Non-fiction

The Last Voyage of the Schooner Rosamond – Haakon Chevalier

A first edition published by Andre Deutsch, London in 1970. Octavo, 248 pages including “Glossary of Nautical Terms” Illustrations limited to the endpaper maps and the schematic of the vessel. Reflects the lengthy delay to the publication of the account.

It is 1920 and Haakon Chevalier and Donald Snedden decide to skip University to experience the last voyage of the four-masted schooner Rosamond. And what an experience. Just check out the chart of the voyage and imagine the sailing conditions in more than one or two spots. Great narrative.

Hard to beat a four-master on its final mammoth voyage.

$25.00

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Sea Wanderers to Australia – Martin

Published by Macmillan, Sydney a first edition 1977. Octavo, 192 pages with endpaper maps and nicely illustrated. A very good if not fine copy.

Norman Martin’s car hire business got into difficulty as UK Governments changed the rules. This was partly the stimulus that drove him and wife Sheila to give it all up in 1970 and spend five years at sea in their 42 foot ketch “Shebessa”.

And what an adventure. Circumnavigating west to the Caribbean through Panama to the Galapagos, on to the Marquesas, the Tuamato Group, Tahiti, Cook Islands, Tonga, Fiji then down to Australia landing at Byron. Down to Sydney and Melbourne before sailing for Lord Howe Island and on up to New Caledonia, Santa Cruz, Cheery Islands. Through the Solomon Islands to Rabaul and on to Madang before turning back to Cairns and on through the Torres Straits and the long sail to the Maldives. The voyage continues with equal intensity.

Martins in the Shebessa a full voyage every beauty spot visited.

$25.00

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Sails Full and By – Dom Degnon

Published by Sheridan House, Dobbs Ferry a first edition 1995. Octavo, 244 pages illustrated. Very good near fine condition.

A seven-year circumnavigation in the 41 foot ketch “Taku”. With so much time they need a full crew of friends and family who come and go during the “voyage”. With more time than some they have more time for the exotic .. and in the Pacific Ahe, Tahiti, Samoa, Sunwarrow, Tonga, Fiji and New Zealand. Then off to the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea and then difficulties with the boat and they just made it to Australia’s Lizard island. And then more ….

A long time around the world an unusual narrative

$25.00

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Of Ships and Men – Alan Villiers

Published by Newnes, London in 1964 after the 1962 first. Tall octavo, 206 pages heavily illustrated. Very good condition and the best printing of a book published in a number of forms.

A personal anthology by the Master Mariner. In chronological order with “The Build-up” … the opening sentence is “There were sailing ships at the bottom of our street – real sailing-ships, I mean – Cape Horners, four-masted barques, fully-rigged” …. love it!

Then we are off with … “The Real Thing” and then “Steamships” and “Little Ships” and “War”.

Villiers unique knowledgeable writing style

$25.00

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Original manuscript Accounts Book 1791/92 – Webster’s Ropery Sunderland, County Durham, England

Original folio accounts book for the two-year ending 31st December 1792 most likely of or the predecessor to one of England’s leading maritime rope makers, Webster of Deptford, Sunderland County Durham. Original quarter reverse calf with marbled paper covered boards. 62 pages of fine handwriting … appears all the same hand.

Titled at the head of page the first page “An Inventory of Goods etc at the Ropery belonging Messrs William Marshall and John Webster together with an account of the Debts due to & from them this first Day of January One Thousand Seven Hundred and Ninety One”

The first record of rope making on Wearside (the river Weir runs through Sunderland) was in 1636. The rope was likely made from Baltic hemp. Before 1800 ropes were hand-made on ropewalks a practice that continued for another 100 years. Ropewalks had to be wide enough for four men to spin abreast of each other and long enough to make a standard 120 fathom marine rope. Up to 20 people may be employed on just one rope.

Webster’s plant at Deptford was the first on Wearside driven by steam. It is believed to be the world’s first factory producing machine-made rope. Robert Fothergill a Sunderland schoolmaster had patented a machine to spin hemp the year after our accounts book (1793). It could be that this careful record was produced as part of an exercise to obtain finance for the mechanisation … although the low wages recorded suggest that that mechanisation may well have been underway. We do know that Fothergill died shortly afterwards and Grimshaw a local clockmaker took up the rights in partnership with our Webster and two others. Although its not clear whether the Webster involved was Rowland a distinguished magistrate or John as noted here.

One of the partners in the business was the distinguished Rowland Burdon who later gave up his Parliamentary position on principle although many though that it was because Webster’s Ropery had gained very lucrative contracts with the Royal Navy and he was avoiding any backlash financially … for sure Webster’s were there at Trafalgar!

The records mention many of the vessels of the day that would have been working out of the North-east along with their captains … e.g. Captain McQuarrie of the Fanny; Johnstone of the Nancy William; Robinson of the Broughton Tower; Cleminson of the Argyll; Kennel of the Endeavour (a new one); Dixon of the Sarah; Holm of the Hollow Oak; Neal of the Betsy.

Neat recording of debts and payments with particulars of sales noted with full description for every transaction with monthly totals compared often against some measure of the physical amount sold (early KPI’s). Stock holdings, wages per wage period all set out very carefully. For an industrial historian there seems sufficient information to paint a pretty full picture of the extent of activities. We have gleamed that the Ropery Buildings are in the books at GBP 220, stockholdings were GBP205 and annual sales GBP484 with total wages of only GBP72. Looks nicely profitable.

Interestingly, the Ropery building still exists and has been restored … it is a magnificent building and has been re-established as Webster’s Ropery … but as a beautiful wedding venue … check it out we have shown an image here.

Accounting Records from 1792 …. unique Maritime interest …

$290.00

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Cutting Loose – James Lipscomb

Published by Angus and Robertson in 1975 having been published by Little, Brown in the USA the year before. Octavo, 304 pages plus diagrams of the boat and endpaper maps of the voyage. Very good condition.

This book by James Lipscomb is unusual .. five young men sail the “Four Winds” from San Pedro south to Costa Rica and then across the Pacific and on up to Singapore. His son John is the leader of the group … difficulties arise including personality issues and illness. Written in “diary fashion” it makes for interesting reading.

Cutting Loose – more than a voyage

$25.00

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The Last Voyage of the Schooner Rosamond – Haakon Chevalier

Sea Wanderers to Australia – Martin

Sails Full and By – Dom Degnon

Of Ships and Men – Alan Villiers

Original manuscript Accounts Book 1791/92 – Webster’s Ropery Sunderland, County Durham, England

Cutting Loose – James Lipscomb

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