A wonderful copy, clearly used at sea, and presented by one captain, Charles H. Allen, to another, in Makassar. The volume provides a concise distillation of maritime knowledge in the mid-nineteenth century.
The work commences with the following statement: “Among the most important requirements of the Seaman is a knowledge of the prevailing winds and currents of the ocean, and their general direction, in order that he may shape his course from port to port so as to turn them to his best advantage, It is besides of importance frequently to know the kind of weather that may be anticipated on different coasts, so that a voyage may be anticipated accordingly, so that not only the best mode of approaching and leaving a port may be known, but also the most favourable time for visiting it.” The information here is drawn from “the experience of the principal navigators of these and former times.”
The first 70pp are devoted to the Atlantic Ocean, and the information stretches from the Arctic to the Cape of Good Hope, touching on the Americas (Newfoundland, New Brunswick, New York, Baltimore, Bahia, Patagonia), the Caribbean (Cuba, Jamaica, St. Domingo, Trinidad), and the west coast of Africa (Benin, Biafra, Sierra Leone). The second, larger section concerns the Indian Ocean. In the introduction to this, much is made of the monsoon season and its effect on navigation through the Mozambique channel, the Bay of Bengal, and Torres Strait. As one might expect, both India and Ceylon are covered in great detail, including several routes to Australia. There is a lot of information on China with notes on Hong Kong, the Formosa Channel, the China Sea, and routes to Bengal, Australia and the Red Sea. Furthermore, there is information on Muscat, Molucca, Batavia, Singapore, Perth and the Swan River included.
Captain King’s directions for sailing the Inner Passage to Torres Strait are found on pp.131-134. Captain Rogers provides information on the Red Sea, the south coast of Arabia, and the Persian Gulf. Indeed, pp.111–112 cover the Persian Gulf, which appears in two of the maps. This was essential information for nineteenth-century navigation in this geopolitically and commercially vital region.
The maps are as follows: “Chart of the Ordinary Currents of the Atlantic”; “Chart of the Prevailing Winds of the Atlantic”; “Track Chart of the Indian Ocean”; and “Chart of the Prevailing Winds and Currents in the Indian Ocean.”
Admiral Augustus William Lawson Becher (1793–1875), was a distinguished fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and the Royal Astronomical Society. A British naval commander, hydrographer, and cartographer, Becher contributed extensively to maritime navigation during an era when control over its sea lanes was essential for British imperial trade routes.
Both booksellers’ advertisements are for Henry Whipple’s store in Salem, Massachusetts. Of interest, and demonstrating further how books move around, the first advertisement, notes that Henry Whipple “have also a Sea Library - Volumes sent to Sea on Loan. Sea Stationery in lots to suit purchasers.”
Rare: OCLC locates just two copies at the Defense Library in the Netherlands and the Peabody Essex. Not in Trove.
