item number |
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| 26. | Endicott, William C. ADDRESS AT THE COMMEMORATION OF THE LANDING OF JOHN ENDICOTT... (AND) ODE ON THE LANDING OF GOV. JOHN ENDICOTT. BY WILLIAM W. STORY. Salem,. 1878, 1879. 38, 29 pp. Endicott addresses the political situation surrounding his predecessor’s departure from England, and matters on the ground when he got here. As for the Ode, it’s hard to imagine the company assembled at the Essex Institute on September 18, 1878, sitting through the whole 32 stanzas as Story warbled on about “brave Endicott, with jingling sword, high ruff and magisterial coat...” But so they must have. Author’s copy, bound in half morocco over marbled boards, with Endicott’s bookplate. Light rubbing, VG $50 |
| 27. | Ephemera. SHELLBACK CERTIFICATE SIGNED BY HARRY TRUMAN ABOARD THE USS MISSOURI, 1947. Large oblong folio sheet printed in color. A wonderful tongue-in-cheek naval document conferred upon William Hasslett, President Harry Truman’s secretary, to celebrate his “crossing the line.” It is signed by Capt. Robert L. Dennison and by Truman in the role of Neptunus Rex, on board the USS Missouri, September 11, 1947. Shellback certificates were part of the age-old ceremony to celebrate (and harass) sailors who were crossing the equator for the first time. This certificate measures 16 x 20 1/2 inches. It is printed in color and adorned with mermaids, sea horses, the figure of Neptune and a seal of the Navy. Truman’s signature is clear and strong. $2000 See Illustration |
| 28. | Ephemera. PHOTO ALBUM OF NEW ENGLAND SCENES. Forty-four prints measuring 4 1/3 x 6 3/4 inches, circa 1895, including 16 views of Gloucester and the granite industry. Others include rural Maine and Vermont scenes, maple sugaring. Maine waterfronts, and a very interesting street scene from a lower-class neighborhood, probably in Boston. The quarry scenes are terrific. Two in particular show Lanes Cove buried in windrows of paving blocks, with granite schooners tied up inside the Cove, awaiting their cargoes. Photos are mounted on card stock and bound in an album. $350 |
| 29. | Ephemera. I’M AFLOAT. Song sheet published by Thomas Scroggy of Philadelphia in the mid-19th century. A sea rover celebrates his triumph over the elements. Sheet measures 9 x 4 1/2 inches. Three 9-line stanzas with typographical border. OCLC shows five libraries holding copies. $45 |
| 30. | Ephemera. THE BOLD PRIVATEER. Dialog between Johnny, the bold privateer, and Polly, his beloved, about the dangers at sea and his enemies, including her two brothers, “who’d quickly take my life.” Four eight-line stanzas in typographical border, 8 1/2 x 6 inches. OCLC shows four libraries holding copies. $50 |
| 31. | Ephemera. DON’T FAIL TO SEE COSTELLO’S SAIL REEFER AND FURLER. PATENTED SEPT. 9, 1890. This broadsheet measures 9 x 5 1/2 inches on salmon colored paper. It advertises a new invention for working rigging, “By this system a Cabin Boy can reef the mainsail of any vessel,” with about 20 lines of such puffery. No specifics are given, but “A working model can be seen in the basement of Mechanics Building during the Fair, under Main Hall.” Printed by P.J. Brady, 478 Shawmut Ave., Boston. VG $35 |
| 32. | Erkkila, Barbara H. VILLAGE AT LANE’S COVE. Gloucester. 2008 b/w photos, map. 179 pp. Well researched history of this community at the northern tip of Gloucester, Mass. With wonderful vintage photos of the neighborhood and its characters, as well as the quarrying, fishing and shipping that abounded locally. With histories of painters, sculptors and writers who worked here, and a map of downtown Lanesville circa 1855. We published the first edition of this book in 1989 and it went out of print almost immediately. This second edition features a new index, enhanced photographs and an attractive four color cover. Signed copies. $17 See Illustration |
| 33. | (Esquemeling, John.) THE HISTORY OF THE BUCANIERS OF AMERICA; FROM THE FIRST ORIGINAL DOWN TO THIS TIME; WRITTEN IN SEVERAL LANGUAGES’ AND NOW COLLECTED INTO ONE VOLUME... Lon. 1704 25 b/w engravings and maps, many folding. b/w wood engravings in text. (2), 180; 180, (12); (2), 204 pp. This is the so-called “third edition,” which is a reprinting of the 1698 English version of Esquemeling’s famous History, plus piracy narratives by Ringrose, de Lussan and the Sieur de Montaubon. See Gosse, “My Pirate Library” p. 37. NMM Catalog Vol 4, #178. Like most copies of this text there are condition problems. The gutter margin of the title page has been reinforced; the folding map in front shows old repairs, short tears with no loss, and a hole at the central fold with some small loss; and there is worming, especially in the first third of the book, resulting in some minor loss of text and a short track across one plate. Many of the pages and some of the plates are evenly tanned. On the plus side, text and plates are complete; there is no foxing and the sewing is tight. Bound in 19th century full calf with red spine labels. Both boards detached but present. An acceptable copy that could shine again with a little restoration work. $750 See Illustration |
| 34. | Fiske, Bradley A. FROM MIDSHIPMAN TO REAR-ADMIRAL. NY. 1919. b/w plates. x, 694 pp. Autobiography of a lifelong sailor whose career spanned an interesting transitional time in the U.S. Navy. He spent much time in Hawaii, the China Station and other parts of the Pacific, culminating in Spanish American War action, or, as he refers to it, “The Filipino War.” Fiske’s specialty was ordnance. He was an inventor and technical innovator who wound up being an advocate of futurist technology in the “torpedoplane.” Fine copy of the first edition. $45 See Illustration |
| 35. | Gorringe, Henry H. EGYPTIAN OBELISKS. NY. (1882). 49 b/w plates and one chromolithograph. Folio. x, 187 pp. Nominally a book about Egyptian monuments - particularly “Cleopatra’s Needle” which was transported from Alexandria to Central Park in New York - but in fact a good part of this work has to do with the manner in which the obelisk was transported aboard the Vanderbilt steamer Dessoug. In fact, a hole was cut in the hull, the obelisk inserted, and the hole patched up. Similar monuments went to Paris, Rome, London, and other major cities. Fascinating stuff. Gloriously got up in a full calf presentation binding with gilt inner dentelles, and elaborate gilt cover decoration. Rebacked to match in full polished calf with raised bands and gilt decoration. Most impressive. $750 See Illustration |
| 36. | Graef, E.W. HOW TO BUILD A SPEED LAUNCH. NY. 1903. 4to. b/w plates, plans. 30, (18) pp. Detailed plans for building the speed launch Dolphin. First edition. A very nice copy. $150 |
| 37. | Greenleaf, Elisabeth Bristol. BALLADS AND SEA SONGS OF NEWFOUNDLAND. Cambridge, MA. 1933. b/w photo ills. xliv, 395 pp. With music recorded in the field by Grace Yarrow Mansfield. X-lib., with spine sticker and remnants of card pocket. Text clean. Scarce. $50 |
| 38. | (Hain, John A.) SIDE WHEEL STEAMERS OF THE CHESAPEAKE BAY. 1880-1947. (Glen Burnie, MD. 1947) b/w plates. Unpaginated (about 100 pp.) Collection of images of these old steamers, arranged by line. Ring bound, scarce. VG. $50 See Illustration |
| 39. | Hall, William H., Vice Admiral. OUR NATIONAL DEFENSES. Kensington, 1871. 24 pp. The title has been lined through in ink in a contemporary hand and glossed beneath the author’s name “His Advertisement.” A pamphlet on naval preparedness from late in the life of “Nemesis” Hall, an old hand in the China Trade and major naval figure in the Opium War. Here, he outlines threats from Russians, Prussians and Americans, and proposes a national defense that would utilize English tugs and steamers. Interesting in an autobiographical sense, since Hall draws on details of his service in China, Ireland and other places to furnish examples for his argument. Self wraps, a little dusty but VG. $75 |
| 40. | Heap. Major D.P. ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. Bos. 1889 b/w plates. x, 220, (8) pp. Excellently illustrated with 21 plates and plans of European and American light houses, some of them double-page```. First edition. Cover wear, but interior clean and tight. With catalog of Ticknor’s architectural books bound at back. $250 See Illustration |
| 41. | Hichborn, Philip. STANDARD DESIGNS FOR BOATS OF THE UNITED STATES NAVY. Mansfield Centre, CT 2008 Line ills. b/w halftone photo ills. Oblong folio. 96 pp. text; 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. Martino Publishing Company’s high quality reprint of this scarce title. NEW $275 |
| 42. | (Holroyd, John B., Earl of Sheffield.) OBSERVATIONS ON THE COMMERCE OF THE AMERICAN STATES BY JOHN LORD SHEFFIELD. Lon. 1784. xlvii, 345, (30), (8) 8 fldg. tables, 24, 2 fldg. tables, 8 pp. publisher’s catalog. A complete discussion and tabular listing of all American imports and exports. Valuable enough from a historical point of view, but it also had an unintended effect. According to Howes, the work “pointed out superciliously the helpless position of American commerce, and thus influenced the shaping of England’s trade policy from 1783 to 1789, so detrimental to American commerce and shipping interests as to contribute greatly to the formation of a Federal union, better able, than were the separate federated states, to retaliate against British maritime might.” Howes H-616. This is the enlarged and more comprehensive edition of a work first published the year before. Rebound in calf over marbled boards. VG $250 |
| 43. | Horsburgh, James. INDIA DIRECTORY, OR DIRECTIONS FOR SAILING TO AND FROM THE EAST INDIES, CHINA, NEW HOLLAND, CAPE OF GOOD HOPE, BRAZIL, AND THE INTERJACENT POINTS... Lon. 1826, 27. 4to. 2 vols in one. (8), xxvi, 504, 16; (6), 636 pp. One of the major books on navigation for East Indies and China trades in the 19th century. It contains descriptions of coastal features along all the routes from England to the east, and includes information on lighthouses, hazards to navigators, etc. One of the reasons for its continued use was that Horsburgh (who himself had experience in these waters) continued to update his book using the most recent accounts and reports. Though it went through at least 8 editions from the time of its initial publication in 1809 to the middle of the 19th century, it is today a scarce book in any edition, and very scarce in its earliest appearances. See Ferguson 1083. Bound in original calf, spine label partially chipped away . Text shows a few wrinkles and stains but is generally in Very Good condition. $750 |
| 44. | Hydrographic Office, British Admiralty. THE BRITISH COLUMBIA PILOT. Lon. 1888. b/w folding chart. xiii, 586 pp. “Including the coast of British Columbia, from Juan de Fuca Strait to Portland Canal, together with Vancouver and Queen Charlotte Islands.” This work draws on Richards’ earlier “Vancouver Island Pilot,” on Admiralty surveys made in 1863-70 and on the “Vancouver Island Pilot Supplement,” 1883. Quite scarce. Bound in original flexible boards with gold cover lettering. $500 |
| 45. | Imray, James. (publisher). SAILING DIRECTIONS FOR THE WEST COAST OF NORTH AMERICA. Lon. 1853. b/w frontis. chart, recognition views in text. “Embracing the coasts of Central America, California, Oregon, Fuca Strait, Puget Sound, Vancouver Island, and the islands and rocks off the coasts of Central America and California.” Early and scarce guide to the waters of Gold Rush-era California. It is signed twice by its former owner, Captain Comfort Whiting, jr. New Bedford. Whiting had been a shipmate of Herman Melville’s aboard the Acushnet in 1842, but was a merchant captain by this time. Bound in original gilt and blindstamped cloth, rather worn and stained. Text Very Good. $850 See Illustration |
| 46. | James, Captain W.M. THE BRITISH NAVY IN ADVERSITY. Lon. 1926. b/w maps and diagrams. xvi, (4), 459 pp. “A study of the war of American independence.” A near Fine copy of the first edition, with fifteen maps and twenty-eight battle diagrams. $75 |
| 47. | James Imray & Son. (Publishers.) CATALOG OF THE LATEST AND MOST APPROVED CHARTS, PILOTS’, AND NAVIGATION BOOKS SOLD OR PUBLISHED BY JAMES IMRAY AND SON. Lon. 1866. b/w cut on title. 44 pp. A concise reference of what was available from this firm in the way of charts and pilots. Bound in later wrappers. Unusual. $75 |
| 48. | Jaques, William H. ERICSSON’S DESTROYER AND SUBMARINE GUN. NY. 1885 b/w ills. 48 pp. “Being a consideration of their application to naval warfare, the advantages of the system, together with a short history of submarine artillery.” Lt. Jaques, who had written on other aspects of naval ordnance, here reports on the early development of what we now know as the “torpedo.” Scarce. In original printed wraps, VG. $125 See Illustration |
| 49. | Jewitt, John R. NARRATIVE OF THE ADVENTURES AND SUFFERINGS... NY. n.d. b/w frontis., ills. 12mo. 166 pp. Early edition of this work, the first of which was published in Middletown in 1815. Jewitt was an armorer on board the merchant ship Boston which rounded the horn and sailed up the west coast as far as Nootka Sound, where the ship was attacked by Indians and all killed except Jewitt and another crewman. He was eventually rescued by the brig Lydia of Boston, and returned to that port after sailing to China. “The details of the adventures of Jewitt were drawn from him by the indefatigable queries of Richard Alsop... The narrative affords us many new and interesting particulars of the life and habits of the most savage of American aborigines.”—Field 776. Howes A-189, Huntress 181 C. Hill 887. Pages tanned as usual. Pictorial cover is spotted and stained, but has survived, as has most of the paper spine label. Decent copy of a book that once was fairly common and now... $350 See Illustration |
| 50. | King, John W. THE CHINA PILOT. Lon. 1864. xi, 661 pp. Navigational routes and hazards described for “the coasts of China, Korea, and Manchuria; the sea of Japan, the gulfs of Tartary and Amúr, and the sea of Okhotsk ....” Aside from directions, a good bit of history is presented, as King cites examples of earlier vessels and their difficulties in various harbors and channels. This is an early edition, and quite scarce, OCLC showing only four libraries holding copies. Bound in contemporary mottled calf with spine labels. VG $1750 |