Maritime

Last Voyage – Ann Davison – First edition 1951

First edition of Ann Davison’s autobiographical account which ends in the most dramatic shipwreck and the loss of her husband.

An incredible individual, after all of this, she became the first woman to single-handedly sail across the Atlantic.

Published by Peter Davis, London, 1951. Octavo, 248 pages, two photographs of Ann and Frank … it was not that sort of adventure. Very good condition.

The Last Voyage begins with her earlier life as an aviator in the 1930’s delivering mail around the UK. She married Frank Davison a fellow aviator when they both worked at the Hooten airfield near Liverpool. They has a long held ambition for sailing and bought a run-down 70 foot ketch “Reliance”. Doing it up sent them broke and before the work was finished they sailed to avoid their creditors. They encountered incredible storms in the Channel and the Irish Sea … they foundered on the Portland Bill. Taking to their cork life raft they battled to survive and Frank died out of pure exhaustion ..

Now scarce and one of the most personal accounts we have read.

$35.00

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The Cruise of the Dream Ship – Ralph Stock (1950 Edition in Complete Dust Jacket)

First published 1921, this is the 1950 edition same publisher, Heinemann, London.

Octavo, 265 pages, numerous from period photographs. Super dust jacket for seventy years old, a few spots to top edge and a little aged in the ends, internally very clean and bright, rates as a very good copy.

The Dream Ship was originally designed as a lifeboat for the North Sea fishing fleet. Forty-seven feet with a fifteen foot beam and eight foot draught … to start there was no money to buy here … but these obstacles are often overcome. Purchased, converted and fitted out we are off to the Pacific … first down to Vigo, the Canaries and over to the West Indies and Barbados. Through the Panama and to the Galapagos and then the Marquesas and the Paumoto Islands, Tahiti (its pleasures and problems). Moorea, Palmertson (almost a Hurricane), Savage, Friendly and on to Thursday Island … Finally some advice to “Dreamers of Dream Ships”

Sailing fantasy fulfilled on the Dream Ship

$35.00

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A Voyage Around the World (1785-1788) – Captain George Dixon

One of the harder to find facsimile published Israel, Amsterdam; this one in 1968.

Full original title … “A Voyage Round the World; but more particularly to the North-West Coast of America; performed in 1785, 1786, 1787, and 1788, in The King George and Queen Charlotte, Captains Portlock and Dixon. Dedicated, by permission, to Sir Joseph Banks, Bart. By Captain George Dixon.

Originally published by Geo. Goulding, Haydn’s Head, No ^, James Street, Covent Garden, 1789.

This form thick quarto, xxix (Introduction and Content, 360 pages, plus additional appendices 47 pages. Enormous folding chart of the Pacific as frontispiece. A further 21 plates of charts, maps and natural history exhibits, many folding. Very good condition. Heavy (1.3kgs), will require an overseas postage supplement.

Dixon has served under Cook on the Third Voyage on the Resolution. During that voyage he became aware of the commercial opportunities on the American North-West Coast. Dixon promoted a venture to exploit the fur trade in that region. He became partner in the King George’s Sound Company and an expedition was mounted with Dixon Captain of the Queen Charlotte and Portlock Captain of the larger King George. In the summers of 1786 and 1787 they explored the coastline of British Colombia and Alaska, spending the winter in Hawaiian Islands … they were the first to visit Moloka. Back in the North-West a good cargo of furs was collected, and the party sailed to China where they were traded … returning to England. During their exploits they were the first to understand that Haida Gwaii were islands and not part of the mainland; they explored Queen Charlotte Sound, Yakutat Bay, Sita Bay and the Dixon Entrance … they named the are where they took many fur cloaks .. Cloak Bay.

Dixon one of the less promoted Cook prodigies … with a commercial venture that went around the world and filled in the North-West Pacific.

$90.00

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Decorative Maps – Robert Bacon

A visual delight Robert Bacon’s book on some of the rarest and most beautiful maps ever created, starting with the Hereford Mappa Mundi.

Folio size, softcover, perfect bound, published by Bracken Books, London in 1989. Jonathan Potter had a hand in it … well he would.

Forty alternating plates and page narrative after a fine introduction by the compiler.

Including the aforesaid map … Ptolemy Map of the World; Rotz – the Portlan Chart of South-East Asia; Saxton – Dorecestriae; Ortleious – the beautiful Pacific Map; Boazio – Isle of Wight … and the rest … they are all really super.

Great selection very good images…

$25.00

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A Journal of Magellan’s Voyage – First Around the World – George Sanderlin

A first edition and published by Hamish Hamilton, London in 1966.

Octavo, xxvi pages of preliminaries, Introduction etc, 188 pages with 12 super illustrations, sometimes double page including, charts and images of early globes. Pictorial boards matching the dust jacket design. All very good condition.

Author George Sanderlin brings the Magellan voyage to life. A fair bit is derived from the first hand account of Antonio Pigfetta, a young nobleman who accompanied Magellan. Enhanced by select excerpts from contemporary logbooks, letters, memoirs etc. Maintaining a first person form throughout makes it a very readable and enjoyable work.

At the rear a timetable of events which starts four years before the voyage highlighting the undercurrent of politics and subplots that surround Magellan’s contract with King Charles I of Spain to conduct the venture.

The First ever Round the World – what an adventure … only if Magellan had made it!

$25.00

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Mercator’s World – Anson’s Voyage

Volume 3 No 6 of Mercator’s World published in 1998.

Our favourite features is “Victory at Sea – How George Anson Became Leader of the British Navy”. Having said that, we do not like the title as he became the “Father” of the Royal Navy for many reasons, albeit including the incredible circumnavigation and stealing of the Spanish gold, the story of this feature.

An eight page article nicely illustrated, mostly from images and maps out of the official account. The charming engraving “England’s glory. Wagons heading into the Tower of London with the Spanish treasure” is a very rare engraving the originator unknown.

Provides fresh insight into the voyage particularly as you would expect concerning the charts and the route taken and the mistakes made and bad luck encountered. It is a lesson in the difficulties had before the problem of the longitude was solved by Harrison’s chronometer.

Other articles include quite a bit on underwater surveying … Davy Jones Locker etc and Portlan reflection a good one on early sea charts.

Mercator’s ideas and views on the Anson Voyage.

$24.00

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Last Voyage – Ann Davison – First edition 1951

The Cruise of the Dream Ship – Ralph Stock (1950 Edition in Complete Dust Jacket)

A Voyage Around the World (1785-1788) – Captain George Dixon

Decorative Maps – Robert Bacon

A Journal of Magellan’s Voyage – First Around the World – George Sanderlin

Mercator’s World – Anson’s Voyage

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