[Maritime] The Young Sea Officer's Sheet Anchor; or, a Key To the Leading of Rigging, and To Practical Seamanship

London: Printed for John Richardson, under the Royal Exchange; Black, Parry, and Kingsbury booksellers to the honourable East India Company; and William Heather, Leadenhall Street, 1808. Full Calf. Near Fine+. Rare First Edition, second issue, of this key work on maritime and nautical procedures and equipment in the age of sail. Demy 4to (257 x 204): x,[2],120 pp, profusely illustrated with 110 engraved plates by the author and by William Butterworth of Leeds on 55 sheets showing 587 figures. Contemporary (or slightly later) brown calf spine in six compartments divided by raised bands, titled direct in gilt, covers framed in blind with rope roll; old ownership signature to title page, book plate of conservationist Frederick E. Ellis (1916-2010), of Shaw Island, Washington. A handsome example, soundly bound and generally clean throughout (pages and plates with occasional minor stains and browning, as often, and several neat old edge repairs). Maryne (Language of Sailing), p. 359. Apparently preceded by an issue printed in Leeds by Thomas Gil, with dedication to the Admiralty dated Leeds, 30 July, 1808. Lever's work became the standard text during the nineteenth century in England and America, offering precise explanations of the principles of rigging, full details of a ship's operation through the effect of the wind on its sails, tacking, use of the compass, casting, and much more. "Original in concept, it met with immediate success, and for the next forty years continued in steady use as a standard textbook for young officers of the Royal Navy and the merchant marine. The introduction states that the work was planned many years before and was then finished 'for the advantage of a young gentleman whose inclinations led him to the choice of a sea-faring life'." (ODNB) N. B. With few exceptions (always identified), we only stock books in exceptional condition. All orders are packaged with care and posted promptly. Satisfaction guaranteed. (Fine Editions Ltd is a member of the Independent Online Booksellers Association, and we subscribe to its codes of ethics.).