item number |
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| 76. | Truxtun, Thomas. A FEW EXTRACTS FROM THE BEST AUTHORS, ON NAVAL TACTICS, TO BE FOUND ALSO IN DOBSON’S ENCYCLOPEDIA... AND SOME SHORT NOTES MADE MERELY TO SHOW THE ADVANTAGES OF A CURVE LINE OF BATTLE OUT OF THE ORDINARY MODE. Phila. 1806. 15 pp. In one of the rare American utterances on the subject, Truxtun cites the few British and many French writers on naval tactics, and opines that the French have done a better job than the British in educating their future officers. He then considers the orders of sailing and notes how Nelson “always deviated from the former and present systems of naval tactics” drawing on Clerk, De Grenier and other authorities to support his novel approach. A good portion of this text consists of Truxtun’s footnotes, in which his curved line of battle is argued. See Smith II, 1933. This is accompanied by an autograph letter, signed, to the Philadelphia merchant and sea captain, William Jones, dated April 10, 1806. Truxtun expounds on his theories - “The old system of tactics has been wonderfully improved of late years - the straight line ahead was certainly a bad order of battle... the Crescent for(mation) prevents the line being extended and has many advantages besides that of doubling on an enemy who has run down into the concave...” He tells Jones that his pamphlet and some other papers will “show you Nelson’s deviation from every system of established tactics and the excellence of Villenueve’s structure of battle.” About 300 words. The pamphlet shows light water staining near the tops of some pages, but is otherwise in good condition. The letter is worn and chipped, with several holes along folds resulting in some loss of text. The last part of Truxtun’s signature is missing. However, it is legible and completely comprehensible. The pamphlet is rare and important, the letter singular. Both items $2750 |
| 77. | Tytler, Patrick Fraser. HISTORICAL VIEW OF THE PROGRESS OF DISCOVERY OF THE MORE NORTHERN COASTS OF AMERICA... Edinburgh. 1833. b/w plates, fldg map. 12mo. 444 pp. Early polar explorers and natural history of northern America. Not in Arctic Bib. Sabin 97657. A beautiful copy of the second edition, in original publisher’s cloth, pages unopened. The book is not rare, but copies in this condition are hard to find. $150 |
| 78. | (United States Senate). CASE OF THE BLACK WARRIOR AND OTHER VIOLATIONS OF THE RIGHTS OF AMERICAN CITIZENS BY SPANISH AUTHORITIES. Wash. 1854. 380 pp. Senate hearings on the abuse of American citizens by Cuban authorities after the seizure of the steamer Black Warrior. This was the copy of Salmon P. Chase, then a US senator and anti-slavery advocate. Signed by him and a Jas. Walker on front blank. VG $250 |
| 79. | US. Dept. of the Interior. GULF OF MEXICO - ITS ORIGIN, WATERS, AND MARINE LIFE. Wash. 1954. b/w line ills. 4to. xiv, 604 pp. This work comprises volume 55 of the Fishery Bulletin. It begins with a history of early discovery, moves into geology, meteorology, hydrology, chemisty, biology and zoology of these waters, with a closing chapter on pollution. Splendid! Wraps. Good. $50 |
| 80. | Walker, F.D. LOG OF THE KAALOKAI. Honolulu. 1909. b/w plates. 64 pp. plus chart. “Being a description of the small islands, shoals and reefs lying W.N.W. of the Hawaiian group proper. Together with a recount of the experiences of the voyage in a 47-ton schooner; and stories for the entertainment of sea folk, and others.” Interesting photo illustrations of these exotic places strung northwest of Kauai. Scarce. Not in Toy. VG in red paper wrappers, lightly chipped. $150 |
| 81. | Wasson, George S. SAILING DAYS ON THE PENOBSCOT. Salem, MA. 1932. b/w plates. xiv, 465 pp. “The River and bay as they were in the old days.” With Colcord’s “Record of Vessels Built on Penobscot River and Bay.” First edition of a desirable title. VG in crisp dj., and scarce thus. $150 |
| 82. | Wines, E.C. TWO YEARS AND A HALF IN THE NAVY: OR THE JOURNAL OF A CRUISE IN THE MEDITERRANEAN AND LEVANT, ON BOARD OF THE U.S. FRIGATE CONSTELLATION, IN THE YEARS 1829, 1830 AND 1831. Lon.. 1833. 12mo. 12mo. 2 vols. xii, 350; xii, 341 pp. London edition, published the year after the first American edition. Good portrait of daily life in the Navy of that time. This title has become scarce in the trade. It is available online only in those awful print-on-demand versions; The London edition is even scarcer. Interestingly, this is from a Russian library, with the name of the library in discrete gilt Cyrillic characters at the base of the spine, and a Russian bookseller’s or library ticket on the back free endpaper of vol. I. Bound in crimson calf over marbled boards, VG. $350 |
| 83. | Woodard, Captain David. THE NARRATIVE OF CAPTAIN DAVID WOODARD AND FOUR SEAMEN, WHO LOST THEIR SHIP WHILE IN A BOAT AT SEA... Lon. 1804. b/w frontis. xl, 252 pp. Woodard was sent off in a boat in the Straits of Macassar to ask for food from another ship. He was separated from his own ship, captured by natives on the Celebes, and after 2 1/2 years reached Macassar. The governor there sent him to Batavia where he found an American ship . “This narrative contains a good deal of material about the life of the natives of the Celebes, but probably the most valuable portion of the book is the collection of narratives of shipwrecks and disasters at sea.”—Huntress 114C. This collection appears in a 100 page appendix which prints narratives of over 50 shipwrecks. Hill p. 331. Handsomely rebound in full calf with label. VG $1000 |