The Seaman's Manual; containing a treatise on practical seamanship, with plates; a dictionary of sea terms...

A SAILING GUIDE BY THE AUTHOR OF TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

First English edition. Five plates. 8vo. A very good copy in publisher's green blindstamped cloth, spine gilt, small chip to headcap, plates spotted. xii, 264pp. London, Edward Moxon,

Having studied under Ralph Waldo Emerson and then at Harvard, Dana achieved enduring fame for his 1840 classic Two Years Before the Mast. Prompted by his diminishing eyesight, he enrolled in the merchant marines and in 1834 sailed on the brig Pilgrim. Departing Boston, his travels took him into the Pacific and especially along the Californian coast. He was transferred to the Alert for the return voyage and his account of sailing round Cape Horn in the depths of winter transformed his narrative into a classic. ADB states that it "permanently influenced works about the sea, making their authors both more realistic about and also more cognizant of the common sailor’s plight."

 

On his return to Boston, Dana pursued a career in maritime law, and his concern for sailors was ongoing. The Seaman's Manual is the first fruits of it, a dedicated guide to not just the art of sailing but also one which documents the legal rights of sailors, officers and masters. It was quickly adopted as the standard guide on the subject. This London edition was published in the same year as the first American edition, though under a slightly different title.

Stock Code: 228466