Maritime List 182

Items 26-50

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26. Charts RECONNOISSANCE (SIC) OF THE WESTERN COAST OF THE UNITED STATES FROM MONTEREY TO THE COLUMBIA RIVER IN THREE SHEETS. Wash. 1850 Three folio sheets, 19 1/2 x 22 inches. The charts link geographically to one another. With sailing directions and recognition views, including “View of the Entrance of San Francisco Bay. These are the limited edition presentation copies on heavy paper - NOT extracted from Coast Survey reports. With the “Presented to...” slug at the top of each chart. $1250
27. Cohen, Ben (editor). THE RIVER AND FIRTH OF CLYDE. 1549-1993. (New Castle, DE) 2008. 4to. xiii, 252 pp. Divided into such categories as “Barrage, Bridges, Tunnels, Canals” and “Charts, Maps, Guides.” With a 27 page section on ship building. Reprint of Cohen’s 1995 original. Fine $75
28. Coppinger, R.W. CRUISE OF THE ALERT , FOUR YEARS IN PATAGONIAN, POLYNESIAN, AND MASCARENE WATERS. (1878-82.)
NY. 1884. b/w plates. xiii, 256 pp. The Alert was the ship Nares used in his Arctic voyage. This time it surveys southern and western waters, including Tahiti, Fiji, and “the nature and exact position of certain doubtful reefs and islands in the South Pacific ocean, and... a portion of the northern and western coasts of Australia... Reference is made to fauna and flora, local industries, ‘black police,’ ‘Labour trade,’ etc.” - Ferguson 8682. This is the second edition, identical in content to the first. Endpapers renewed, covers rubbed, contents clean. $250
29. Crockett, V.B. DESIGNING SMALL BOATS FOR FUN & PROFIT. NY. (1953) b/w line ills. 4to. 162 pp. A Eugene Connett production for Van Nostrand, handsome and well-presented. VG $25
30. Dean, Nicholas. SNOW SQUALL. Gardiner, ME. (2001). b/w plates. 301 pp. “The Last American Clipper Ship.” VG, dj. $25
31. Delano, Amasa. A NARRATIVE OF VOYAGES AND TRAVELS... Upper Saddle River, NJ. (1970) b/w plates, folding chart. 598 pp. Reprint of remarkable book by this Duxbury sea captain whose Pacific voyages included stops at Palau, Hawaii, the Galapagos, Manila, Canton, Macao, New Guinea, Australia and the East Indies. His work was the source for Melville’s “Benito Cerino,” and his account of the Bounty was the first published in America. VG $50
32. Desmond, Charles. WOODEN SHIPBUILDING. Vestal, NY. (1919) b/w plates, illus. 224 pp. Classic text on commercial wooden shipbuilding. Says 1919 on the copyright page, but probably a later reprint. VG $75
33. Dring, Thomas. RECOLLECTIONS OF THE JERSEY PRISON SHIP. Providence, RI. 1829. b/w folding frontis. 167 pp. Dring was mate on the Chance, an American privateer, which was captured in 1782 by H.M.S. Belisarius. He was imprisoned, with other Americans, on the Jersey prison ship anchored off Long Island. This is the narrative of his experiences, with an 1888 newspaper article tipped onto back blanks. A scarce account. The folding plate shows a view of the ship and plans of 2 decks. Harbeck p. 29. Howes D 303. Bound in full calf with decorated backstrip and spine labels. All edges gilt. Front board nearly detached, else a beautiful copy. $200
34. Du Cane, Peter. HIGH-SPEED SMALL CRAFT. Cambridge, MD n.d. b/w plates. ix, 278 pp. Scarce text, still of interest. The “high-speed small craft” originally intended were PT boats. VG $45
35. Ephemera. A PIECE OF THE FIRST TRANS-ATLANTIC CABLE, WITH LETTER OF AUTHENTICATION FROM CYRUS FIELD. In 1858, after the first Atlantic cable was laid in by the USS Niagara, Field sold the leftover cable to Tiffany’s to sell as souvenirs. This is one of those souvenirs. It features a 4 inch length of cable in a recessed compartment and a copy of the authenticating letter from Field, matted and framed. The letter is tattered and lightly foxed, otherwise the entire presentation is in excellent condition. Visually striking. $1250
36. Ephemera. BEN BOATSWAIN’S YARNS OR TALES OF THE OCEAN. NY. n.d. (ca. 1840s) b/w wood engravings. pp. 37-72. A shipwreck juvenile, with very lively illustrations. Huntress 333C says it was “taken from the same publisher’s ‘Perils of the Ocean’.” The publisher was Murphy, 384 Pearl St. New York. This is a bright, fresh copy in original yellow wrappers adorned with wood engraved illustrations. $150
37. Ephemera. CLIPPER SHIP SAILING CARD. STAR OF THE WEST. This is something I’ve never seen before. It appears to be a British clipper ship card. It advertises the “well know fast-sailing clipper ship Star of the West, 1296 tons register, H.H. Perry, Commander” departing Prince’s dock - presumably in Liverpool - for Mobile, Alabama, on or about August 30th 1866. “This fine ship has just been reclassed and metalled.” The sailing seems to coincide with the reopening of the cotton trade with Britain following the Civil War. The infrastructure was obviously still dicey, for “all goods to be taken from alongside in Mobile Bay, at shippers’ expense and risk.” The agents were R.L. Gillchrist & Co. and the agents at Mobile were A.J. Ingersoll & Co. Very good condition with only a 1/4 inch crease along the lower left margin. Printed in red and black, measuring approximately 3 1/2 x 5 inches, with a cut of a clipper ship flying the Union Jack. I believe this card to be quite rare. $1250
38. Ephemera. LETTER, PHOTOS, AND CLIPPINGS RELATING TO SAMUEL HALL. The great builder of China Trade and Clipper ships writes from Liverpool in 1870 to his “Beloved wife.” He complains about his health - apparently he was in considerable pain, probably from angina, and promised her he’d seek advice from a physician - talks about family matters and about his business in England. The letter, about 400 words long, was written at the end of August. He must have returned home shortly after it was written, because on November 13th, he died of a heart attack at his home in East Boston. This collection also includes a Carte de Visite photograph of Hall, a small photographic image of a woman who, judging by her clothing, was his daughter, a steel engraving of Hall, made from the image on the CdV, and several newspaper articles about Hall, including his obituary. The lot $150
39. Ephemera. LOT OF SIX TRADE CARDS ILLUSTRATING LIFE SAVING OPERATIONS. Cards are chromolithographed, measuring 4 1/4 x 2 3/4 inches, and advertising Liebig Company’s Fleisch-Extract on the verso. Text in German. The product was a digestive aid, I think. The series illustrates men getting in boats, firing a line, rowing to a wreck, etc. Fine condition. $75
40. Ephemera. “MEDITERRANEAN” SHIP’S PASSPORT, SHIP SHARON, JOSEPH PURRINGTON, MASTER. BATH, MAINE, 1841. Folio vellum sheet, 11 1/4 x 15 inches, with scalloped top edge and engravings of ship and lighthouse. Printed document accomplished in manuscript. A very nice example of the so-called Mediterranean passport, with a clear strong signature by President John Tyler and countersigned by Secretary of State Daniel Webster. With paper seal intact. Old fold marks, else VG $1500
41. Ephemera SEA SERPENT! THEY SAY CAPTURED BOSTON! CONTINUATION EXCURSION UNTIL MONDAY SEPT. 27TH. Broadsheet, 4 1/2 x 11 inches. Something of a puzzler. The most famous serpent in Boston waters showed up prior to the 1820s. This fly, with its handsome wood type, is certainly later than that. It says the steamer “Houghton leaves Calais on each day of the excursion...” There was a serpent captured off Nova Scotia and sold to a Boston Museum in 1910, but this flyer seems earlier than that. A nice serpent item, anyway. Two small circular holes punched through the “S” in “Sea,” tear at bottom of sheet. Still a good copy of a rare sea serpent item. $125
42. Ephemera. TRANSFER OF SHARES IN PRIVATEERING VENTURE, BOSTON, 1817. 4to sheet. Printed form accomplished in manuscript. Cotton Nye of Boston transfers to David M. Doyle “all such prize money as is now due or which may hereafter become due, from the proceeds of the sales of prizes or captures made by the United States Frigate Congress under the Command of the late John Smith Esq., deceased.” Signed by Nye and two witnesses, and docketed and signed on verso by Josiah Waters, Justice of the Peace. Congress, one of the six original frigates, was laid up in Portsmouth at this time, so Doyle, an innkeeper, probably didn’t get enough to pay Nye’s bar bill. Document shows light tanning, faint old fold marks and a short split on one fold with no loss, but is in excellent condition overall $850
43. Ephemera. TRANSFER OF SHARES IN PRIVATEERING VENTURE, NEW YORK, 1760. 4to sheet. Printed form accomplished in manuscript. William Hancock of “the Province of New York” sells his two shares to Humphrey Jones for thirty pounds. The prizes which, presumably, would soon be sold at auction, included “twenty-two hhd Sugar taken from Guaduloupe & four negroes taken by the ship Sturdy Beggar Capt. Robert Troup during her second Cruize.” Several ships bore this charming name, but according to MacLay’s “American Privateers,” this brig Sturdy Beggar was a formidable vessel, carrying 26 guns and a complement of 200 men. An article in the New York Mercury, July 12, 1757 describes her as being “double decked... purposely built for a Privateer, to cruize against his Majesty’s Enemies. The Conveniences for her Men are large and commodious... All Gentlemen Sailors and others, who have a mind to make their Fortunes, may repair on board said Ship, where they will meet with kind Treatment...” The document is in excellent shape, signed by Hancock and two witnesses, with paper revenue seal. $1000
44. Fanning, Edmund. VOYAGES ROUND THE WORLD; WITH SELECTED SKETCHES OF VOYAGES TO THE SOUTH SEAS... CHINA, ETC. Upper Saddle River NJ. (1970) b/w plates. (xiii), 499 pp. Reprint of an important book by the energetic Fanning. “Captain Fanning of Stonington, Connecticut, sailed for the South Seas in 1792, on a voyage for sealskins. During the next twenty-five years made voyages to the Pacific and around the world, visiting Australia,... South Georgia, and the islanders of Fiji, Tonga and the Marquesas... Included is an account of the first American naval exploring expedition to the southern hemisphere, 1829-30, sponsored by the U.S. government.” - Hill 581. VG in decorated sailcloth. $50
45. Fanning, Edmund. VOYAGES TO THE SOUTH SEAS, INDIAN AND PACIFIC OCEANS, CHINA SEA, NORTH-WEST COAST, FEEJEE ISLAND, SOUTH SHETLANDS... Upper Saddle River, NJ. 1970. b/w plates/ 324 pp. Reprint of Fanning’s classic 1838 publication. VG in decorated sailcloth binding. $50
46. Flint, Charles R. MEMORIES OF AN ACTIVE LIFE: MEN, AND SHIPS, AND SEALING WAX. NY. 1923. b/w plates. xviii, 349 pp. Sportsman, adventurer and yachtsman, Flint had an interesting and varied career in business, politics, and yachts. For a time he tooled about in the “Arrow” the fastest steam yacht afloat, and he beat America’s Cup defender Mischief in his speedy Gracie. Morris & Howland p. 52. Inscribed by Flint, with a signed note from him tipped in. Covers lightly rubbed. A Good copy of the first edition. $150
47. Gifford-Wood Co. ICE TOOLS. Hudson, NY. n.d. (ca. 1915?) b/w photo ills. 80 pp. Trade catalog for ice tools. Probably too late to appear in Romain, which cites a Gifford Co. ice tools catalog from 1888. This is a lavishly illustrated display of all the tools, machines and accessories used in the operation of this nearly defunct industry. Wrappers, VG $75
48. Godwin, George VANCOUVER, A LIFE 1757-17 NY. 1931 b/w plates, map, folding plans,map in rear pocket 308 pp. Workmanlike biography of the great explorer, with documentary material in appendices. VG $75
49. 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. Light cover wear, a VG copy of an important book. $300
50. 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. Very light cover wear, but VG in identical bindings. $400
Items 51-75
List 182 Table of Contents
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