Library Results | Royal Museums Greenwich

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

From Antarctica to the gold rushes : in the wake of the Erebus : Alexander Smith, polar voyager, astronomer & goldfields commissioner 1812-1872 /John Ramsland. "Commander Alexander Smith served the Royal Navy with fearless resolution for seventeen years on the quarterdeck, encountering many adventures on the high seas - an intrepid voyager in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. Under the command of Captain James Clark Ross, he became a heroic polar explorer in the north Atlantic and was chosen as First Mate for the epic 1839-1843 British Antarctic Expedition aboard HMS Erebus. The Ross expedition was the first to go where no human being had gone before despite competition from Charles Wilkes' American and Dumont d'Urville's French expeditions. Retiring from the Royal Navy, he was appointed Goldfields Commissioner in Castlemaine during the Australian gold rushes in 1853 and developed a fine reputation as a botanist and naturalist...an extraordinary but forgotten life."--Back cover. 2011. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 910.4(99)"1839/1843":92SMITH, ALEXANDER

Report of Mr Kennedy of Maryland from the committee on commerce of the house of representatives of the United States on the African slave trade : United States 27th congress, 3rd session Kennedy, J P 1971 • BOOK • 1 copy available. 326:325.3(73:666.2)

Brunel's ships This book takes a multi-disciplinary approach to charting the origins and history of the steamships designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel for the Great Western Steam Ship Company. It recounts in detail the innovations suggested by Brunel for the Great Western in the 1830s, as well as discussing the invention of the screw propellor and how it was incorporated into Brunel's design for the Royal Navy ship HMS Rattler in 1843-1844. It also devotes attention to the transition from wooden to iron ships. The second part of the book describes each of Brunel's four ships - the Great Western, the warship HMS Rattler, the Great Britain, and the Great Eastern - in detail, including their construction and time in service. llustrations include detailed plans of ships (mostly those designed by Brunel, but also the US screw frigate Princeton and British screw ship Ajax) and their component parts, together with portraits of key figures in the development of steamships in Britain, advertising bills and contemporary news coverage of the ships. It includes an image of the Great Britain from 1844, thought to be the oldest photograph of a ship. 1999 • FOLIO • 2 copies available. 629.122.12Great Western

Line of position navigation : Sumner and Saint Hilaire the two pillars of modern celestial navigation /by Michel Vanvaerenbergh and Peter Ifland. "This book is a unique, concise resource for the history of the development of Line of Position navigation techniques from their invention in the 1840s to the end of the twentieth century. The point of crossing of two or three Lines of Position plotted on a chart quickly and accurately gives a fix of the navigator's position. We owe two nineteenth century navigators for the creation of the basic concepts of celestial navigation we still use today - Thomas H. Sumner, an American merchant captain, and Marcq Saint-Hilaire, capitaine de frâegates in the French navy. This book describes the new techniques they derived from their personal knowledge and experience."--Provided by the publisher. 2003. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 527.09

The storied ice : exploration, discovery, and adventure in Antarctica's Peninsula region /Joan N. Boothe. Recounts mankind's dramatic history from Magellan through the first years of the twenty-first century in the part of the Antarctic regions below South America and the Atlantic Ocean. This part of the world, by far the most visited portion of the south polar regions, is not only a place of staggering scenic beauty and amazing wildlife, but also a locale with a long and fascinating human history. 2011. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 910.4(99)".../1959"

Oeuvres Laplace 1843-1847 • RARE-FOLIO • 7 copies available. 52.092:094

Narrative of a voyage round the world, performed in Her Majesty's ship Sulphur, during the years 1836-1842, including details of the naval operations in China, from Dec 1840 to Nov 1841 Belcher, Edward,-Sir, 1843 • RARE-BOOK • 3 copies available. 094:910.4(100)"1836/1842"

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

The Polar sale : Scott & Amundsen centenary :Friday 30 March 2012 at 2 pm, Knightsbridge, London. Bonhams (Firm : 2001) 2012. • BOOK • 1 copy available.

Eastern fortress : a military history of Hong Kong, 1840-1970 /Kwong Chi Man and Tsoi Yiu Lun. "Celebrated as a trading port, Hong Kong was also Britain's 'eastern fortress'. Likened by many to Gibraltar and Malta, the colony was a vital but vulnerable link in imperial strategy, exposed to a succession of enemies in a turbulent age and a troubled region. This book examines Hong Kong's developing role in the Victorian imperial defence system, the emerging challenges from Russia, France, the United States, Germany, Japan and other powers, and preparations in the years leading up to the Second World War. A detailed chapter offers new interpretations of the Battle of Hong Kong of 1941, when the colony succumbed to the Japanese invasion. The remaining chapters discuss Hong Kong's changing strategic role during the Cold War and the winding down of the military presence. The book not only focuses on policies and events, but also explores the social life of the garrison in Hong Kong, the struggles between military and civil authorities, and relations between the armed forces and civilians in Hong Kong. Drawing on original research in archives around the world, including English, Japanese, and Chinese sources, this is the first full-length study of the defence of Hong Kong from the beginning of the colonial period to the end of British military interests East of Suez in 1970. Illustrated with images and detailed maps, Eastern Fortress will be of interest to both students of history and general readers."--Provided by the publisher. 2014. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 355.48(512.317)

Shanghai : China's gateway to modernity /Marie-Claire Bergere ; translated by Janet Lloyd. "Shanghai today is a thriving, bustling metropolis. But does its avid pursuit of the modern trappings of success truly indicate that it will once again become the shining example of China's commercial and cosmopolitan culture? While history continues to unfold, the author, an eminent scholar on China takes readers back to when Shanghai first opened to the world in 1842 to narrate the city's tumultuous and unique course to the present. This work is the first comprehensive history of Shanghai in any Western language. Divided into four parts, it details Shanghai's beginnings as a treaty port in the mid-nineteenth century; its capitalist boom following the 1911 Revolution; the fifteen years of economic and social decline initiated by the Japanese invasion in 1937, and attempts at resistance; and the city's disgraced years under Communism. Weaving together a range of archival documents and existing histories to create a global picture of Shanghai's past and present, the author shows that Shanghai's success was not fated, as some contend, by an evolutionary pattern set into motion long before the arrival of westerners. Rather, her account identifies the relationship between the Chinese and foreigners in Shanghai, their interaction, cooperation, and rivalry, as the driving force behind the creation of an original culture, a specific modernity, founded upon western contributions but adapted to the national Chinese culture. Eclipsed for three decades by socialism, the wheels of the Shanghai spirit began to turn in the 1990s, when the reform movement took off anew. The city is again being referred to as a model for China's current modernization drive. Although it makes no claims to what will happen next, this work stands as a compelling and definitive profile of a city whose urban history continues to be redefined, retold, and resold."--Provided by the publisher. 2009. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 951/.132

Tales from the Captain's Log : from Captain Cook to Charles Darwin, Blackbeard and Nelson - accounts of great events at sea from those who were there "For centuries, ships' commanders kept journals that recorded their missions. These included voyages of discovery to unknown lands, engagements in war and sea and general trade. Many of their logs, diaries and letters were lodged at The National Archives and give a vivid picture of the situations that they encountered. Entries range from Captain James Cook's notes of his discovery of the South Pacific and Australia, to logs of the great naval battles, such as Waterloo and Trafalgar. From the ships that attempted to stop piracy in the Caribbean, to the surgeons who recorded the health of the men they tended and naturalists who noted the exotic plants and animals they encountered, comes a fascinating picture of life at sea, richly illustrated with maps, drawings and facsimile documents found alongside the logs in the archives."--Provided by the publisher. 2017. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 910.4(100)

Canton register. • JOURNAL • 9 copies available.

Britain's war against the slave trade : the operations of the Royal Navy's West Africa Squadron, 1807-1867 /Anthony Sullivan. "Long before recorded history, men, women and children had been seized by conquering tribes and nations to be employed or traded as slaves. Greeks, Romans, Vikings and Arabs were among the earliest of many peoples involved in the slave trade, and across Africa the buying and selling of slaves was widespread. There was, at the time, nothing unusual in Britain's somewhat belated entry into the slave trade, transporting natives from Africa's west coast to the plantations of the New World. What was unusual was Britain's decision, in 1807, to ban the slave trade throughout the British Empire. Britain later persuaded other countries to follow suit, but this did not stop this lucrative business. So the Royal Navy went to war against the slavers, in due course establishing the West Africa Squadron which was based at Freetown in Sierra Leone. This force grew throughout the nineteenth century until a sixth of the Royal Navy's ships and marines was employed in the battle against the slave trade. Between 1808 and 1860, the West Africa Squadron captured 1,600 slave ships and freed 150,000 Africans. The slavers tried every tactic to evade the Royal Navy enforcers. Over the years that followed more than 1,500 naval personnel died of disease or were killed in action, in what was difficult and dangerous, and at times saddening, work. In Britain's War Against the Slave Trade, naval historian Anthony Sullivan reveals the story behind this little-known campaign by Britain to end the slave trade. Whereas Britain is usually, and justifiably, condemned for its earlier involvement in the slave trade, the truth is that in time the Royal Navy undertook a major and expensive operation to end what was, and is, an evil business."--Provided by the publisher. 2020. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 306.362

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

Explore our Collection