American Practical Lunarian, and Seamen's Guide...
Philadelphia. Published and For Sale by Robert Desilver. 1822. Original calf binding with spine label, well-used with abrasions and wear at hinges and head and tail of spine. Sixteen plates, as called for. Owner's name torn away at head of title and loss to several words in the detailed subtitle. Two previous owners' names remain on pastedown and ffep: James S. Bailey and Thad.[?] Brown, both of Marblehead. Foxing throughout, though mostly light. One plate heavily tanned. About ten pages in tables at rear misfolded. Item #3471
An interesting, comprehensive and uncommon seafarer's guide, combining elements of Bowditch's New American Practical Navigator and Blunt's American Coastal Pilot and Shipmaster's Assistant. Arnold covers the waterfront, so to speak, addressing matters as diverse as finding longitude by chronometer, taking in a topsail in a gale of wind, sailing directions for the River Plate (and many other locales), practical sea gunnery, information on the pepper trade on the west coast of Sumatra, American customs duties and marine insurance. Among the plates are a double-page, two-hemisphere map of the world and a double-page chart (with a small nibble at center left) "Plan of Port Soledad or Birkley's Sound, East End of Falkland Island." Another full-page plate shows the detail of the rigging of a three-masted vessel. From an advertisement following the table of contents, we learn that Arnold was the master of a "nautical academy" with thirty years experience and that he "continues to instruct gentlemen designed for and engaged in a seafaring life." Unlike the Bowditch and Blunt volumes, Arnold's appeared only in this single edition. Uncommon in the trade. Shoemaker, American Imprints: 7840.
Price: $1,000.00