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A BOOK OF THE SEA
Archibald Williams
Published by Thomas Nelson and Sons, London c1915. (No
date but dated inscription inside cover)
Hard cover with green illustrated boards and 471 printed
pages. (Illustrated spine shows a lookout in a crows nest)
Dimensions 19.5 cms tall by 13 cms wide
I think one of the most interesting books about the sea
and diving I have, it seems to cover so many aspects of the sea.
It is divided into 17 chapters, each very well illustrated with photographs
(some in colour), drawings and tables:
1 The Ship. 2 The Mariners Compass. 3 Finding
a Ships Position at Sea. 4 Navigation Near Land. 5 Mariners
Beaons. 6 Lighthouse Lighting.
7 Unattended Lights. 8 Sound Warnings at Sea. 9
Lifeboats and their work. 10 Divers and Diving. 11 Salvage Work at Sea.
12 The Harvest at Sea.
13 Whales and Whaling. 14 The Ocean: Sea Water.
15 Tides and Ocean Currents. 16 Waves. 17 Icebergs and Icefields.
All sections cover both what was current at the time
and some history about nautical subjects. For example, section 1
covers the history of the ship from early Egyptian, Greek and Roman times
through the ages. It even touches on types of anchors and rudders.
Section 10 about “Divers and Diving” (34 pages) covers the history of the
diving dress with examples like Kleingert and the development of the A
Siebe diving dress from 1929 – “all with the kind permission of Messrs
Siebe, Gorman & Co Ltd”.
Also see other similar “compilation” books by Archibald
Williams, for example: “The Romance of Modern Mechanism”, “Victories for
the Engineer” and “How It’s Made”. All have some diving content in
one form or another. [pt] |
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CONQUESTS OF THE SEA
Cyril Hall
Published By: Blackie and Sons Ltd, London c1920
Hard cover with illustrated boards. – 288 printed pages.
Illustrated with 32 monochrome photographs.
A lovely compilation book about the sea with illustrated
front cover showing a diver being helped into a boat and the spine has
two men on the conning tower of a submarine. The book
is broken down into 12 chapters, each being a different subject about the
sea:
1 What the sea is. 2 The beginning of ships and shipping.
3 The birth of steam navigation. 4 Fishing and Fishermen. 5 Whaling and
Sealing. 6 Beneath the Waters. 7 Some Famous Voyages. 8 Yachting and Yacht
Adventures. 9 The Submarine Cable. 10 Safety at Sea. 11 The Story of the
Lifeboat. 12 Pirates and Buccaneers.
I am unsure of the date of publication of this book as
there is no date anywhere in side but I do believe it is around 1915 to
1920. [pt]
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PICTORIAL CHRONICLES OF THE MIGHTY
DEEP.
The Sea, Its Ships and Sailors.
No author, nor editor listed.
Published by James Sangster & Co, London. No date
but suspect about th 1880s, maybe later.
Hardcover, beautiful embossed cover, 514 gilt-edged pages,
mono wood engravings and eight superb colour drawings. Over 120 chapters
on ancient and 'modern' voyages' and the (predominantly) men who made them
- although Cleopatra is mentioned. The voyage of Pelsart's Batavia and
the subsequent massacre in the Abrolhos islands rates ten pages, and two
rather fanciful woodcuts of the loss of the ship. A great book to browse.
[Also listed under 19th century books].
[ps] |
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THE ROMANCE OF MODERN MECHANISM
With Interesting Descriptions in Non-Technical Language
of Wonderful Machinery and Mechanical Devices and Marvellously Delicate
Scientific Instruments etc etc.
Archibald Williams.
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J.B.Lippincott Company, Philadelphia, London.
1906.
Hardcover, engraved cover and spine in blue with red
and gold. 355 pages, mono plates.
This wonderful book is worthy of listing here if for
no other reason than its beautifully engraved cover, and spine.The latter
shows a standard-dress diver on the seabed being attended by two pump-boys
on the surface. The book is an excellent read and shows how far we have
come in over a century. Of particular interest are two chapters: The Mechanism
of Diving; and Raising Sunken Ships. The chapters tell us little more than
what most scolars of diving history know, but it is interesting nevertheless.
There is jutst the one mono plate, a composite photo of navy tenderss,
and a drawing of a diver on the seabed.
If you get a chance to buy this book, make sure that
the spine and cover are in pristine condition for that alone is worth the
purchase. The image on the cover by the way is that of an early fire engine.
[ps] |
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THE SEA
Its Stiring Story of Adventure, Peril and Heroism.
F.Whymper.
Published by Cassell Petter & Galpin, London, Paris
and New York. No date, circa 1880s, or maybe later.
In four volumes, hardcover, gold embossed board, many
excellent woodcuts.
Covers every imaginable story - the Perils of a Sailor's
Life, Round the World on a Man-O-War, History of Ships and Shipping Interests
- so much, and a delight to read.
[Also listed under 19th century books]
[ps] |
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THE SEA
Subtitle: Exploring Life on an Ocean Planet.
Philip Plisson. (Adapted by Robert Burleigh)
Published by : Harry N. Abrams Inc, New York, USA in
2003.
Hard Cover with dust jacket, cover printed same as dustjacket.
Seventy-nine printed pages and very well illustrated with many colour photographs.
Dimensions: 32 cms tall by 26 cms wide.
The book is an overview of all aspects of the sea in
23 small chapters, some as short as two pages. Ranging in subjects
from fishing to oil exploration, diving to shipwrecks, storms to lighthouses.
A book more for the “artistic” reader! [pt] |
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THE SEA
Robert C Miller
Published by: Thomas Nelson & Sons, London in 1966.
(Planned and produced by Chanticleer Press, New York,
USA)
Hard cover with pale green boards; 313 printed pages.
Dimensions: 28.5 cms tall by 22 cms wide.
The book says is is an exploration of the underwater
worlds, marine life, current and tides, fisheries and the sea’s rich resources.
It is divided into 4 sections and in turn, each section is sub-divided
into parts of their own. Sections are headed:
1 Of Time and Waters. 2 The World of Water.
3 The Life of the Sea. 4 Man and the Sea.
The book is well illustrated with diagrams, photographs
in monochrome and in colour and some are the full size of the book.
All of the photographs are submitted by a long list of people, acknowledged
by the author at the beginning of the publication. [pt] |
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THE SEA AND ITS WONDERS
Cyril Hall
Published by: Blackie & Sons Ltd, London c1931
(Book undated but believed to have been published around
1931)
Hard cover with blue boards and gold embossed sea horse
on cover; 256 printed pages.
Illustrated with 32 half tone plates and other illustrations.
A compilation book about the sea broken down into eighteen chapters:
1 The Oceans Come To Earth, 2 Riddles of the Earth Plan,
3 Sages at Sea, 4 The Edge of the Oceans, 5 On the Bottom, 6 Oceanography,
7 Searching the Deeps, 8 How the Winds Rule the Ocean. 9 Where the Ocean
Rivers Run, 10 The Rhythms of the Tides, 11 The Strange Story of Coral,
12 The Frozen Seas, 13 Diver and Diving Devices, 14 Fife in the Depths,
15 Fishing and Fisheries, 16 Leviathan and His Relations, Sea Superstitions
and finally 18 The Port of Missing Ships. [pt] |
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WORLD BENEATH THE SEA
Published by The National Geographic Society in 1967,
then in 1973
Forward by: Gilbert M Grosvenor. Multiple authors.
Hard cover with green boards and gold embossed scuba
diver dust jacket; 204 printed pages and very well illustrated with many
colour photographs. Dimensions: 26 cms tall by 18 cms wide. This copy is
described as the “Revised Edition”, following the original
publication in 1967. Although published by National
& Geographic, the book is a collection of articles by various noted
authors, divided up into nine
chapters: 1 Exploring the Ocean World by James Dugan.
2 Man Invades the Sea by James Dugan. 3 Revealing the Oceans Secrets
by Robert C. Cowen. 4 Diving for Sport and for Science by Bill Barada.
5 Cameras Below by Luis Marden. 6 The Sea’s Dark Museum by George F. Bass.
7 Taxis to the Deep by Frank Busby. 8 Harvest of the Future by Cynthia
Riggs Stoertz. 9 Homes in the Sea by Cynthia Riggs Stoertz As with all
publications from National & Geographic, all the photographs and diagrams
are a very high quality. [pt] |