Items 51-75
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51. Lubbock, Basil. BULLY HAYES SOUTH SEA PIRATE. Bos. 1931. Color frontis. xi, 322 pp. First American edition of Lubbock’s work on the modern South Seas pirate. Louis Becke is one of his sources and there is an interesting chapter on this writer. A very nice copy. $125 |
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52. Macy, William Hussey. THERE SHE BLOWS! OR, THE LOG OF THE ARETHUSA. Bos. 1877. b/w plates. vii, 320 pp. “Generally accepted as a barely fictionalized account of Macy’s whaling experiences on the Potomac of Nantucket...” First edition. Forster 362. Illustrated cover (a whale spouting red blood) rather soiled, title page loose. A Good copy of a desirable book. $100 |
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53. Manuscript. 1805-1806 PASSPORT ISSUED BY THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS. Three folio printed sheets accomplished in manuscript. These documents allow James Cutler, American, to travel from Boston to Liverpool and back. The American passport, signed by John Avery and Caleb Strong (Secretary of State and Governor of Mass.) is accompanied by its British equivalent, signed by Superintendent of Aliens, and Collector of the Port of Liverpool, and by a certificate of departure identifying Cutler by his physical appearance. A most interesting lot. I’ve never seen such documents before, but they testify to the bureaucratic intricacies of trans-Atlantic travel in the early 1800s. $450 |
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54. Manuscript. ACCOUNT BOOK OF SCHOONER CROWN POINT OF NEWBURYPORT, MA, AND SEVERAL OTHER VESSELS, 1866-1870. Small 4to notebook, unpaginated (About 70 pp. manuscript entries) Twenty pages follow the Crown Point through $5500 worth of expenditures. Then on to “Beverly & Marblehead schrs” in 1868, and then a statement from 1870 showing income and expenses for schooners Yosemite, Massasoit, Betsey, William, and sloop America. This is followed by accounts of payments made to crewmen or workers. Binding broken, text clean and legible. $75 |
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55. Manuscript. ACCOUNT OF WRECK AT HODGKINS COVE, GLOUCESTER, APRIL 28, 1790. 4to sheet of manuscript. In this document fisherman James Woodbury states the facts of the wreck of the Sheepshire boat of Ipswich. She was anchored in Hodgkins cove and lost her moorings in a hard blow. Thirteen lines of text signed by Woodbury. $75 |
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56. Manuscript. ARCHIVE OF AUTHOR, HISTORIAN AND SHIP MODELER CHARLES G. DAVIS. Davis was born in 1870 and was said to have sailed around Cape Horn in a square rigger at age thirteen. He spent the rest of his life around ships - sailing them, building them and modeling them. This archive consists of hundreds of plans and several workbooks and related items that Davis used in his research. There are also plans he drew himself, and vessels he designed. Specifically... About 200 blueprints and photostats of plans of historic vessels, many from his “Ship Studio” company in Cazenovia, NY., and several drafted by him. Many of these are stained or faded. About 100 plans and drawings done by Davis himself. These include lines of historic vessels, and plans for yachts and vessels he designed. Four “Data Books” from 1917, 1931-1936, undated, and 1938-40 - hundreds of pages of Davis’ drawings and information he thought significant - a mind-boggling array of data about ships. Four catalogs from Davis’ Ship Studio - these feature models he built there. List of ship plans offered for sale by Ship Studio. “House of Wood” - trade catalog for B.F. Wood, a boat builder in City Island, NY, with a letter from John Wood to Davis. Page proofs of Davis’ book “The Built Up Ship Model.” A folder full of original research data on clipper ship sailing cards, with manuscript by collector Abe Schoenfeld for a book on clipper ship cards, A file of Schoenfeld’s correspondence, including letters from such noted booksellers and Ben Tighe, John Howell, Ernie Wessen, Lin Eberstadt, and Norm Flayderman, all concerning clipper ship cards. The lot $850 |
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57. Manuscript. ARCHIVE OF AUTOGRAPH LETTERS, SIGNED, FROM CHARLES MORRIS TO VARIOUS INDIVIDUALS, 1828-32, AND FROM AMOS BINNEY TO CHARLES MORRIS AND OTHERS, 1821-36. This archive consists of 31 letters from Morris at the Charlestown Navy Yard 1828-32, to various individuals regarding ship building and personnel matters. Also a letter from Morris in Boston, 1828, and two sheets of plans for some sort of structure, with specifications. All these letters are signed by Morris. The letters from Binney include 16 from him at Boston to Morris at Portsmouth Navy Yard, 1821-23. Also 6 to Ridgely at Portsmouth, 1826-36, and 6 letters to other people, all regarding ship building and related matters. All these letters are signed by Binney. All the letters on both sides of the correspondence are in integral address sheets, which are docketed with date, recipient and subject matter. $2200 |
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58. Manuscript. CHARTER PARTY. THE GOOD SHIP OR VESSEL KENSINGTON OF PHILADELPHIA, TO AMSTERDAM, 1794. 4to sheet, Two pp, of manuscript. This document is an agreement between the owners - two brothers named Fisher - and a Dutch firm named Dulith & Wachenmuth (?) - to load, provision and sail the ship from Philadelphia to Amsterdam. The Dutch agree to pay one thousand two hundred and fifty pounds sterling or the equivalent in Dutch currency within twenty days of arrival, and both parties post a two thousand pound bond. Lots of detail. $75 |
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59. Manuscript. DOCUMENTS PERTAINING TO THE BUILDING OF THE SHIP ROLLA IN MIDDLETOWN, CT, 1807-1808. This archive consists of 29 documents, including a memorandum of agreement between owner and builder (with dimensions and specifications), rigger’s contract, receipts for construction materials (including rum), summaries of expenses, accounts of sailors working aboard, and receipt for final payment. Highly detailed look at the building of a wooden ship in the early 1800s. $500 |
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60. Manuscript. FOUR LETTERS FROM MAHLON TAYLOR TO SAMUEL AND ISRAEL CLARKE, MAY - SEPTEMBER, 1813 Folio and quarto sheets, 7 pages of manuscript. Mahlon Taylor, who left New Jersey early in 1813, writes from Marcellus (a few miles southwest of Syracuse NY) to his uncles Israel and Samuel Clarke. In his first letter, written May 13, he describes his situation - “The country around is as good as any in the United States and the people generally enterprizing Yankey’s - I hear no news since the affair at York.” The second letter, July 26, brings news from Fort George, “we have about 3500 men there, 1000 of which are unfit for duty... there is skirmishing daily. The object of the British appears to be the bringing them out of the Fort... the opinion of many persons there is that our Troops will withdraw entirely from Canada very soon.” On Sept. 8 he writes about men being drafted from his brigade, and about the shortage of horses, most of them having been bought up for the army. He reports, “General Wilkinson is at Buffalo, and our fleet at Fort George something will be done very soon.” Then on Sept. 28th he writes, “I believe Perry has been completely victorious on the upper lake, and (?) is penned up near Kingston, our militia have a hard time of it.” He hopes he will escape the draft because, “I have seen enough of a soldier’s life to be content at home.” These letters not only document war events, but provide a wealth of eyewitness political and social context for them. They are accompanied by a document showing that Taylor obtained his New York grubstake by borrowing money from his Uncle Israel against his future inheritance. All clean and legible. $500 |
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61. Manuscript. ILLUSTRATED WORKBOOK ON RIGGING. BRITISH, CIRCA 1857. Folio, approximately 65 pp. manuscript. This is an anonymous seaman’s workbook on all aspects of masting, rigging and seamanship aboard a wooden ship. The text begins abruptly in mid-sentence, and it is impossible to say how much of the front of the book is missing. But the parts that survive here are magnificent. In a tidy hand the author covers all aspects of rigging navy vessels and their boats. All the topics are illustrated with ink sketches, and there are eleven full-page ink and wash drawings. Ten of them illustrate such matters as using sheer legs to get a bowsprit in, but the eleventh is a hilarious rendering of the antics that take place aboard a ship as she crosses the line, with King Neptune overseeing the merriment. There is also a schematic diagram of stowage aboard HMS Nankin, and a sixteen page catechism at the end of the book answering 161 questions about rigging. Because the book lacks its first pages, it is hard to say exactly who wrote it, when, and where. But judging from internal references it is almost certainly Royal Navy, done in the year 1857. A captain Martin is mentioned several times, and this is possibly an extended exercise prepared under his direction by a midshipman. In 1857 Martin was superintendent of the Portsmouth Dockyard, so a compendium of this sort of material would make sense. Whatever its origins, it is a wonderful manuscript, rich in details and techniques pertaining to 19th century rigging. $950 |
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62. Manuscript. JOHN H. SCOTT’S MANUSCRIPT JOURNAL OF AN EXPEDITION FROM SEATTLE TO THE KUSKOKWIM RIVER VALLEY IN ALASKA, AND RETURN. MAY 27, 1906 TO DEC. 30, 1907 12mo. 199 pages of manuscript entries in pencil. “The Kuskokwim River Valley at the turn of the century was expected to be a boom region, just as the Yukon had been ten years before. Several companies had begun to operate steamer lines on the river. W. E. Geiger, who was well known for operating on the Yukon River, had recently bought the steamer Quickstep in Nome to run on the Kuskokwim and establish a trading post. And the Central Alaska Company, a large shipping company based in Seattle, had purchased the steamer Nunivak to operate on the river … The Central Alaska Company expected some eight hundred men to leave the Yukon for the Kuskokwim that summer.” (Anderson). Among those who responded to the lure of the region were a group of twelve men, most of them from Wenatchee, Washington. These men formed a company for an expedition to Alaska in 1906, known as the Kuskokwim Mining, Transportation and Trading Company, whose stated purpose was, among other goals, “to buy … acquire …lands, mines, mining claims, mining rights, mining and mineral locations, oil wells and oil lands … to hold and own, manage, improve, develop, operate and occupy … to conduct the mining and milling business in all of its branches, and to construct, own, and operate saw mills…” (from the Articles of Incorporation, filed in the Secretary of State’s office, March 16, 1906). “The commercial exploitation of the Kuskokwim River Valley at the turn of the century was not as commercially rewarding as the Yukon Gold Rush had been before. Because of this, the history of the Kuskokwim has been all but forgotten. But as this journal reveals, it has plenty of stories of its own to tell.” (Erik Anderson, in The Pacific Northwest Forum, Second Series, vol. VIII, no. 1, 1995 in which Scott's journal is published in its entirety). With two small drawings in the text (a whale and a kayak). Bound in original limp straight-grain maroon morocco; modest wear, a few leaves loose (but present); some toning of the text and some leaves soiled, but in all a good example of an original journal of the Alaska frontier. $4000 |
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63. Manuscript. LOG OF H.M.S. PHEOBE, DUKE OF WELLINGTON, MONARCH, AND LORD CLYDE WITH THE FLYING SQUADRON... MAY 16TH 1870 - JANUARY 5TH 1872. Folio. 259 pp. manuscript entries. This log was kept by Charles G. Dicken. It tracks the Flying Squadron’s voyage around the world, as Dicken moved from ship to ship, and then his tour aboard the Lord Clyde stationed at Malta. It is typical of its sort in that it contains perfunctory entries recording position, progress and daily events onboard, and beautifully executed maps and drawings. I do not know what aspect of their training enabled British seamen to draw so well, but their logs from this period often contain incredibly proficient and handsome renderings. This log contains four maps and three drawings. Binding broken, but kept intact in fabric covers. $200 |
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64. Manuscript. TEN LETTERS FROM DONALD MCKAY, EAST BOSTON, 1861-62. Mostly dealing with shipyard materials and pay for the workers. All single sheet, signed “D.W. McKay” or “Donald McKay per W.H. Banks.” $350 |
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65. Manuscript. USEFUL INFORMATION FOR A CRUISE EAST OF GLOUCESTER, JULY 1938. 5 1/4 x 7 1/2 inch notebook, about 100 pp. manuscript entries. This is a work book kept by “Caroline L. Whiteside, 16 Brown Street, Cambridge” much in the manner of the old mariners, to teach herself the basics of celestial navigation. Further “useful information” includes a list of harbors from Gloucester to Grand Manan. Then begins a journal of her July 1938 cruise, with various navigational observations, which runs through Sept. 5. Caroline revisits her book in 1951 to record more “useful facts” and a “cruise in August along the Maine Coast and Buzzards Bay.” This runs through to August 27th, and features a few humorous pencil sketches. The log is accompanied by a sketch book featuring about half a dozen drawings and two watercolors of Newport harbor and the Robinson House at 64 Washington St. in Newport. The lot. $75 |
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66. Manuscript. WM. WHEELER HUBBELL’S THUNDERBOLT SHELL. Folio sheet with manuscript and illustration on both sides. Hubbell worked years developing this shell, which he showed to Commodores Perry and Stockton in 1843. He filed for a patent in 1846, but it was not granted until 1862, in time for him to claim that his shell sank the Alabama in 1864. This document features five drawings of the shell and fuse, with a lengthy and detailed explanation of their operation. At the bottom is an eight line note to historian Benson Lossing in Hubbell’s hand, signed by him, dated 1863. “I send you above the description and sketches of the Thunderbolt Shell as used in the U.S. Service... etc.” The sheet measures 17 1/2 x 11 and is in clean, legible condition. $750 |
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67. Manuscript. WORKBOOK OF DAVID DAVIS, SOMERSET (MA?) 1799. Folio, unpaginated. (About 125 pp. manuscript entries). Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, students learned their navigation, math, and bookkeeping by copying information provided by their Master, or supplied by a printed source such as Bowditch, into a workbook. This is a rather early example of the genre. It features the usual lessons and exercises - mercator sailing, compound division, rule of 3, copy of a ship’s log, etc. - and a very handsome primitive drawing of the “Polly of Somerset” Bound in old parchment, sewing loose. $200 |
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68. Martin, Vice-Admiral W.F. OBSERVATIONS ON STEAM TACTICS AND ROWING-BOAT EVOLUTIONS. Lon. 1858. b/w plates. 60 pp. plus 13 plates. An odd little treatise, from the early days when people were first starting to think deeply about the transformative nature of steam. “A flotilla of rowing-boats, for war purposes, can be most advantageously managed upon the same general system, as that adapted for steam ships; and most of these observations, and the signals appended to them, are common to both.” Quite scarce, “Printed for Private Circulation.” Worldcat shows only four libraries holding copies. Light waterstain along the upper edge. Plates are otherwise clean. Bound in original plain cloth. $300 |
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69. Morrell, Abby Jane. NARRATIVE OF A VOYAGE TO THE ETHIOPIC AND SOUTH ATLANTIC OCEAN, INDIAN OCEAN, CHINESE SEA, NORTH AND SOUTH PACIFIC OCEAN. NY. 1833. 12mo. b/w frontis. 12mo. xi-230, 9 pp. Abby Jane Morrell was the wife of Stonington sealer Benjamin Morrell, author of a book of his own. “Mrs. Morrell accompanied her husband... on his fourth voyage... This is not a mere abridgment of (Capt. Benjamin Morrell) work, but a separately written narrative of great interest.” —Hill 1185. Women's narratives from this period are quite scarce, and this is one of the foremost of them. Pages waterstained, but bound in original cloth with label, and unusual thus. $500 |
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70. Morris, Paul C. and Joseph F. Morin. THE ISLAND STEAMERS. Nantucket, 1977. b/w plates. 4to. ix, 196 pp. Steamboats to Nantucket and the Vineyard, from 1818 on. First edition. VG, in lightly chipped dj $100 |
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71. Murray, Andrew. SHIP BUILDING IN IRON AND WOOD. Edinburgh. 1863. b/w plates, some folding. 4to. xii, 168 pp. History, theory, and practical application of wooden and iron shipbuilding, illustrated by 27 plates, some of which fold. Pages 113-148 are dedicated to a second article, by Andrew Murray, entitled “Steam-Ships.” The next section of the book is devoted to “Timber,” and the final section to “Tonnage.” This is the second edition, the first being published in 1861 with a slightly different title and, presumably, content. See Scott, p. 144. Interestingly, this edition contains a double-page set of lines for the Yacht America. Many other vessels, up to the size of the Great Eastern, are discussed and pictured. A very nice copy in original cloth, spine laid down. Many pages unopened. $400 |
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72. Murray, Rev. Thos. Boyles. PITCAIRN: THE ISLAND, THE PEOPLE, AND THE PASTOR; WITH A SHORT ACCOUNT OF THE MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY. Lon. 1854. b/w plates. 12mo. xiv-304 pp. Popular account of the Bounty and descendants of the mutineers. First edition was 1853. This is the 4th edition. Hill 1208 (citing Lon. 1855 ed.) Light wear, a Good copy. $100 |
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73. (Napier, David Dehane, editor.) DAVID NAPIER, ENGINEER 1790-1869. Glasgow. 1912. b/w plates, folding map. (x), 136 pp. “An autobiographical sketch with notes.” Edited by Napier’s grandson, with much on the vessels he built. First edition of an important book on this era. Spine lightly sunned else VG $125 |
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74. Navy Dept. PROCEEDINGS OF A COURT OF INQUIRY CONVENED AT THE NAVY DEPARTMENT... 1882... TO INVESTIGATE THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE LOSS IN THE ARCTIC SEAS OF THE EXPLORING STEAMER JEANNETTE... Wash. 1883. b/w folding plates, plans. iii, 363 pp. Contains official and unofficial documents, testimony, drawings, plans relating to the expedition, and considers crew administrative and technical problems. VG in original government binding showing light wear at spine ends. $200 |
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75. Navy Dept. REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE UNIFORM OF COMMISSIONED OFFICERS, WARRANT OFFICER, AND ENLISTED MEN OF THE NAVY OF THE UNITED STATES. Wash. 1886. Color plates, b/w ills. 26 pp. plus plates. Fifty-four color plates show full figure uniforms of many ranks, plus details of ribbons, medals, buttons, etc. Ex-libris USS Wabash, with a stamp from that ship. Also, four circulars and general orders pertaining to uniform changes laid in. Some cover spotting. Text and plates fresh and clean. $750 |
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