Maritime List 186

Items 1-25

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	1. Anderson, Ernest B. SAILING SHIPS OF IRELAND. Dublin. n.d. (ca. 1951) b/w plates. xv, 279 pp. “Being a record of Irish sailing ships in the 19th century.” Histories of Irish shipbuilders and shipping firms. Indexed, with lists of builders and vessels. A clean fresh copy in dj. $125
	2. Anon. ABSTRACTS OF THE BRITISH NAVY; SHOWING HOW IT STOOD, IN SHIPS, TONS, AND CLASSIFICATION AT THE COMMENCEMENT OF EVERY YEAR, FROM 1793 INCLUSIVE. n.p. n.d. (Lon. 1822) 4to. 4 pp. plus 28 double page sheets of printed abstracts. The title page of the first edition of James’ “Naval History of Great Britain” calls for a separate quarto volume of Tabular Abstracts, but this volume was not included with the five volumes of the history, and is scarce. This is the volume referred to in James. The introductory “Notice” makes reference to the James history. It features 28 numbered sheets, one for each year from 1793 to 1820, containing great amounts of information about British naval vessels. This information is keyed by an alphabetical system to the text in James’ history. Bound in full calf. Later reback in brown leather. Boards slightly bowed, but still VG $200
	3. Anon. THE REPORT OF THE GENERAL OFFICERS, APPOINTED BY HIS MAJESTY’S WARRANT OF THE FIRST OF NOVEMBER 1757, TO INQUIRE INTO THE CAUSES OF THE FAILURE OF THE LATE EXPEDITION TO THE COASTS OF FRANCE. Lon. 1758. 12mo. 116 pp. This attack on the French arsenal and dockyard was devised in the aftermath of the Byng scandal by William Pitt, who had intelligence that the land side of the arsenal was practically undefended. The English assembled land forces under Sir John Mordaunt, and Admiral Hawke was ordered to provide cover from the sea. As this detailed investigation revealed, everything that could have gone wrong pretty much did, and the entire operation flopped. As the DNB puts it, “A very angry public feeling was excited by the news of the failure.” VG in later blue buckram with the bookplate of Harvard Library but no other markings. $150
	4. Barrow, John. (editor). THE GEOGRAPHY OF HUDSON’S BAY: BEING THE REMARKS OF CAPTAIN W. COATS, IN MANY VOYAGES TO THAT LOCALITY BETWEEN THE YEARS 1727 AND 1751. Lon. 1852 x, 147, 8 pp. “Containing extracts from the log of Capt. Middleton on his voyage for the discovery of the North-West passage...” Early title in the First Series Hakluyt publication. Bound in half blue calf over boards, with raised bands and gold spine decoration and lettering. Old, partially erased library stamp at bottom of title page, else VG $350
	5. Bennett, A.G. WHALING IN THE ANTARCTIC. Lon. 1931. b/w plates. x, 221, (1) pp. History of old-time Antarctic whaling and thorough survey of (then) current methods. “Third impression” of the first edition. VG $50
	6. Berckman, Evelyn. NELSON’S DEAR LORD. Lon. 1962. b/w plates. xi, 274 pp. That would be Sir John Jervis, first Earl of St. Vincent. First edition of this biography, rich in detail of the era. Inscribed by Berckman on title page, 1962. VG in dj. $40
	7. Briggs, L. Vernon. EXPERIENCES OF A MEDICAL STUDENT IN HONOLULU, AND ON THE ISLAND OF OAHU. 1881. Bos. 1926. b/w plates, fldg. facsimile. xii, 251 pp. Life in Honolulu circa 1880, as seen by a well-connected young man. With a folding facsimile of a poster for the Royal Hawaiian Theater. Briggs is the author of the esteemed “History of Shipbuilding...,” and others. This is the scarcest of his books. Inscribed in green ink by “The Author” VG in lightly chipped dj. $250
	8. Broadside. ORGANIZATION OF THE BARQUE FLOYD EXPEDITION. THE STOCKHOLDERS ASSEMBLED AT PIONEER HALL ON WEDNESDAY EVENING JANUARY 31ST, 1849... Folio sheet 8 x 12 7/8 inches. Printed in two columns. This gold rush broadside was probably printed in Providence RI, early in 1849, but it bears no imprint. It lays out the fourteen articles comprising the Constitution of the company, which was comprised of 50 stockholders, each investing $350. Many of these proposed expeditions never left home, or met tragic ends along the way. But the Barque Floyd expedition actually reached San Francisco, although not without difficulty. According to Sprague’s Barnstable and Yarmouth Sea Captains... the “Barque Floyd, Captain Mayberry, sailed from Providence for San Francisco, March 5, 1849. Arrived Sept. 16, 1849.” There is a 1910 recollection of the voyage on the website of the Sons of the American Revolution - http://sarsac.org/Courier/Courier_Apr_2009.pdf. According to this account the Barque Floyd “left Providence Rhode Island on March 5, 1849, and after 76 days reached the Cape, but it took another three weeks to get around the Horn due to the June head winds (it was winter in the southern hemisphere)... the passengers and crew suffered more from the cold than either Perry or Cook would have during their expeditions in their nice furs. Once the Floyd got around the Horn, due to bad charts and the lack of a breeze, they were nearly smashed on the rocks attempting to make a stop at the first port on the west coast of Chili. The passengers had to man the boats and ‘pull for their lives’ to save the ship.” Once in San Francisco the members of the company went their various ways. Many tried their hand at gold mining; few succeeded. One man, the subject of the above article, became a dentist in San Francisco and, owing to his speculation in gold stocks, one of the city’s first millionaires. Rare. Worldcat shows no libraries holding copies. Not in AAS. Melvyl shows no California libraries holding copies. Old fold marks, scattered foxing, ink stain in left column, old newspaper clipping about one of the members pasted on bottom margin. $2500
	9. Brown, Marie A. THE ICELANDIC DISCOVERERS OF AMERICA... Bos. 1888 b/w plates. vi, 213 pp. Part of the 19th century trend that gave priority of discovery to the Northmen. With bibliography of important works confirming the Icelandic discovery of America from the years 1076-1883. Interesting decorated cloth cover clean and bright. Inscribed by author, and scarce in this first edition. $125
	10. Browne, J. Ross. ETCHINGS OF A WHALING CRUISE, WITH NOTE OF A SOJOURN ON THE ISLAND OF ZANZIBAR. TO WHICH IS APPENDED A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERY, ITS PAST AND PRESENT CONDITION. NY. 1846. b/w plates. xiii, 580, 8 pp. First edition of a key work on American whaling which, “gives a general picture of life on a whaling ship in the 1840s and... contains much information relevant to whaling in the Pacific Ocean.” - Forster 11. It was also an important source and inspiration for Herman Melville, who reviewed this book for “Literary World” in 1847. Jenkins p. 84. Howes B-877. Scattered foxing, but a decent copy bound in green morocco with raised bands and gold spine lettering, over marbled boards. $950
	11. Calkins, Earnest Elmo. THE LURE OF THE LITTLE SHIPS. NY. 1927. b/w frontispiece. 19 pp. Privately printed essay on the joys of ship models, #32 of 300 copies. With a photo of the author’s model of the Flying Cloud tipped in a frontispiece. Bound in blue boards, some wear to front cover label. $25
	12. Charles Magnus & Co. (Publisher) ALL NATIONS HAIL THE NEW ERA OF THE GREAT EASTERN. NY. ca. 1858. Folio card 9 x 11 3/4 inches. A colored view of the Great Eastern in Portland Harbor, Maine, with a b/w vignette of the ship and text beneath giving dimensions and a brief history. A rare broadsheet celebrating this famed vessel. Worldcat shows only the Boston Athenaeum holding a copy. Light waterstain in upper left corner else VG. $300
	13. Chart. PORT HOOD, SITUATED IN THE NORTH-WESTERN EXTREMITY OF THE ISLAND OF CAPE BRETON... PUBLISHED ACCORDING TO ACT OF PARLIAMENT BY J.F.W. DES BARRES, ESQR. MARCH 4, 1776. Folio sheet, 25 1/2 x 35 1/4 inches. This is an original copy of a chart by the great English cartographer Joseph F. W. DesBarres. It is from Book One of the so-called “narrow folio” printing of the Atlantic Neptune, with the plates folded vertically. According to Evans’ biography, “Uncommon Obdurate,” DesBarres began his work in Nova Scotia, so this would be one of his earlier productions. The unusual cartouche in the upper left corner of the image is actually a set of sailing directions for the waters from Canso northward, with additional information on the flow of tides, etc. A strong, clean impression, colored in outline, with no damage or degradation along vertical fold. $1250
	14. Cleghorn, Thomas. THE HYDRO-AËRONAUT, OR NAVIGATOR'S LIFE-BUOY: BEING AN EASY AND EFFECTUAL METHOD OF PREVENTING THE LOSS OF LIVES BY DROWNING, IN CASES OF SHIPWRECK, AND OTHERS. Lon. 1810. b/w frontispiece engraving and title page ill. 12mo. (1), 120 pp. Cleghorn, inventor of the “Ice Life Boat” expands on that concept to produce the “navigator’s life-buoy” which turns out to be a system of air casks to be deployed in the event of shipwreck. In fact, the author argues for using onboard water and cargo casks in this manner. This is a scarce and interesting life-saving tract, but what adds to its interest are the four pages of manuscript notes regarding additional experiments using small casks on lines thrown ashore. The author’s experiments show that such lines have a much better chance of reaching the shore. He boasts of being awarded a silver medal for this improvement in 1814. The pamhplet is in fine condition, untrimmed, with manuscript notes clear and legible. Bound in original paper over boards with paper spine label. Backstrip partially worn away. $750
	15. Clute, J J. ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND, FROM ITS DISCOVERY TO THE PRESENT TIME. NY. 1877. b/w frontispiece. xii, 464 pp. Discovery, early fur trading, West India Co., Indians, Stuyvesant... it’s all here. along with info on genealogy, old buildings and localities, and local industries such as oystering. Spine ends and outer hinge worn, a Good copy. $100
	16. Cockett, F.B. EARLY SEA PAINTERS. 1660-1730. (Woodbridge, Suffolk. 1995) Color and b/w plates. 4to. 142 pp. English painters “under the shadow of the Van Veldes.” VG-Fine in dj. $30
	17. Cooper, J. Fenimore. THE BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE, OR ANSWERS TO MESSRS. BURGES, BUER, AND MACKENZIE. 1843. iv-117, (1) pp. Cooper treated Perry roughly in his 1839 Naval History. Mackenzie and others rushed to Perry’s defense, only to be answered by Cooper in this rare and desirable pamphlet. BAL 3904. Howes C-746. This is an ex-library copy, with library stamps on the title and several inside pages. Solidly bound in blue cloth with gold spine lettering. Scarce in the trade. $1250
	18. Corbett, Julian. (Editor) SIGNALS AND INSTRUCTIONS. 1776-1794. (AND) FIGHTING INSTRUCTIONS 1530-1816. (Annapolis) 1971 xv, 403; xvi, 366 pp. pp. Reprints of these two classic reference books which use battle orders to trace British naval history during the Revolutionary War, and provide a much broader perspective of battle instructions from the Tudor Period to the War of 1812. With biographies, indices and history of development of battle signals and fleet evolutions. A most useful reference set. VG, dj. 2 vols. $125
	19. Corthell, E. L. A HISTORY OF THE JETTIES AT THE MOUTH OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. NY. 1880 xvi, 383 pp. Corthell was the chief engineer on the Sny Island levee, which was 51 miles long. He then became an assistant to James B. Eads, and the two of them oversaw construction of the jetties at the South Pass mouth of the Mississippi. By forcing the river to scour out the channel, these jetties deepened the channel, reviving the declining Port of New Orleans and bringing prosperity to the Mississippi Valley. Ill health sent Corthell home in 1880, and he wrote this book during his convalescence. See the DAB for Corthell and Eads’ careers. Bound in original green cloth with gold spine lettering and rules. Nick in spine else VG. First edition, and scarce is such good condition. $250
	20. Crone, G.C.E. NEDERLANDSCHE JACHTEN, BINNENSCHEPEN VISSCHERSVAARTUIGEN... Schiedam, 1978, Color frontis., b/w plates. 4to. 309, 35 pp. plus 66 plates. Treatise on the development of Dutch small craft between 1650 and 1900. Sixty-six b/w full page plates of models of various vessel types, with explanations. VG, dj. $100
	21. Densmore, D.C. THE HALO. Bos. 1876, b/w frontispiece. 359 pp. This is a rich and little-known narrative in which the author recounts four whaling voyages to the South Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans, the last being accomplished in the Massasoit, a vessel he owned and captained. Densmore’s narrative is supported by data in Lund and Starbuck. In addition, he went into the shipbuilding trade and sailed to California in 1849. He offers a wealth of detail concerning these adventures, including passages about life on Nantucket, the specifics of whaling operations, learning the shipbuilding trade, and how it felt to be drawn by gold fever from South Thomaston, Maine, via New York and Panama, to the wilds of California. He recounts all this, he says, in order to demonstrate “that our friends in spirit-life attend and act upon us while we inhabit material bodies.” To this end, his book was published by the Voice of Angels publishing house in Boston. It styles itself Vol. I, but was the only volume published and is complete in itself. A scarce and unusual book, listed in Jenkins, p. 94 but not in Cowan or Howes. Worldcat shows only nine libraries holding copies. Bound in original cloth with gold spine lettering and cover decoration. Wear to spine ends and some spotting on backstrip and front board. Text is clean and solidly bound. $850
	22. Department of the Interior, Census Office. TENTH CENSUS REPORTS. Wash. 1888. b/w plates. 4to. Various paginations. This volume of census reports on American industry features several article of interest - primarily Charles Fitch’s “Marine Engines and Steam Vessels.” - 105 pp. and Henry Hall’s “The Ice Industry of the United States, with a Brief Sketch of its History...” - 43 pp. Both are well illustrated with line cuts. Ex-lib, but VG in Government cloth binding with library sticker on backstrip. $125
	23. Dewhurst, Henry William. THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE ORDER CETACEA, AND THE INHABITANTS OF THE ARCTIC REGIONS. Lon. 1834. b/w plates and ills. xx, 331 pp. As well as presenting the natural history of the order, Dewhurst remarks on the methods and economy of the whale fishery (pp. 42-85). With 22 full page lithographs of whales and some other marine species. Jenkins p. 94. This copy is inscribed “To M.W. from the Author.” Rebound in antique-style calf over marbled boards with spine labels, raised bands and gilt rules. This copy was from the library of polar explorer A.W. Greely, and his bookplate is on the front pastedown. $1250
	24. Dole, Sanford B. and Lorrin A Thurston. Andrew Farrell, editor. MEMOIRS OF THE HAWAIIAN REVOLUTION. Honolulu. 1936. 3 vols. 188, 664, 168 pp. Dole was Hawaii’s first president and Thurston was publisher of the Honolulu Advertiser - the newspaper that published these volumes. Both were instrumental in the 1893 overthrow. Together they recount the revolution and justify it from their point of view. The three books in this set consist of Dole’s memoir, the larger history by Dole and Thurston, and Thurston’s articles and reminiscences. The first and third books were edited by Andrew Farrell. Though manifestly self-serving, these books contain much of historical interest. A VG-Fine set in original slipcase. With a leaflet from the Hawaiian Historical Society laid in. $600
	25. Donovan, Frank. THE ODYSSEY OF THE ESSEX. NY. (1969) v, 215 pp. This is the U.S. frigate under Porter’s command in the War of 1812, and its fascinating Pacific cruise - not the whale ship. First ed. Ex-lib, in dj. with library sticker on spine. $25

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