Items 51-75
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51. John F. Murphy, Publisher. THE TOURIST’S GUIDE... EAST AND HUDSON RIVER. NY. n.d. (ca. 1920?) duotone folding maps. 12mo. 104 pp. “Containing maps of Mount Hope Bay, Narragansett Bay, Long Island Sound, East and Hudson River. Showing the course of steamers, light houses, islands and points of interest, together with history and other information.” The maps are very simple folding charts on light paper, printed in blue and red. Bound in original decorated wrappers, rather chipped. $45 |
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52. Johnson, Alfred. SHIPS AND SHIPPING... Salem, MA 1925. b/w plates. viii, 270 pp. “...A collection of pictures, including many American vessels, painted by Antoine Roux and his sons.” Approximately 200 plates of ships, plus portraits of the artists, engravings. A VG copy. $65 |
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53. Jones. Herbert. (editor) IT’S A FRIENDSHIP. Rockland, ME. (1965) Color and b/w plates, lines. 4to. 95 pp. Book devoted to these popular boats, published by the Friendship Sloop Society. #1203 in a limited ed. of 2000. First edition. VG, dj. $45 |
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54. Knox, Capt. Dudley (editor). REGISTER OF OFFICER PERSONNEL... AND SHIPS’ DATA 1801-1807. Wash. 1945. b/w folding plans. iv, 86 pp. This is the most highly sought-after in the 7 volume series, “Naval Documents Related to the United States Wars with the Barbary Powers.” The text section gives facts and measurements of specific vessels, and the 20 folding plates give lines, sail and deck plans of the Argus, Boston, Constellation class, Essex, New York, Philadelphia, Siren, Vixen, Wasp and various gunboats and bomb ketches. VG. Plates clean. $75 |
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55. Laughton, L.G. Carr. OLD SHIP FIGURE-HEADS & STERNS. Lon. 1925. b/w plates 4to. xv, 281 pp. #639 in a limited edition of 1500 copies. The fifty-five large plates are a useful source of detailed information about ornament and carving on ships from medieval times on. Front outer hinge cracked, wear to spine ends. Text clean and sewing sound. $75 |
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56. Lawrence, James B. CHINA AND JAPAN, AND A VOYAGE THITHER: AN ACCOUNT OF A CRUISE IN THE WATERS OF THE EAST INDIES, CHINA, AND JAPAN. Hartford. 1870. b/w lithograph plates. xvii, 444 pp. Lawrence was a Marine guard aboard the USS Wachusett when she steamed to the East Indies on the hunt for the Confederate Raider CSS Shenandoah. Unsuccessful in this regard, she remained in Chinese waters until 1867. This narrative traces their voyage out and their meanderings through China, Korea, Japan, etc. The book is notable for its eight excellently done lithographs depicting Macao, a street barber, opium smoking and other interesting scenes. Spine ends worn, pages evenly tanned. A Good copy. $250 |
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57. Leavens, John M., ed. THE CATBOAT BOOK. Camden, ME. (1981) b/w plates, plans. viii, 160 pp. Articles on the history, versatility and continuing worth of this most American of small boat designs. First edition. Review Copy. VG, dj. $35 |
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58. Little, George. LIFE ON THE OCEAN; OR TWENTY YEARS AT SEA... Aberdeen. 1847. b/w plates. xii-288 pp. Little got around a good bit in his 20 years, many of which were spent in the Pacific, and which are represented in his descriptions of Hawaii and other South Seas islands. He also participated in the War of 1812, and spent time in Dartmoor. First published in 1844, this was a popular book in America (Forbes Hawaiian Bib. 1500. Judd 111), but I’ve never seen the Scottish edition before. Rebound in blue paper over boards, with paper label. VG $100 |
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59. Little, George. THE AMERICAN CRUISER’S OWN BOOK. Phila. 1856. b/w engraved plates. vi-384 pp. Based on the author’s experiences on board a privateer in the War of 1812. Lively wood engravings by Billings. Harbeck p. 21. Clean copy bound in original blindstamped cloth. Top edge of front blank torn away. Gold lettering and decoration on backstrip rather faded, otherwise VG $75 |
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60. Lubbock, Basil. THE DOWN EASTERS. Bos. (1929) b/w plates and plans. xvi, 285 pp. American deep-water sailing ships 1869-1929. First Am. ed. Light wear to spine ends, scattered light foxing. $50 |
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61. Lytle, Thomas G. HARPOONS AND OTHER WHALECRAFT. New Bedford. 1984. b/w plates. xii, 256 pp. An excellent work on the tools of the trade, the only such book to date. One of 600 copies in the first edition - most of which have vanished, a few of which are online at prices like $350 or $500. Dream on, me hearties! VG in original buckram with spine label. $200 |
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62. Mahew, Elisha. A JOURNAL OF THE VOIGE IN THE SLOOP UNION IN AN EXPEDITION AGAINST CAPE BRITON. Providence. 1929. b/w plates. 26 pp. When France entered King George’s War as an ally of Spain, its Canadian provinces came under fire. In 1745 a group of New England ships were raised for a secret expedition to capture Louisbourg. Mahew’s journal from this successful venture is in the library of Paul Nicholson, who had this book privately printed in a limited edition of 100 with an introduction by Howard Chapin. Light wrinkling to some of the pages from old water damage, but still a good copy of a scarce account. $75 |
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63. Malham, Rev. John. THE NAVAL GAZETTEER; OR, SEAMAN’S COMPLETE GUIDE. Bos. 1797 b/w fldg charts. (3)-xlvi, (1), 8-436; (3)-573, (3) pp. First American edition of this important early gazetteer, with folding maps - made by mapmakers in New York and Boston - of the northwest and northeast coasts of America, West Indies, South America, Africa and the South Pacific, as well as European and Asian seas. Text descriptions include physical characteristics but also navigating information for mariners, for thousands of locations, including recently discovered waters in North America and the Pacific. It contains, for example, the “Correct Chart of the Northwest Coast of North America from Bhering’s Straits to Nootka Sound,” which was the first map of Alaska published in America, and of great importance to American fur and China traders. As usual pages are tanned. Maps are tanned and show offsetting. Chart on p. 203 of Vol. II “North Sea” has a chipped outer edge with slight loss to image at corners. Sabin 44119. Evans 32415. Bound in a very handsome full calf binding, probably American, contemporary or early 19th century, with gilt decorations on front and back boards. Backstrip with raised bands, in five panels, heavily gilt. Spine ends and hinges show light wear, but the tooling is intact. Both volumes bear the bookplate of “Joseph J. Quilling, Frankfort, KY.” A scarce set. $3500 |
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64. Manuscript. ARCHIVE OF JOHN BARBOUR REGARDING THE ESTATE OF SETH ADAMS. CA. 1865-1885. Not nautical but neat. According to “Appleton’s Cyclopedia of American Biography” Seth Adams was a Boston based inventor and manufacturer who also operated a large sugar refinery and served as a city councilor. In the course of these activities he amassed a considerable fortune. On his death in 1873 the affairs of his estate were managed by John Barbour, a Cambridge lawyer and one-time district supervisor for the Boston Office of the Internal Revenue. Apparently Barbour moved too slowly to satisfy the heirs and other executors, and they suspected him of skimming funds from the Estate. They took legal action against him in 1876 and this resulted in several new executors being added. This new group, with Barbour still at their head, was finally able to establish the Adams Nervine Asylum in West Roxbury. Appleton’s also notes that “a massive monument has been erected to (Adams’) memory in his native town.” This project, too, was delayed by Barbour’s laggardly pace and the estate’s legal battles, and was not completed until a decade after Adams’ death. This archive includes Adams’ last will and testament, court documents probating the will and giving annual executor’s accounts - Adams died leaving more than $1.3 million, and his holdings are itemized in these documents, as well as his specific wishes for their dispersal - and a series of letters regarding the execution of his will. Also, eight of Barbour’s notebooks and several detailed reports documenting Barbour’s interactions with Adams, the work he did for the Estate after Adams’ death, and Adams’ far-flung holdings. This group also includes letters to Barbour from unhappy relatives, and copies of the court rulings changing the executors and establishing the Nervine Asylum. Other smaller groups include Adams’ own correspondence with his relatives about his estate and business affairs, the original of a patent granted Adams and the legal matters surrounding its renewal, a file of correspondence, including drawings and priced proposals, regarding the monument eventually erected at Adams’ grave site, and a group of letters from Barbour’s earlier career, including some fascinating business with revenue detectives and distillers. In all, about 200 items. $750 |
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65. Manuscript. LOG OF THE CRUISE OF THE STEAM YACHT RIVIERA, JAN 31 - SEPT. 12 1903. NEW YORK TO THE MEDITERRANEAN AND RETURN. About 85 pp. manuscript entries. The Riviera was a famous American steam yacht, 407 tons, 196 feet in length, home ported New York. She was built in 1898 at Troon, Scotland by Ailsa S.B. Co., In 1906 Antonio Jacobson painted her portrait. At the time of this cruise she was owned by Pliny Fisk. She steamed from New York to the Mediterranean, and a brief note about her coaling stop in the Azores was published in the New York Times. (The date corresponds with the entry in this log.) The entries are brief and businesslike, but the give a good sense of the pace and activities of Fisk and his cohorts. $250 |
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66. Manuscript. LOG OF THE WHALE SHIP MINERVA, NEW BEDFORD - SOUTH PACIFIC, 1855-1859, CALVIN SWAIN MASTER. Folio, unpaginated, about 350 pp. manuscript entries. This is a prime example of a kind of item that is becoming increasingly difficult to locate - the complete log of a classic 19th century South Pacific sperm whaling voyage, kept by a known author, with whale stamps and daily entries. In this case the keeper of the log was George Taber, who was probably the first mate. We know this because of a most unusual entry (written in a clerk’s fancy hand) on April 9, 1859 in which Taber swears to the US Consul at Sydney that he is the keeper of this log and that his entries are true. Taber’s spelling was poor and his handwriting was worse, but with careful reading a fascinating voyage emerges. They sailed around the Horn and out to the Kingsmills (Gilbert Islands) where, on Aug. 21, 1856, they struck on a reef. They managed to get free, but this incident would have repercussions later. Meanwhile, much adventure and more tedium ensued. A man got lost in the surf at Otego. The third mate deserted at Lord Howe Island (I can’t imagine a more desolate place to jump ship!). They spent Christmas 1856 trying out a 100 bbl. whale. Then a most intriguing bit... On Feb 24, 1857 they struck a whale, but the larboard boat was stove and the mate “badly bruised.” In my understanding the larboard boat was usually the first mate’s, and sure enough, for two weeks following this incident, the log was kept by someone else, thus adding credence the theory that Taber was the first mate. The usual small dramas continued to occur throughout the voyage. My favorite was on Feb. 8, 1858, when the crew went on liberty at the Bay of Islands. They came back aboard ship and caused a ruckus. The Captain went aft to calm things down and, “one of the men struck him on the head with a stick of wood.” Needless to say the man quickly found himself in irons, but he must have been a valuable crewman because he was released next day and “got to his duty” - though Captain Swain was still “confined to his berth.” The Minerva (or Minerva 2nd as Starbuck calls her) has assured herself a place in history for yet another reason. On page 145 of his “History of the American Whale Fishery” Starbuck cites this vessel and this voyage as an example of the damage boring worms can do. He says she struck a reef in August 1856, and then in March 1857 she began leaking terribly. The reason was that the Kingsmill reef had torn away two sheets of her copper and the exposed hull was completely eaten away by worms. Starbuck probably got his information from Captain Swain or some other crewmember. In fact, Taber’s log confirms the initial grounding in August 1856, but shows that the leaking didn’t begin until 1859. Thus the worms took a little longer to do their work than Starbuck asserts. An entry at the beginning of the books is titled “List of things to stop the leak.” Also, Starbuck says the ship landed 1375 bbl sperm. A tally of the stamps shows she tryed out at least 1702 bbl. Several references to offloading oil make it clear where the excess went. In all a wonderful account, and rare in its completeness. Binding broken with original covers present. Stationer’s label from Charles Taber & Co on front pastedown. Housed in archival linen clamshell box with label. $5500 |
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67. Manuscript. NANTUCKET PAPER, INCLUDING A LAND SCAM PERPETRATED BY JOSEPH HUSSEY. An interesting miscellany of Nantucket manuscript items. 1. Quitclaim deed. Christopher and Sylvanus Hussey transfer title of Nantucket land, including eight sheeps commons and a swamp, to Joseph Hussey for 18 pounds, July 4, 1774. The document states that the land was bought from James Whippey in 1769. Folio sheet, 1 1/2 pages manuscript. 2. Quitclaim deed. Joseph Hussey transfers Nantucket land, including Hannah Daggett’s swamp, the Shimmo Lot, and Christopher Hussey’s lot to Caleb Loring and Zaddock French, March 2, 1796. Hussey was a merchant, Loring and French were distillers. This is probably to pay a debt. Printed folio sheet accomplished in manuscript. 3. Quitclaim deed. David Coleman purchases Nantucket land from Joseph Hussey for 11 pounds, July 19, 1798. The deed states Huseey had previously sold some of this land to Loring and French but that “Hussey had sold one sheep common and five fourtheenth of a sheep common more than he ever owned.” Printed folio sheet accomplished in manuscript. 4. Declaration of Joseph Holmes, regarding the near-wreck of the Nantucket schooner Caroline in Plymouth Harbor, December 11, 1817. Holmes and the Caroline escaped, but lost an anchor and “about twenty fathom of cable.” A note at the bottom of this deposition states, “Sworn to Dec. 13th 1817. Rec’d 1 Dollar.” Small 4to sheet, docketed on verso. 5. Letter from Latham Gardner to a Dr. Hubbard in response to the latter’s request for information about houses and land for sale on Nantucket. A house and “nine rods of land” were being offered for $150. Gardner advises “It would not fetch more at this time.” Folio sheet with integral cover and Nantucket cancel. 6. Anselm (?) Tobey at the Dutchess County Academy in Poughkeepsie, 1838, writes his father Tristram Tobey in Nantucket, describing homesickness and his life away from home including the recent burning death of a neighbor’s child. Folio sheet, 2 pp. About 800 words, with integral cover and cancel. $250 |
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68. Manuscript. THREE DAY BOOKS - ACCOUNTS OF THE WARREN FISH CO. FIVE ISLANDS, ME, 1913. Three oblong 4to. vols. approx. 200 pp. manuscript entries. Five Islands is a fishing village on the western shore of Sheepscott Bay. Thw Warren Fish Co. apparently was a wholesale supplier to the many guesthouses and clubs in the area. Accounts run mostly through the spring and summer and are made out to such firms as, “The Otter Cliff House” or “Hotel Lawnmere.” These books also contain accounts with named individuals, possibly buyers for other establishments. The records are interesting in their detail. On June 12, for example, C.H. Pinkham paid $2.54 for 127 pounds of large cod. At the beginning of the first book are records of payment for expenses and work performed by Edgar Warren and J.S. Ballou. These are such tasks as “rigging” and “repairs on engine.” Three vols. $200 |
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69. March, Edgar J. SAILING DRIFTERS. Lon. (1952) b/w plates, plans. xvi, 382 pp. “The story of the herring luggers of England, Scotland and the Isle of Man.” First edition, About Fine in dj. $75 |
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70. Markham, Admiral John. A NAVAL CAREER DURING THE OLD WAR: BEING A NARRATIVE OF THE LIFE OF ADMIRAL JOHN MARKHAM. Lon. 1883. b/w plates. viii, 289 pp. Markham’s interesting career spanned the years 1775-1800. He saw service in the Revolutionary War, in the Channel and West Indies under Graves, Parker, Howe and Jervis, and in numerous engagements against the French. He was averse to publicity, however, and refused to have his biography added to the Naval Chronicle (see below). This left it to a later generation - some say Clements Markham - to memorialize him. A clean copy of a scarce biography. VG $75 |
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71. (Marks, Richard). MACARIUS; OR, MEMOIRS OF A NAVAL OFFICER. Bos. 1830 12mo. 53, (1) pp. Though published in Boston, this work pertains chiefly to the spiritual lives of officers in the Royal Navy in the early part of the 19th century. Worldcat, which locates only three libraries holding copies, notes, “originally published, in England, by the Rev. Richard Marks, in a volume entitled, The Retrospect, by Aliquis, formerly a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy, and now a Minister in the established church.” The Preface contains the same note. However, this American edition is signed “The Compiler, Charlestown, Ms. (Mass.)” It contains a few citations from US Navy Rules and Regulations, and makes reference to the American Seaman’s Friend Society. A rather worn copy in original printed boards. $125 |
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72. Maynarde, Thomas. SIR FRANCIS DRAKE HIS VOYAGE, 1595. Lon. 1849. 12 (Hakluyt Soc. Report), viii, 65 pp. With the Spanish account of Drake’s attack on Puerto Rico. Edited by W.D. Cooley. One of the earliest and scarcest First Series Hukluyt Publications, being number four in that series. Bound in half blue calf over boards, with raised bands and gold spine decoration and lettering. $300 |
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73. McConkey, Rev. John Douglas, FROM NEW YORK TO PORTLAND, OREGON, VIA STRAITS OF MAGELLAN, WITH A HISTORY OF THE VOYAGES, SCENES, PLACES, INCIDENTS AND NOTES OF THE JOURNEY. Walla Walla. 1879. 12mo. 80 pp. McConkey took the steamer Oregon around the Horn in 1878, and this is largely a description of that voyage. He stopped at Chile, San Francisco and Portland, among other places, finally ascending the Columbia to his ultimate destination. He calls the Hudson river “an insignificant stream” compared to the Columbia River, and gives a close description of his stops along the way. This also happens to be a scarce (Worldcat shows only nine libraries holding copies) and early imprint from the Washington Territory. Not in Smith, “American Travellers.” Printed at the “Statesman” book and job printing office, it is trimmed just a bit crooked, and has all the earmarks of a provincial publication. Bound in original wrappers, in about Fine condition. $750 |
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74. McFee, William. CASUALS OF THE SEA. Lon. 1916. 469, (1), 15, (1) pp. First edition of McFee’s third book, but the story’s not in the book. It is in the 5 notes and two postcards that accompany the book. They were written by McFee between 1931 and 1938 to Miss Helen Galland who worked at Oxford University Press. In the earliest five, written in 1931, he puts the rush on her, tries to get her to go to dinner with him, and refers glowingly to Christopher Morley. In the last two postcards from 1937 and 1938, he says, “Hope to see you yet,” and “May we give it another chance?” These are accompanied by a 1939 letter from Helen’s brother Henry, explaining that he means to give Helen this first edition of “Casuals” in its custom slip case, at a dinner attended only by Christopher Morley and (he hopes) McFee himself. McFee writes back begging off and says, “It has been years since I have had one (a drink) with Morley. I detest and decry Book Clubs, whereas he seems to think they are the thing.” Nonetheless, he has inscribed this copy, “For Helen Galland.” All enclosed in chemise and attractive hand-painted slipcase in an anchor and line motif. Spine of slipcase sunned and worn. $350 |
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75. Melville, Herman. WHITE-JACKET; OR, THE WORLD IN A MAN-OF-WAR. NY. 1855. 465 pp. Early edition of Melville’s book about his naval career. The first edtion was published five years earlier. Sturdily bound in later buckram. $45 |
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