THE LOGS OF THE FIRST VOYAGE, MADE WITH THE UNCEASING AID OF STEAM, BETWEEN ENGLAND AND AMERICA, BY THE GREAT WESTERN OF BRISTOL, LIEUT. JAMES HOSKEN, R.N ., COMMANDER: ALSO AN APPENDIX AND REMARKS

Claxton, Christopher

Published by Printed at the Mirror Office by John Taylor, Bristol, 1838

About this Item

Original printed wrappers, stitched. Spine shorn, wrappers loosening. Except as noted, Very Good. Long folding map. [4], vi, [Tipped in slip regarding tons of coal on board], 65, [1 blank], [tipped in errata slip] pp. The SS Great Western was the first steamship built explicitly for transatlantic travel. "On its maiden voyage, the Great Western left Bristol, England, on April 8, 1838, and arrived in New York City 15 days later (half the time that sailing ships usually took). Designed by the British engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the Great Western displaced 1,320 tons, was 212 feet (65 metres) long, and carried 148 passengers; it had four masts with reduced rigging and paddles driven by two engines. Its average speed without sails was 9 knots. On some of its final voyages, it carried troops to the Crimean War. The ship was broken up at Vauxhall, London, in 1856" [Encyclopedia Britannica]. The book is dedicated to The Earl of Minto, First Lord of the Admiralty. The pamphlet recounts the history of efforts to develop transatlantic travel by steamship. The Logs of the captain and engineer are printed, followed by an Appendix, which includes a "Journal of the Outward Voyage," by "Mr. Foster, a highly talented Gentleman, of Philadelphia." FIRST EDITION. Sabin 13528.

Seller Inventory # 36261

Bibliographic Details

• Title: THE LOGS OF THE FIRST VOYAGE, MADE WITH THE UNCEASING AID OF STEAM, BETWEEN ENGLAND AND AMERICA, BY THE GREAT WESTERN OF BRISTOL, LIEUT. JAMES HOSKEN, R.N ., COMMANDER: ALSO AN APPENDIX AND REMARKS
• Publisher: Printed at the Mirror Office by John Taylor, Bristol
• Publication Date: 1838
• Seller catalogs:
  • MARITIME
  • AMERICANA
  • ENGLAND