Rare Book Monthly
Book Catalogue Reviews - August - 2010 Issue
Nautical Works from the Columbia Trading Co.
The U.S.S. Constitution.
Item 516 is one of those exciting travelogues from Annie Brassey, a woman who lived the good life. Married to a Member of Parliament, and with five bonny children (only the British have "bonny" children), she spent most of her time traveling the seas on her yacht the Sunbeam, husband, children, crew and servants in tow, or doing charitable works. The public loved to hear of her adventures, so her books sold well. This one is A Voyage in the Sunbeam. Our Home on the Ocean for Eleven Months, published in 1879. Sadly, Annie's last voyage, in 1886, did not turn out as well. She came down with malaria off the coast of Australia, died, and was buried at sea. Lord Brassey had to finish the book. $45.
Item 73 is one of those wonderful old books where the title says it all: Sea and Land. An Illustrated History of the Wonderful and Curious Things of Nature Existing before and since the Deluge Embodying Descriptions of the Mighty World of Waters and of Marvelous Creatures... to which is Appended a Description of the Cannibals and Wild Races of the World. It appears author James Buel got his geologic eras a bit confused as he depicts ancient men fighting dinosaur-like sea monsters. Nevertheless, a little sensationalism never hurt sales. Buel provides 800 pages of fact and fiction in this 1887 book. $95.
We said that there were a few exceptions to the nautical theme. Item 631 is A Practical Treatise on Rail-Roads. This is the 1832 first American edition of this British book by Nicholas Wood. As that publication date will attest, this is a very early book on this new technology in transportation that would soon change the world. $375.
The Great Lakes have swallowed their share of ships over the years. Dana T. Bowen brings back some of these long ago disasters in Shipwrecks of the Lakes. However, don't look for an account of the Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, in prose or song. This book was published in 1953. The Fitzgerald sank in 1975. Item 231. $20.
The Columbia Trading Company may be reached at 508-362-1500 or info@columbiatrading.com. Their website is found at www.columbiatrading.com
