Library Results | Royal Museums Greenwich

Admiral Sir Charles Napier and Merchistoun Hall "Sir Charles Napier KCB, a maverick but brilliant admiral, takes his rightful place amongst the Naval Greats of the 19th Century. Heroic achievements during his career included restoring the rightful monarch to the Portuguese throne as well as helping to restore peace in the turbulent Middle East. His career sadly ended on a sour note but history since has justified his decision in the Baltic. Like a host of other seafaring greats he chose the beautiful area of East Hampshire as his home, buying Qualletts Grove, the historical mansion in Horndean in 1836 and renaming it Merchistoun Hall in honour of his ancestral birthplace in Scotland. Now known as Horndean Community Centre, Merchistoun Hall's history goes back 300 years and includes a host of characters who called it their home before and after the residency of Admiral Sir Charles Napier."--Provided by the publisher. 2004 • BOOK • 1 copy available. 92NAPIER

The pirate, and The three cutters / By Captain Marryat, ... Illustrated with twenty splendid engravings from drawings by Clarkson Stanfield, .. Marryat, Frederick, 1836. • RARE-BOOK • 2 copies available. 820-3

Methodes mathâematiques et expâerimentales : pour discerner les mâelanges et les combinaisons chimiques dâefinies ou non dâefinies, qui agissent sur la lumiáere polarisâee; suivies d'applications aux combinaisons de l'acide tartrique avec l'eau, l'alcool et l'esprit de bois /par M. Biot. Biot, Jean-Baptiste, [1838] • RARE-BOOK • 1 copy available. 54:094

A Narrative of the operations for the recovery of the public stores and treasure sunk in HMS Thetis, at Cape Frio, on the coast of Brazil, on the 5th December 1830 Dickinson, Thomas 1836 • RARE-BOOK • 2 copies available. 094:656.61.085.3Thetis

Tales of the wars : or naval and military chronicle consisting of faithful accounts of sea and land battles interspersed with anecdotes and biographical notices of the most distinguished naval and military commanders Stapleton, R J 1836-1838 • RARE-BOOK • 3 copies available. 094:355.48

Address and explanation by the Astronomer Royal, presented to the Board of Visitors of the Royal Observatory, at their special meeting of 1843, Nov. 10; and Report of the Astronomer Royal : read at the annual visitation of the Royal Observatory, 1844, June 1 Airy, George Biddell,-Sir, 1843-44 • RARE-FOLIO • 1 copy available. 520.1:094

A history of the B & I Line : including the City of Cork Steam Packet Co (1936) /by Ernest R. Reader. Covering early steamer services established between Dublin and London this is a history in two parts of two companies: the British and Irish Steam Packet Co. founded in 1836 and the City of Cork Steam Packet Co. (1936) Ltd. The British and Irish Steam Packet Co. subsequently grew through the acquisition of other steamship companies including the City of Dublin Steam Packet Company (1919), Dublin and Manchester Steamship Co. Ltd (1919), Tedcastle McCormick and Co. Ltd (1919), Dublin and Lancashire Shipping Co. Ltd (1922), Dundalk and Newry Steam Packet Co. Ltd (1926), Dublin General Steam Shipping Company (1926) and M.J. Begg (1926). The City of Cork Steam Packet Co. (1936) evolved from its predecessor the St George Steam Packet Company founded in 1821, changing its name to the City of Cork Steamship Co. in 1843 and then to the City of Cork Steam Packet Co. in 1871. Suffering severe losses in the First World War, the company was acquired by Coast Lines Ltd and in 1936, with its trades taken over by B&I, the new company name of City of Cork Steam Packet Company (1936) Ltd was registered as agents for B&I. [1950] • PAMPHLET • 1 copy available. 347.792B&I

Nautical and commercial pocket-Dictionary and dialogue-book for navigators, merchants, and travellers, in eight languages; viz. the English, French, Danish, German, Swedish, Dutch. Spanish and Italian : as also the denomination of the principal articles of merchandise in 11 languages with two flagmaps /C. Henckel and W.F. Born Henckel, C 1836. • RARE-BOOK • 1 copy available. 800.866:656.61

Neither fugitive nor free : Atlantic slavery, freedom suits, and the legal culture of travel /Edlie L. Wong. Studies lawsuits to gain freedom for slaves on the grounds of their having traveled to free territory, starting with Somerset v. Stewart (England, 1772), Commonwealth v. Aves (Massachusetts, 1836), Dred Scott v. Sanford, and cases brought questioning the legitimacy of Negro Seamen Acts in the antebellum coastal South. These lawsuits and accounts of them are compared to fugitive slave narratives to shed light on both. The differing impact of freedom obtained from such suits for men and women (women could claim that their children were free, once they were judged free) is examined. 2009. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 326.8(73)"18"

The B & I Line : a history of the British and Irish Steam Packet Company This book relates the history of the B & I (British and Irish Steam Packet Company) in three parts. Part 1 tells the story of the City of Dublin Steam Packet Company which was founded in 1824. For many years it held the contract for mails from Britain to Ireland. Part 2 relates the history of the old B & I Steam Packet Company, which was founded in 1836. Part 3 deals with the Cork Steamship Company, which mainly served southern Ireland to Wales. However, its most famous ship was the Sirius, which in April 1838 sailed into New York and thus became the first steamship to inaugurate a regular transatlantic service. The modern B & I is the sucessor to these three companies. The book has black and white photos and illustrations. Appendix 1 lists the captains of the fleet 1934-84; Appendix 2 lists the Chief Engineers; Appendix 3 has a fleet list (1984). There is an index of ships and a general index. 1984 • BOOK • 1 copy available. 347.792B&I

The port of Southampton / Ian Collard. ''An Act of Parliament passed in 1836 authorised the Southampton Dock Company to build a dock at Southampton. The foundation stone for the new docks was laid on 12 October 1838. The Eastern Docks were developed in the 1830s and the Inner and Outer Docks were then constructed. The Outer Dock was opened in 1842 and the Inner Dock in 1851, being completed eight years later. As trade and business increased the old facilities proved inadequate and a new dock named Empress Dock was opened by Queen Victoria in 1890. In 1892 the facilities were taken over by the London & South Western Railway Company and in 1923 the Southern Railway took over the management of the docks until nationalization in 1947. The British Transport Board assumed responsibility for Southampton docks in 1963 and in the 1980s they were privatized, becoming Associated British Ports (ABP), Southampton. The Port of Southampton is now the United Kingdom s premier passenger port and is the second largest container facility, handling more than 1.5 million containers each year.''-Provided by the publisher. 2019. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 387.10942276

The story of Cunard's 175 years : the triumph of a great tradition /Eric Flounders, Michael Gallagher. This book tells the history of the Cunard shipping company, from its origins and progression to become a world leading shipping line. Cunard's involvement in the rescue of Titanic survivors, the First World War and Second World War (especially the Lusitania disaster) is also explored in depth. In addition, there are many pictures, of both the interior and exterior of ships, and paintings of their more famous vessels, for example, Queen Elizabeth, Queen Elizabeth 2, Queen Mary, Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria. The volume also contains a fleet list detailing the name, launch date and builder of each Cunard ship from 1836 to 2010. 2014. • FOLIO • 1 copy available. 347.792CUNARD

J.F. Encke's astronomische Abhandlungen : zusammengestellt aus den Jahrgèangen 1830 bis 1862 des Berliner astronomischen Jahrbuches nebst drei in diesen Jahrgèangen enthaltenen Abhandlungen /von Bessel, Olbers, und Bremicker. 1866. • RARE-BOOK • 3 copies available. 52"1830/1862":094

Evolution's captain : the tragic fate of Robert Fitzroy, the man who sailed Charles Darwin around the world A biography of Robert Fitzroy (1805-1865). Joining the navy at the age of 12, Fitzroy became a skilled hydrographer and was given command of the Beagle in 1828. This book concentrates on the two voyages undertaken by Fitzroy on the Beagle and their impact on him, particularly in the light of his later suicide. Fitzroy returned from his first voyage to survey the southern coastlines of South America with four Feugian captives with the intention of educating them in Christian values. He returned to South America on the second voyage (1831-1836) with the three surviving Feugians, this time also accompanied by Charles Darwin. On their return to England, Fitzroy, a devout Christian, became increasingly estranged from Darwin as their views on evolutionary theory diverged. Fitzroy was also a Member of Parliament and briefly Governor of New Zealand before his assignment to the new Meteorological Office within the Marine Department of the Board of Trade. Establishing the fundamental techniques of weather observation and early coastal weather stations, his work went largely unrecognised and his daily forecasts were often ridiculed. He died after committing suicide in 1865. 2003 • BOOK • 1 copy available. 623.82BEAGLE

Distances of the sun, and the four planets, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, from the moon : Calculated according to Mr. Bessel's method, together with their places for every day in the year 1837, to which is added the culmination of the moon for every day in 1837 for the Altona meridian, with auxiliary quatities to reduce it to other meridians, calculated upon Burckhardt's tables and tables for finding the latitude by the Polestar for 1837 /Calculated under the direction of H. C. Schumacher Schumacher, Heinrich Christian, 1836 • RARE-BOOK • 1 copy available. 527(083.5)"1837":094

Address of the Astronomer Royal to the individual members of the Board of Visitors of the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, 1855, October 18: and Report of the Astronomer Royal to the Board of Visitors : read at the annual visitation of the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, 1856, June 7. Airy, George Biddell,-Sir, 1855-6 • RARE-FOLIO • 2 copies available. 520.1:094

The ambitions of Jane Franklin : Victorian lady adventurer /Alison Alexander. A biography of Jane Franklin (1791?1875), born Jane Griffin. Well educated, Jane travelled in Europe as a young woman. Following her marriage to Sir John Franklin in 1828, Jane continued to travel alone and with companions around the Mediterranean. In 1836 John Franklin was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Van Dieman's Land (Tasmania) and Jane accompanied him there travelling widely across Australia and becoming involved in life in the colony. Recalled at the end of 1843, John Franklin was then appointed to lead an expedition to find the North-West passage. Departing in 1845, Franklin disappeared and Jane then devoted herself to finding out what had happened to the expedition, sponsoring seven expeditions to find him and supporting many others. Faced with Dr John Rae's evidence of cannibalism, she used her influence to challenge the evidence and maintain her husband's reputation as a polar hero, in the process destroying Rae's reputation. She continued to travel widely until her death at the age of 84. The text is supported by photographs, a bibliography and notes. 2016. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 92FRANKLIN, JANE

Discovering the North-West Passage : the four-year Arctic odyssey of H.M.S. Investigator and the McClure Expedition /Glenn M. Stein. The story of HMS Investigator and the voyage undertaken by Vice-Admiral Robert McClure (1807-1873) in 1850-1854 to search for the missing Franklin expedition which had disappeared in 1848. McClure was born in Ireland and joined the Royal Navy in 1824, obtaining his first polar experience in HMS Terror in 1836. He joined an early expedition to find the Franklin expedition in 1848 and then in 1850 accompanied HMS Enterprise, under the command of Richard Collinson, on a further search. The two ships were separated in a storm, never to meet up again. McClure continued through the Bering Strait but was eventually forced to abandon the ship after she became icebound in Mercy Bay in 1853. The crew continued overland finally meeting up with HMS Resolute and HMS Intrepid, also searching for Franklin from the opposite direction. The text is supported by a detailed bibliography, notes and appendices which include the crew list of HMS Investigator and detail the creation of the Polar Medal. [2015]. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 910.4(987)"1850/1854"

Narrative of the Arctic land expedition to the mouth of the Great Fish River, and along the shores of the Arctic Ocean, in the years 1833, 1834, and 1835 Back, George 1836 • RARE-FOLIO • 4 copies available. 094:910.4(987)"1833/1835"

Visiting the National Maritime Museum : a report of a survey of visitors to the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich / Smyth, Malcolm. 1985. Smyth, Malcolm 1985 • FOLIO • 8 copies available. 069.62(421.6)

The Durham papers : selections from the papers of Admiral Sir Philip Charles Henderson Calderwood Durham, G.C.B. (1763-1845) /edited by Hilary L. Rubinstein "Admiral Sir Philip Durham (1763?1845) was one of the most distinguished and colourful officers of the late Georgian Navy. His lucky and sometimes controversial career included surviving the sinking of HMS Royal George in 1782, making the first conquest of the tricolour flag in 1793 and the last in 1815, and having two enemy ships surrender to him at Trafalgar. A Scot distantly related to Lord Barham, Durham entered the Navy in 1777, serving initially on the American and West Indies stations. He was Kempenfelt's signal officer on HMS Victory during the second battle of Ushant in 1781 and on the Royal George. Making his reputation initially as the daring young master and commander of HMS Spitfire early in the French Revolutionary War, he became a crack frigate captain with a fortune in prize money, and commanded HMS Defiance at Trafalgar, where he was wounded. He ended his war service as Commander-in-Chief, Leeward Islands. En voyage he artfully captured two brand-new French frigates which were subsequently taken into the service of Britain, and during his tenure he won the heartfelt gratitude of local merchants by ridding the surrounding seas of American privateers preying on British trading vessels. True to form, he clashed with the judge of the Vice-Admiralty Court on Antigua and with the general with whom he led a combined naval and military assault on Martinique and Guadeloupe following Napoleon's escape from Elba. He later served as Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth having resigned his parliamentary seat to do so. Married first to the sister of the Earl of Elgin, of 'Marbles' fame, and secondly to a cousin of 'sea wolf' Lord Cochrane, he was well-known to George III, who as a result of Durham's amusing yet improbable anecdotes, dubbed any tall tale he heard 'a Durham'. This collection of his papers consists mainly of letters and despatches relating to his service in the Channel Fleet, the Mediterranean, and the Leeward Islands. Correspondence with his parents during 1789?1790 reflects his anxieties relating to employment and prospects for promotion when he was a young lieutenant with an illegitimate child to support. The collection, featuring items from and to him, comprises a fascinating and informative set of documents."--Provided by publisher. 2019. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 061.22NRS

Russian California, 1806-1860 : a history in documents /compiled and edited by James R. Gibson and Alexei A. Istomin. "This two-volume book is a documentary history of Russia's 19th-century settlement in California. It contains 492 documents (letters, reports, travel descriptions, censuses, ethnographic and geographical information), mostly translated from the Russian for the first time, very fully annotated, and with an extensive historical introduction, maps, and illustrations, many in colour. This broad range of primary sources provides a comprehensive and detailed history of the Russian Empire's most distant and most exotic outpost, one whose liquidation in 1841 presaged St Petersburg's abandonment of all of Russian America in 1867. Russia from the sixteenth century onwards had steadily expanded eastwards in search of profitable resources. This expansion was rapid, eased not only by the absence of foreign opposition and disunity of the native peoples but also by Siberia's river network and the North Pacific's convenient causeway of the Aleutian chain leading to Alaska. It was paid for largely by the 'soft gold' of Siberian sables and Pacific sea otters. By the end of the 1700s, however, on the Northwest Coast of North America the Russians met increasing opposition from the indigenous people (Tlingits) and foreign rivals (American and English fur-trading vessels). This combination soon depleted the coast of sea otters, and at the same time the Russians were finding it ever more expensive to obtain supplies from Europe by overland transport across Siberia or round-the-world voyages, so under the aegis of the monopolistic Russian-American Company (1799) they leapfrogged southward to the frontera del norte of the Spanish viceroyalty of New Spain. Here, in 1812, they founded Russian California (officially, Ross Counter) as a base for hunting the Californian sea otter, growing grain and rearing stock, and trading with the Spanish missions. Eventually the exclave comprised a fort (Ross), a port (Bodega), five farms, and a hunting and birding station on the Farallon Islands, as well as a shipyard, a tannery, and a brickworks. The successes and failures of these enterprises, the perils of navigation, experiments in agriculture, the personal, political and economic problems of the colony, and Russian engagement with the indigenous population all come to life in these pages."--Provided by the publisher. 2014. • BOOK • 2 copies available. 061.22HAKLUYT

Astronomical observations made at the Observatory of Cambridge Challis, James 1834-1890 • RARE-FOLIO • 17 copies available. 520.1

Explore our Collection