Life on the Water
It's snowing as I write this. It seems as though we are having a real winter this year. I don't mind, let's hope we see some indication that Spring is around the corner by the end of the month. I commute by ferry very day so the sea is always top of mind. Scanning my shelves this morning I realized I have a number of items I recently acquired relating to life on the sea. They run the gamut from an early manual on seamanship, the great Peter Mathiessen's limited edition on the fishermen off Long Island's eastern South Fork, and a 19th century work on sailing around Japan and encounters with Chinese pirates.
I'm nothing if not varied in my buying... As always, to order or view additional photographs click on any of the images below. If you would like to save on shipping and are in the area, stop by our store in Belfast, pick up the books, and browse a bit. There's a lot more where these came from. ~Craig [Gower, Richard Hall].
A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Seamanship.
London: G.G. and J. Robinson/Gilbert, Wright, and Hooke, 1793.
Full Leather. First Edition. xii, 100 pp. 8vo. Full brown calf binding with losses at corners, board hinges splitting but still tight to spine. Interior has considerable foxing and staining, mostly due to the volume used for pressing flowers. Previous owner's signatures on title page and last free endpaper. Missing the volvelle used for illustrating wind direction and the setting of sails that would have been tipped into the front pastedown. (#29006)
Price: $400.00 |  | |  | Matthiessen, Peter; de Menil, Adelaide.
Men's Lives: The Surfmen and Baymen of the South Fork (2 Volumes).
[New York]: Rock Foundation, 1986.
Hardcover. First Edition. 229, 167 pp. 4to. Gray cloth boards with black and white photographs inset into front board of each volume. Slight sunning to spine of each volume matches the sunning that has also impacted the slipcase.
An absolutely stunning homage to the fishermen by Peter Matthiessen. Matthiessen worked with and around these men and women during his decades living on the South Fork of Long Island; for a time he also worked as a commercial fisherman so this way of life was important to him. Dozens of photographs by eight different photographers illustrate the text. Inscribed by Matthiessen on the second free endpaper of each volume in 1992. (#29614)
Price: $425.00 |  | | | St. John, H. C.
Notes and Sketches from the Wild Coasts of Nipon with Chapters on Cruising After Pirates in Chinese Waters.
Edinburgh, Scotland: David Douglas, 1880.
Three Quarter Leather. First Edition. xxiii, 392 pp. 8vo. Three quarter brown leather binding with brown cloth insets to cover boards. Wear and bumping to corners, wear along hinges and head and foot of spine. Blue marbled endpapers and slight browning to pages due to age and paper quality. Clean overall.
A fascinating account of Japan with 56 illustrations, many by the author. A fascinating account of the time that incorporates his observation on people, animals, plants, and situations he finds himself in. Pages 388-392 consists of lists of birds observed by St. John that are in Siebold's "Fauna Japonica" as well as numerous birds he collected that are not listed. (#29699)
Price: $125.00 |  | | | |
