The China Clippers by Lubbock, Basil - 1919

Glasgow: James Brown & Son, 1919. Fourth Edition (stated). Presumed first printing thus. Hardcover. Fair. No dust jacket. Signed by Howard Chapelle on FEP! ! ! . Clipping of the Invernaid pasted below signature, other clippings on other pages. Cover very worn. Hinges weak and cracked.. xv, [1], 388, p. Includes: illustrations, diagrams. And XXXVI pages in appendix. Illustrated endpaper, Fold-outs. Howard Irving Chapelle (February 1, 1901 June 30, 1975) was an American naval architect, and curator of maritime history at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. In addition, he authored many books and articles on maritime history and marine architecture. Chapelle worked as a marine apprentice and designer for a number of shipbuilders. During WW II, Chapelle served in the Army Transportation Corps ship and boat-building program. In 1950, he went to England where he researched colonial ship design. Upon returning to America, he was appointed Division of Transportation curator of the National Museum of History and Technology. In 1967, he became Senior Historian. He retired in 1971 as Historian Emeritus. A clipper was a very fast sailing ship of the middle third of the 19th century. They were yacht like vessels, with three masts and a square rig. The boom years of the clipper ship era began in 1843 as a result of a growing demand for a more rapid delivery of tea from China.