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The master shipwright's secrets : how Charles II built the Restoration Navy /Richard Endsor. "Inspired by the recent discovery of mathematically calculated digital plans for a fourth-rate ship by the Deptford master shipwright, John Shish, The Master Shipwright's Secrets is an illustrated history of Restoration shipbuilding focused on the Tyger, one of the smaller but powerful two-deck warships of the period. It examines the proceedings of King Charles II in deciding the types of ship he wanted and his relationship with his master shipwrights. This fascinating book reveals the many secrets of Charles II's shipwrights through an analysis of John Shish's plans for the Tyger, revealing innovative practical calculations which differ significantly from the few contemporary treatises on the subject and the complicated process of constructing the moulds necessary to make the ship's frame. All the other duties performed by the master shipwrights, such as repairing ships, controlling their men and keeping up with the latest inventions are also discussed in detail. The Master Shipwright's Secrets is replete with beautiful and detailed illustrations of the construction of the Tyger and explores both its complicated history and its complex rebuilding, complete with deck plans, internal sections, and large-scale external shaded drawings. The title also explores associated ships, including another fourth-rate ship, the Mordaunt, which was purchased into the Navy at the time and underwent a dimensional survey by John Shish. A rare contemporary section drawing of another fourth-rate English ship and constructional drawings of Shish's later fourth-rate ship, St Albans, are also included."--Provided by the publisher. 2020. • FOLIO • 1 copy available. 623.8225
Slavery and the making of early American libraries : British literature, political thought, and the transatlantic book trade, 1731-1814 /Sean D. Moore. "Early American libraries stood at the nexus of two transatlantic branches of commerce-the book trade and the slave trade. Slavery and the Making of Early American Libraries bridges the study of these trades by demonstrating how Americans' profits from slavery were reinvested in imported British books and providing evidence that the colonial book market was shaped, in part, by the demand of slave owners for metropolitan cultural capital. Drawing on recent scholarship that shows how participation in London cultural life was very expensive in the eighteenth century, as well as evidence that enslavers were therefore some of the few early Americans who could afford to import British cultural products, the volume merges the fields of the history of the book, Atlantic studies, and the study of race, arguing that the empire-wide circulation of British books was underwritten by the labour of the African diaspora. The volume is the first in early American and eighteenth-century British studies to fuse our growing understanding of the material culture of the transatlantic text with our awareness of slavery as an economic and philanthropic basis for the production and consumption of knowledge. In studying the American dissemination of works of British literature and political thought, it claims that Americans were seeking out the forms of citizenship, constitutional traditions, and rights that were the signature of that British identity. Even though they were purchasing the sovereignty of Anglo-Americans at the expense of African-Americans through these books, however, some colonials were also making the case for the abolition of slavery."--Provided by the publisher. 2019. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 070.5
Boat trains : the English Channel and ocean liner specials : history, development and operation /Martyn Pring. "In many ways this title featuring the evolution of cross-channel boat trains and the many dedicated services responsible for moving international passengers to and from trans-Atlantic steamers, is an extension of luxury railway travel. But that's not the full story as it encapsulates more than 125 years of independent and organised tourism development. At the end of the nineteenth century, faster and more stable twin-screw vessels replaced cross-channel paddlers resulting in a significant expansion in the numbers of day excursionists and short-stay visitors heading to Belgium, France and the Channel Islands. Continental Europe, as it had done since the end of the Napoleonic Wars beckoned, introducing ideas of modern-day mass tourism. Numerous liners bestriding the globe were British domiciled. Major ports became hives of commercial activity involving moving freight and mail, as well as transporting all manner of travellers. Not only was there intense competition for passenger traffic between the Old and New World and Britain's imperial interests, greater numbers of well-heeled tourists headed off to warmer winter climes, and also experimented with the novel idea of using ocean steamers as hotels to visit an array of diverse destinations. Cruise tourism and the itinerary had arrived as 'Ocean Special' boat trains became essential components of railway and port procedures. Whilst some railway operations were dedicated to emigrant traffic, continental and ocean liner boat trains were also synonymous with the most glamorous travel services ever choreographed by shipping lines and railway companies working closely in tandem. This well illustrated book explores the many functions of boat train travel."--Provided by the publisher. 2020. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 388.4/20941
Maiden voyages : women and the golden age of transatlantic travel /Siãan Evans. "Migrants and millionairesses, refugees and aristocrats all looking for a way to improve their lives. After WW1 a world of opportunity was opening up for women ... Before convenient air travel, transatlantic travel was the province of the great ocean liners and never more so than in the glory days of the interwar years. It was an extraordinary undertaking made by many women. Some traveled for leisure, some for work; others to find a new life, marriage, to reinvent themselves or find new opportunities. Their stories have remained largely untold - until now. Maiden Voyages is a fascinating portrait of these women, and their lives on board magnificent ocean liners as they sailed between the old and the new worlds. The ocean liner was a microcosm of contemporary society, divided by class: from the luxury of the upper deck, playground for the rich and famous, to the cramped conditions of steerage or third class travel. These iconic liners were filled with women of all ages, classes and backgrounds: celebrities and refugees, migrants and millionairesses, aristocrats and crew members. Full of incredible gossip, stories and intrigue, Maiden Voyages has a diverse cast of inspiring women - from A-listers like Josephine Baker, a dancer from St Louis who found fame in Paris, Marlene Dietrich and Wallis Simpson, Violet 'the unsinkable' Jessop, a crew member who survived the sinking of the Titanic, and entrepreneur Sibyl Colefax, a pioneering interior designer. Whichever direction they were travelling, whatever hopes they entertained, they were all under the spell of life at sea, a spell which would only break when they went ashore. Maiden Voyages is a compelling and highly entertaining account of life on board: part dream factory, part place of work, independence and escape - always moving."--Provided by the publisher. 2020. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 910.9163