale of displacement and Dead Weight Carrying,” “Scale of Freeboard to British Board of Trade Tables,” and “Scale of Power and Speed for Proposed Vessels on Measured Mile Trials (with, on opposite side) Scale of I.H.P. Constant.” These were manufactured in the late 1800s by A.M. Gordon in Glasgow. The first two measure 3 x 8 3/4 inches, with instructions for use printed on the back. The third measures 3 1/2 x 13 1/2 inches. All are in very good condition with only light smudging and wear. Each comes in a protective leather container. The lot $500 See Illustration |
| 74. | Oliver, Douglas L. ANCIENT TAHITIAN SOCIETY. Honolulu. (1974). Color frontispiece and b/w ills throughout. 3 vols. xv, 557; vii,579-1169; vi, 1171-1419 pp. A magisterial work, covering anthropology and history up through first contact to the early 19th century. With extensive notes and bibliography. Quite a difficult set to locate. 3 vols about Fine condition, in slipcase. $500 |
| 75. | Owen, Capt. W.F.W. NARRATIVE OF VOYAGES TO EXPLORE THE SHORES OF AFRICA, ARABIA, AND MADAGASCAR; PERFORMED IN H.M. SHIPS LEVEN AND BARRACOUTA... NY. 1833. 2 vols. xvi, 260; viii-240 pp. This work was first published in London. That edition had illustrations. This cheaper American iteration does not. Toussaint, Bib. of Mauritius, 1222. Bound in original pebbled cloth, spine labels most chipped off. Text foxed and tanned. $350 |