A Narrative of the Building and a Description of the Construction of the Edystone Lighthouse with Stone : To Which is Subjoined an Appendix Giving Some Account of the Lighthouse on the Spurn Point Built Upon a Sand.

John Smeaton, Civil Engineer, F.R.S.

Published by London: G. Nicol., 1793

About this Item

The second edition, corrected. Large folio. xiv, 198, 23, pp. With a large engraving on the title-page, three maps and 20 engraved plans & views. A posthumous re-issue of the original (1791) sheets, omitting the errata slips and with an amended title-page. The elephant folio size, printed on Whatman's best paper allowed the engravings to be displayed to best advantage. In the original paper-backed, marbled boards with vellum tips, manuscript title to spine. Smeaton's tower, constructed using a mixture of hydraulic lime, dovetailed granite blocks and marble dowels, resisted the considerable elements from 1759 until finally replaced by Douglass's tower in 1877. The foundation and stub are there to this day, while the upper part was dismantled and rebuilt as a memorial to Smeaton on Plymouth Hoe. A very bright and clean copy. Spine chipped head and tail and joints starting to crack, but still firmly bound in the original boards. A heavy item that will definitely require extra postage.

Seller Inventory # PS.554

Bibliographic Details

• Title: A Narrative of the Building and a Description of the Construction of the Edystone Lighthouse with Stone : To Which is Subjoined an Appendix Giving Some Account of the Lighthouse on the Spurn Point Built Upon a Sand.
• Publisher: London: G. Nicol.
• Publication Date: 1793
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 2nd Edition
• Condition: Very Good