If you do not see what you are looking for, please call the Library for more information at 310-548-7618 x 215.
A Bibliography of American Naval history. / Compiled by Paolo E. Coletta, 1981.
Brassey’s Encyclopedia of Military History and Biography. / Franklin D. Margiotta, 1994.
Building American Submarines 1914-1940. / Gary Weir in Contributions to Naval History published by Naval Historical Center Department of the Navy, Washington, D.C., 1991
Combat fleets of the world… : their ships, aircraft, and armament. / Jean Labayle Couhat. Annapolis, Maryland : Naval Institute Press, 1976.
The first English edition of the 1897, French work, “Les flottes de combat”, features navies of the world, and was published in France and the United States. Library has: 1976/77; 1978/79; 1980/81; 1982/83; 1984/85; 1986/87.
Combat fleets of the world 1998/99 : their ships, aricraft and armament. / Compiled by A.D. Baker. Annapolis, Maryland : Naval Institute Press, 1998.
Dictionary of American Naval fighting ships. /Navy Department Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Naval History Division, Washington, D.C., 1959–1981.
History of the United States Naval Operations in World War II. / Samuel Eliot Morison. Boston, Mass. : Little, Brown and Company, 1954. Library has Volumes 1 to 14 (Vols. 5, 7 missing):
A Bibliography of American Naval history. / Compiled by Paolo E. Coletta, 1981.
Brassey’s Encyclopedia of Military History and Biography. / Franklin D. Margiotta, 1994.
Building American Submarines 1914-1940. / Gary Weir in Contributions to Naval History published by Naval Historical Center Department of the Navy, Washington, D.C., 1991
Combat fleets of the world… : their ships, aircraft, and armament. / Jean Labayle Couhat. Annapolis, Maryland : Naval Institute Press, 1976.
The first English edition of the 1897, French work, “Les flottes de combat”, features navies of the world, and was published in France and the United States. Library has: 1976/77; 1978/79; 1980/81; 1982/83; 1984/85; 1986/87.
Combat fleets of the world 1998/99 : their ships, aircraft and armament. / Compiled by A.D. Baker. Annapolis, Maryland : Naval Institute Press, 1998.
Dictionary of American Naval fighting ships. /Navy Department Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Naval History Division, Washington, D.C., 1959–1981.
History of the United States Naval Operations in World War II. / Samuel Eliot Morison. Boston, Mass. : Little, Brown and Company, 1954. Library has Volumes 1 to 14 (Vols. 5, 7 missing):
Jane’s fighting ships 1905/6 : a reprint of the 1905/6 edition of Fighting Ships. / Edited by Fred T. Jane, 1970.
The Ships and aircraft of the United States fleet nineth edition. / John S. Rowe and Samuel L. Morison. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1972.
The Ships and aircraft of the United States fleet. / By James C. Fahey.
Library has 5 volumes: 1939 edition, the War edition, Second War edition, Victory edition, and Two-Ocean fleet edition, published between 1944 and 1978, mostly as reprints of the Ships and Aircraft original publications.
U.S. Warships of World War 2 / Paul H. Silverstone. Annapolis, MD : Naval Institute Press, 1989, c1965.
Warship volume i to volume X / edited by Robert Gardiner, 1980.
Warships and Navies of the world, 1880 / J.W. King, 1982.
Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869 – 1945 / Hansgeorg Jentshura, Dieter Jung and Peter Mickel; Translated by Antony Preston and J.D. Brown, 1970.
If you do not see what you are looking for, please call the Library for more information at 310-548-7618 x 215.
Histories of diving focus on deep diving, ocean engineering, underwater exploration and offshore
oil well drilling. Our collection contains a variety of resources such as books by well-known
authors Torrance Parker, and Jacques Cousteau, with translations from French authors,
symposium proceedings, and technical manuals. Please call the Library for more information at
310-548-7618 x 215.
Deep Diving–History:
20,000 jobs under the sea: a history of diving and underwater engineering. / by Torrance R.
Parker; edited by Don Walsh; foreword by William B. Lee, c1997.
Along the shores of time: submerged historic and indigenous resources in the Pacific Rim
region. / by Roger E. Kelly, 1999.
Archaeology under water. / by George F. Bass, 1966.
Diving manual 1924 Reprint of Chapter 36 of the Manual of the Bureau of Construction
and Repair. / U.S. Department of the Navy, 1925.
A history of seafaring; based on underwater archaeology. / Edited by George F. Bass, 1972.
The history of oilfield diving an industrial adventure. / Christopher Swann, 2007.
Focus is on the history of offshore oil well drilling.
The history of underwater exploration. / by Robert F. Marx, 1990.
Man and the underwater world [by] Pierre de Latil & Jean Rivoire. Translated from the
French by Edward Fitzgerald, 1956.
On the bottom. / by Commander Edward Ellsberg, 1929. (submarines)
A pictorial history of oceanographic submersibles. / by James B. Sweeney, 1970.
Deep diving–United States and other countries.
A biomedical assessment of a one-atmosphere diving system: JIM-4. / by
Arthur Bachrach.
Captain Cousteau’s underwater treasury. Edited by Jacques-Yves Cousteau and James Dugan,
1959.
I dive for treasure. / by Harry E. Rieseberg, 1942.
Islands of angry ghosts. / by Hugh Edwards, 1966. This is the story of the shipwreck and
archaeology of the Dutch East India ship BATAVIA in 1629.
Just lucky. / Kenneth K. Knott, 2009. Autobiography of a deep diver.
Man under the sea. / By James Dugan, 1956. A history of deep diving from ancient times to the
1950s.
Underwater man. / Joe MacInnes [i.e. MacInnis]; foreword by Pierre Elliott Trudeau. 1975,
c1974.
Periodicals and journals:
Historical diving. / Historical Diving Society U.S.A., 2004, 2000
Workshops and Proceedings
Emergency medical Technician. / Diver Workshop held on 8-9 December, 1975.
Medical aspects of small submersible operations. The Seventh Undersea Medical Society
Workshop. Submarine Development Group One, 19-20 November 1974. / Undersea Medical
Society, 1974.
Proceedings: Fifth Annual International Diving Symposium. Morgan City, Louisiana
January 21-22, 1975.
Proceedings. 1973 Divers’ Gas Purity Symposium. November 27 & 28, 1973. Held at Battelle-
Columbus, Sponsored by U.S. Navy Supervisor of Diving. Naval Ship Systems Command, 1976.
Proceedings. International Diving Symposium ’76 Louisiana Superdome January 22-23,
1976. Sponsored by the Association of Diving Contractors; Undersea Medical Society; American
Society of Mechanical Engineers Ocean Engineering Division. 1976.
Proceedings. Twelfth International Diving Symposium Sponsored by the Association of
Diving Contractors. February 1-3, 1982. Hyatt Regency Hotel New Orleans, Louisiana,
1982.
Technical Manuals
These handbooks and manuals cover underwater exploration, marine biology, and underwater
photography.
The complete underwater diving manual. / Compiled and edited by the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Office of Marine Resources [no date].
The physics and engineering of diving. Including diving physics, decompression theory and
practice, buoyancy and propulsion, life support systems and equipment. / By R.S. Dickens,
1975.
The silent world. / by J. Y. Cousteau, with Frederic Dumas, 1953.
Three adventures: Galápagos, Titicaca, the Blue Holes. / [by] Jacques-Yves Cousteau and
Philippe Diolé. Translated from the French by J. F. Bernard, 1973. Marine biology–
Galapagos Islands. Marine biology–Belize. Limnology–Titicaca Lake (Peru and Bolivia)
U. S. Navy diving manual. / United States. Navy. 1963-
If you do not see what you are looking for, please call the Library for more information at 310-548-7618 x 215.
The subject of Fishing and Fisheries is depicted in middle to late 20th century literature at a time when governmental regulation of maritime borders became the means of controlling international fishing of coastal waters. Interest in historical fishing, whaling, fishing techniques of other countries, the lives of fishermen, fishing vessels and equipment was notable from the1930s, with most technical works and conference proceedings published between the 1960s and 1980s. Books from the Library’s collections on Fishing and Fisheries are only partially represented here.
Reference works for Fisheries and Fishing
The American fisheries directory and reference book. / Burton T. Coffey, 1978.
Dictionario de pesca y de marina : Marine and fisheries dictionary. / by Jose Alvarez de Manzana, 1966.
Illustration of Japanese fishing boat and fishing gear. / Nori, 1959.
Industrial fishery technology : a survey of methods for domestic harvesting, preservation, and processing of fish used for food and for industrial products. / by Maurice Stanby, 1963.
Interim hearing on Problems relating to the commercial fishing inductry and economic development in the Los Angeles Harbor area. / California Legislature Senate Committee on Governmental Organization, 1986.
Principals for a Global Fisheries Management Regime : a Report of the Working Group on Living Marine Resources Panel on Law of the Sea. / American Society of International Law, 1974.
San Diego Law Review Law of the Seas. / University of San Diego, 1970.
Fish catching methods of the world. / Andres Von Brand, 1978.
Fishing Boats of the World. / Jan-Olaf Traung, 1966, c1955.
Fishing Boats of the World Part 2. / Jan-Olaf Traung, 1960
Fishing Boats of the World Part 3. / Jan-Olaf Traung, 1960
A Sea of small boats / edited by John Cordell, 1989.
World fisheries policy; multidisciplinary views. / Edited by Brian J. Rothschild, 1972.
Fishing Industry in North America
American Fishermen. / by Albert Cook Church, 1961, c1940.
American fishing schooners 1825-1935. / by Howard I. Chapelle, 1973.
The British fishery at Newfoundland, 1634-1763. / Ralph Greenlee Lounsbury, 1972, c1934.
Proceedings of the national fishing industry safety and health workshop./ Edited by Melvin L. Myers and Michael L. Klatt, 1994.
To Stem the Tide: Effective State Marine Fisheries Management. / by Ralph J. Marcelli, 1975.
Fishing As An Occupation
Bibliography for Fishermen’s training. / compiled by A.V. Brandt, 1978.
Draggermen : Fishing on Georges Bank / by George Matteson, 1979.
Fisheries Mathematics : the Proceedings of a Conference / Organized by the Institute of Mathematics and Its Applications, held 24-26 November, 1975, at the Marine Laboratory, Aberdeen ; edited by J. H. Steele, 1977.
Fishermen and Fishing Ways. / by Peter F. Anson, 1975.
The Quest of the Schooner Argus; a Voyage to the Banks and Greenland. / by Alan Villiers, 1951.
Fishing and Fisheries on the West Coast
The California Abalone Industry : a Pictorial History. / by A.L. “Scrap” Lundy, 1997.
Canfisco from sea to shelf. / Canadian Fishing Company Limited, 1947.
The Fisherman’s Problem : Ecology and Law in the California Fisheries, 1850-1980. / by Arthur F.
McEvoy, 1986.
Fishing, Los Angeles Harbor, Part 1. / Los Angeles City Schools Division of Instructional Services, 1963, c1952.
Fishing, Los Angeles Harbor, Part 2. / Los Angeles City Schools Division of Instructional Services, 1963, c1952.
Fishing Barges of California 1921-1998 / by Ed Ries, 2000.
Game Fish of the Pacific./ by George Clifford Thomas, 1930.
An Historical Review of the Fish and Wildlife Resources of the San Francisco Bay Area. / by John E. Skinner, 1962.
The North Pacific Deckhand’s & Alaska Cannery Worker’s Handbook. / by John Higgins, 1978.
Pacific Troller: Life on the Northwest Fishing Grounds. / by Francis E. Caldwell, 1978.
Hunters, Seamen and Entrepreneurs the Tuna Seinermen of San Diego. / by Michael Orbach, 1977.
Inshore Fishes of California. / by John L. Baxter; State of California Department of Fish and Game, 1960.
Offshore Fish of California. / by John E. Fitch, 1960, c1958.
Tales of the Golden Years of California Ocean Fishing 1900-1950. / by Ed Ries, 1995.
Whaling
Harpooned: the Story of Whaling. / by Bill Spence, 1980.
The Portuguese Shore Whalers of California, 1854 – 1904. / by David E. Bertao, 2006.
Salted Tories: the Story of the Whaling Fleets of San Francisco. / by Lloyd C.M. Hare, 1960.
Sea-Hunters the Great Age of Whaling. / by Edouard A. Stackpole, 1953.
Whale Ships and Whaling: A Pictorial History. / by George Francis Dow, 1985.
For more information, please call the Library at 310-548-7618, ext. 215.
Bibliography, Shipbuilding — 1600 to 1900
A bibliography of books on naval architecture rigging and seamanship printed 1600-1919.
Compiled by Lars Bruzelius, 1996.
Biography.
F.H. Chapman : the first naval architect and his work / by Daniel G. Harris, 1989.
Congresses
Proceedings / Eleventh Ship Technology and Research (STAR) Symposium, 1986, held in
conjunction with the SNAME spring meeting hosted by the Pacific Northwest Section,
Portland, Oregon, May 21-23, 1986.
Designs and plans, Historic ships
Guidelines for recording historic ships / Richard K. Anderson, Jr., 1988.
John Lenthall, naval architect : a guide to plans and drawings of American naval and merchant
vessels, 1790-1874 : with a bibliography of works on shipbuilding printed in Great
Britain, France, and the United States, 1707-1882, collected by John Lenthall
(b. 1807-d.1882). / by Gail E. Farr and Brett F. Bostwick, 1991.
History
Skeppet. The ship, an illustrated history, written and illustrated by Bjorn Landstrom.
Translated by Michael Phillips, 1961.
Hydrodynamics
Journal of ship research.
Journals
Transactions – The Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers. 1927, 1941 – 1994
(some years missing).
Masting and rigging
Rudimentary treatise on masting, mast-making, and rigging of ships also tables of spars, rigging,
blocks… / by Robert Kipping, 1928.
Seventeenth century rigging a handbook for model-makers. / by R.C. Anderson, 1955.
Steel’s elements of mastmaking, sailmaking and rigging from the 1794 edition, arranged with
and introduction by Claude S. Gill, 1932.
Merchant ships
Merchant ship design. / by R. Munro-Smith, 1964.
Naval architecture
A treatise on parabolic construction of ships and other marine engineering subjects. / by
John W. Nystrom, 1863.
Basic naval architecture. / by Kenneth C. Barnaby, 1967, c1949.
Manual of naval architecture; the fundamental principles of naval architecture, ship-design
and construction for masters and mates. / by George Charles Manning …, 1930.
Manual of ship construction; the fundamental principles of naval architecture for the
operating personnel of the merchant service, particularly those who are, or desire to become,
officers. / by George C. Manning …, 1932.
Naval architecture simplified, explained in non-technical terms. / by Charles Desmond, 1918.
Ship design and construction. / written by a group of authorities ; Robert Taggart, editor, 1980.
Ship drafting. / by Edgar P. Trask and John P. Comstock, 1938.
Mechanics, Applied
Theory of naval architecture. / by Andrew McCance Robb, 1952.
Sailing ships.
The search for speed under sail, 1700-1855. / by Howard I. Chapelle, 1967.
Sailing ships–History.
Colonial vessels; some seventeenth century sailing craft. / by William A. Baker, 1962.
Shipbuilding–Tables.
Handbook of ship calculations, construction and operation; a reference book for naval
architects, marine engineers, ship and engine draftsmen, deck officers, and others
engaged in the building and operating of ships. / by Charles H. Hughes …, 1942.
Shipbuilding–France–History–18th century.
The seventy-four gun ship : a practical treatise on the art of naval architecture. / by
Jean Boudriot ; English translation by David H. Roberts, 1986.
Ships, Iron and steel.
Design and construction of steel merchant ships…/ Edited by David Arnott, 1955.
Ship design and construction, written by a group of authorities. Editor:
Amelio M. D’Arcangelo, 1969.
Ship construction and calculations with numerous illustrations and examples; for the use
of officers… / by George Nicol, 1920.
Ships–History.
The Lore of ships. / by Tre Trycare, 1963.
Statics and Dynamics
Principles of naval architecture, written by a group of authorities; editors: Henry E. Rossell
and Lawrence B. Chapman, 1962.
Steamboats–History.
The steam launch / Richard M. Mitchell, 1994.
Warships
Principles of warship construction and damage control. / by G.C. Manning and
T.L. Schumacher, 1939, c1935.
Wooden boats–Catalogs. Naval architecture–Designs and plans–Catalogs.
Thirty wooden boats : a second catalog of building plans / by the editors of
WoodenBoat magazine, 1986-88.
If you do not see what you are looking for, please call the Library for more information at
310-548-7618 x 215.
One definition of Marine Art describes paintings, an art medium different than sculpture or film, etc., which is represented below in the Library Collections. Our selection in books shows painters who depicted ships, views of sailors, masters, crew, and objects of maritime significance primarily between the Victorian Era (1830s to 1900) through the 20th century. For a more complete abstract history of the art of portraying the sea and ships in pictures, see Peter Kemp, in the Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea, 1976, page 521, who recounts: “… the earliest known pictures of ships and boats are those which decorate Egyptian pottery… around 3200 B.C.” and further that “… representations of the sea and ships appear in many paintings of the early Renaissance…” and, further, that “… the true birth of marine painting… occurred in Holland in the late 16th century.”. Later in his entry on Marine painting, on page 524, Kemp discloses, “… world wars of the 20th century produced a plethora of marine artists… a result of naval appointments of painters as official artists to record scenes of naval activity.”
Remember that paintings of ships and maritime views may be found in many books that are not about art, but have used paintings as illustrations rather than photographs since photographs were not available at the time of printing. The Los Angeles Maritime Museum’s collections of paintings and other works of art may be consulted separately: please call the Museum for more information at 310-548-7618. Not all books on the subject of the marine art are included here; if you do not see what you are looking for, please call the Library at 310-54807618 x 215.
1. Antonio Jacobsen– the checklist : paintings and sketches by Antonio N.G. Jacobsen, 1850-1921 / compiled by Harold S. Sniffen.
2. American maritime paintings of John Stobart. / [by] John Stobart with Robert P. Davis, 1991.
3. Arthur Edwaine Beaumont, Naval Artist, 1890-1978. / Alison Barrett Beaumont, 1989.
4. Hulls and hulks in the tide of time : the life and work of John A. Noble. / by Erin Urban, 1993.
5. J. & J. Bard, picture painters. / by A.J. Peluso, 1977.
6. Joe Duncan Gleason rediscovering California’s marine art master. / De Chevrieux, Marcus, Curator. 2003
7. Naval battles of World War II 1939-1945; illustrated by naval artist Arthur E. Beaumont…/ compiled by Dean Beaumont, 1985,
c1977.
8. Stobart : the rediscovery of America’s maritime heritage / John Stobart with Robert P. Davis, 1985.
1. The decorative arts of the mariner. / by Gervis Frere-Cook, 1966.
2. A descriptive catalogue of the Marine Collection to be Found at India House. / India House, 1973.
3. Dictionary of marine artists. / by Dorothy E.R. Brewington, 1982.
4. Dictionary of sea painters / E.H.H. Archibald, 1989.
If you do not see what you are looking for, please call the Library for more information at
310-548-7618 x 215.
Marine engineering is defined as “…marine propulsion machinery and auxiliaries… the invention, design, building, installation, operation, and repair of marine engines…”. in Rene de Kerchove’s International Maritime Dictionary, published by Van Nostrand Reinhold in 1961. A Marine Engineer is “…a sea-going engineer, who must be a mechanic as well as an executive officer…” (see de Kerchove, p. 490). Manuals, giving questions and answers for examinations, as well as technical handbooks and guides, contained a complete resource for the engineer, and were published for the technologies of steam, diesel and oil in the 20th century. Thus the handbooks in the Research Library Collection date from before World War I to after the Vietnam War, with most of these published for the sailor or marine engineer between the World Wars.
Titles shown do not reflect the entire collection: if you do not see what you are looking for, please call the Library at 310-548-7618 x 215.
Reference Works: Marine Engines
A pocket book of marine engineering rules and tables. / A.E. Seaton and H.M. Rounthwaite, 1912.
American machinists’ handbook and dictionary of shop terms a reference book for machine-shop and drawingroom data, methods and definitions. / by Fred H. Colvin … and Frank A. Stanley …, 1940.
Annotated acronyms and abbreviations of marine science related international organizations. / Compiled by Jeannette P. North; Revised by Charlotte M. Ashby, 1976.
Audels new marine engineers guide, a practical treatise on marine engines, boilers and auxiliary machinery, including theory and practice of the steam turbine… also U.S. government rules and regulations regarding engineers’ licenses. / by Theo. Lucas, M.E., Frank D. Graham, N. Hawkins, M.E., 1928; 1940.
Dictionary of marine engineering and nautical terms. / by G.O. Watson, 1964.
Machinery’s handbook for machine shop and drafting-room; a reference book on machine design and shop practice for the mechanical engineer, draftsman, toolmaker, and machinist./ by Erik Oberg and F.D. Jones, 1939.
Seaton & Rounthwaite’s pocket book of marine engineering rules and tables; for the use of marine engineering, naval architects, designers, superintendents, and all engaged in the design and construction of marine machinery, naval and mercantile. / Albert Seaton, 1948.
Handbooks and Guides
Marine engine and fire room guide./ by Robert H. Jacobs and E. L. Cady, 1944.
Marine engineer’s handbook prepared by a staff of specialists. / Frank Ward Sterling, ed., 1920.
Modern marine engineer’s manual Vol. 1 & 2 / [edited by] Alan Osbourne, 1943.
Naval engineer’s guide. /by James V. Jolliff and Hollis E. Robertson, 1972.
Practical marine engineering. / by Reno King, 1956.
“Verbal” notes and sketches for marine engineer officers; a manual of marine steam
engineering practice… Volume 1 & 2. / by. J.W. M. Sothern.
Handbooks for Examinations:
20th Century Guide for Marine Engineers, Questions and Answers, Reciprocating Engines, Boilers, Turbines, Gas Engines, Diesel Engines. / by J. A. Ramsey, and J. Rosbloom, 1920.
Engineers’ practical test illustrated : a guide for all men employed in and about power plants; practical information on the care and management of engines, boilers, their accessory machinery; gas engines, dynamos. / by Laird & Lee, 1898.
Cornell red book of marine engineering; questions and answers. / by William B. Paterson, 1971.
Marine engine room blue book : based on the original edition by William B. Paterson. / by William D. Eglinton, 1993.
Questions and answers for engineers and fireman’s examinations. / by Frank D. Graham and Kenneth L. Schank, 1979.
Questions and answers for marine engineers. / by Theodore Lucas, 1903.
Surveys
A history of the Los Angeles District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 1898-1965. / by
Anthony F. Turhollow, 1965.
Comprehensive condition survey for San Pedro Breakwater Los Angeles Harbor Los Angeles County, CA . / U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 1996.
Port of Los Angeles channel deepening project: draft supplemental impact statement supplemental environmental impact report / U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 2000.
Professional memoirs : Corps of Engineers, United States Army and Engineer Department at large. Los Angeles Harbor. / by Amos A. Fries, facsimile copy of 1912 edition.
San Pedro Waterfront Project Notice of Preparation Notice of intent December 2006. / Prepared by Environmental Management Division of the Los Angeles Harbor Department and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles District, 2006.
History
Building the Navy’s bases in World War II; history of the Bureau of Yards and Docks and the Civil Engineer Corps, 1940-1946.
Marine engineering. Written by a group of authorities. Editor: Roy L. Harrington, 1971.
Men, ships, and the sea; the story of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers, by Donald A. Holden, 1968.
Naval engineering and American seapower / editor, Randolph W. King ; associate editor, Prescott Palmer ; with fifteen contributors, 1989.
The steam navy of the United States. / Frank M. Bennett, 1896
Shipbuilding and Stability
Historical transactions, 1893-1943. / The Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers, 1945.
The naval constructor: a vade mecum of ship design for students, naval architects, shipbuilders and owners, marine superintendents, engineers and draughtsmen. / by George Simpson … 1918.
Practical Marine Diesel Engineering. / by Louis R. Ford, 1931.
Ship stability and trim made easy including the construction and use of tipping scale and slip table, etc. / by Oswald Watts, 1926.
Shipbuilding and marine engineering in Japan 1961. / by Japan Ship Exporters’ Association, 1961; 1966; 1968.
The stability of ships with special reference to the particulars which should be supplied by the shipbuilders ad the value of mechanical devices for attaining metacentric height. / by George Johnson, 1932.
Transactions – The Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers. 1927; 1941 to 1994
If you do not see what you are looking for, please call the Library for more information at
310-548-7618 x 215.
Merchant Marine is a phrase defined as “…1. the vessels of a nation that are engaged in commerce…”, and “… 2. the officers and crews of such vessels…” in the Random House Dictionary of the English Language, 1966, on page 896. The concept of merchant ships in the service of the military developed during and after the Civil War, yet the American history of merchant shipping dates back to the early 1600s (see John Spears, The Story of the American Merchant Marine.). Ocean-going commerce expanded up until the 1850s, due to the highly-valued craftsmanship of wooden ships (see Benjamin Labaree, America and the Sea: A Maritime History.), which later could not compete with new technologies of steam and industrial shipbuilding enjoyed by other maritime nations. The 20th century witnessed the Merchant Marine Act of 1936 and the later recognition of the United States Merchant Marine veterans by President Reagan in 1988 for service in World War II. This selection from the Library includes ship registers, histories and periodicals, among the many topics of merchant ships and crews, incorporating a section on the Merchant Marine of the Second World War.
Not all books on the subject of the merchant marine are included here: if you do not see what you are looking for, please call the Library at 310-54807618 x 215.
Reference Works:
Bibliography:
Naval & maritime history; an annotated bibliography. / Robert Greenleigh Albion,
Conference proceedings:
Proceedings – American Merchant Marine Conference. American merchant marine conference proceedings volume 17. / The Propeller Club of the United States, 1952.
Ship registers and Yearbooks:
The List of Merchant vessels of the United States… / 1873; 1884-1887; 1891-1989. Published at various times by the United States Treasury Department, the United States Department of Commerce, Bureau of Navigation, and the United States Department of Transportation and the United States Coast Guard.
See also Lloyd’s Register of Shipping, at http://www.lamaritimemuseum.org/libcollection.htm
on the Library Collections web page, by selecting “shipping”.
See also American Record of Shipping, at http://www.lamaritimemuseum.org/libcollection.htm
on the Library Collections web page, by selecting “shipping”.
Merchant ships 1942./Edited by E.C. Talbot-Booth, 1942.
Merchant ships 1949-1950./ Edited by E.C. Talbot-Booth, 1949, c1939.
Merchant ships 1968./ Edited by E.C. Talbot-Booth, 1968.
Merchant ships 1978, volume 1 & 2. / Edited by E.C. Talbot-Booth, 1978.
Merchant ships: world built vessels of 1000 tons gross and over …. / Compiled
by the Publishers, 1954-1965, c1952.
Topics and Commentaries:
Biography:
The Abraham Lincoln of the sea : the life of Andrew Furuseth. / by Arnold Berwick.
Biography, continued:
Black jacks : African American seamen in the age of sail. / W. Jeffrey Bolster, 1997.
Peter, the odyssey of a merchant mariner. / by Peter Chelemedos, 1992.
The sea years of Joseph Conrad. / by Jerry Allen, 1965.
Education and examinations:
American merchant seaman’s manual, for seamen by seamen. Edited by Felix M. Cornell and Allan C. Hoffman.
Blue book of questions and answers for second mate, chief mate, master, ocean, coastwise, yachts. /By W. A. MacEwen.
Specimen examinations for merchant marine deck officers. / United States Coast
Guard, 1963.
History:
The American merchant marine … / The American Bureau of Shipping, 1933.
Black jacks : African American seamen in the age of sail / W. Jeffrey Bolster, 1997.
From America to United States in four parts: the history of the long-range merchant shipbuilding programme of the United States Maritime Commission./ L.A. Sawyer and W.H. Mitchell
The H. W. McCurdy marine history of the Pacific North west. / edited by E.W. Wright.
The H. W. McCurdy marine history of the Pacific North west. / edited by Gordon Newell.
Heroes in dungarees : the story of the American merchant marine in World War II. / by John Bunker, 1995.
A history of the merchant navy, by H. Moyse-Bartlett.
Merchant steam vessels of the United States, 1790-1868.
“The Lytle-Holdcamper list,” initially compiled from official merchant marine documents of the United States and other sources. / by William M. Lytle and Forrest R. Holdcamper ; rev. and edited by C. Bradford Mitchell, with the assistance of Kenneth R. Hall, 1975, c1952.
Navy and Merchant Marine. / by W.J. Henderson …, 1918.
Queens of the western ocean; the story of America’s mail and passenger sailing lines. / By Carl C. Cutler With a foreword by Chester W. Nimitz.
The United States merchant marine at war. Report of the war shipping administrator to the President. / United States War Shipping Administration, 1946.
Shall we scrap our merchant marine? / by A.D. Rathbone, IV, 1945.
Ships and sailors: the story of our merchant marine. / by William H. Clark, 1983.
The story of the American merchant marine. / by John R. Spears, 1918.
Labor unions:
Merchant seamen : a short history of their struggles / William L. Standard.
Legal status, laws, etc.:
Brutality on trial : Hellfire Pedersen, Fighting Hansen, and the Seamen’s Act of 1915 / E. Kay Gibson ; foreword by James C. Bradford and Gene A. Smith.
Lifeboats:
U.S. Merchant Marine life boat information; examination question and answers. / by Con
Campion, 1929.
Maritime law:
The Merchant marine act, 1936, the Shipping act, 1916, and related acts; (as amended through the 91st Congress, 2d session). / U.S. Government Printing Office, 1970.
Merchant marine laws, 1939-1940. The Merchant marine act, 1936, as amended; the
Transportation act, 1940; Neutrality act, 1939; Dangerous cargo act, 1940; and other laws
affecting the marine industry enacted by the Seventy-sixth Congress, with appendix containing the Shipping act, 1916, the merchant marine acts, 1920 and 1928, Carriage of goods by sea act, amendments to the Seamen’s act and other previously enacted legislation. / United States Marine Progress, Inc., 1941.
Navigation laws of the United States, 1940. Compiled by Frederick K. Arzt.
The Merchant marine act, 1936, the Shipping act, 1916, and related acts; (as amended through the 91st Congress, 2d session) The U.S. maritime industry in the national interest. / by Irwin M. Heine.
Navigation:
The merchant marine manual. / by Capt. Eugene E. O’Donnell, 1918.
Merchant marine officers’ handbook, by Edward A. Turpin and William A. MacEwen …, 1942.
Periodicals:
Professional mariner : the journal of professional seamanship. Volumes:
Pacific Maritime : the journal of record for the West Coast commercial maritime industry. Volumes:
The Anchor Light. Volumes:
The Compass. Volumes:
The Compass : A magazine of the sea. Volumes:
Radar:
Radar training school for American Merchant Marine Officers. / U.S. Department of Commerce Maritime Administration
Sailors Salaries, etc. :
The earnings and employment of seamen on U. S. flag ships. In cooperation with Federal
Maritime Board [and] Maritime Administration, U. S. Dept. of Commerce./ United States. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1958.
Sailors’ Union of the Pacific:
Brotherhood of the sea : a history of the Sailors’ Union of the Pacific, 1885-1985 / by Stephen Schwartz, 1986.
Seafaring life:
Sea grist; a personal narrative of five months in the merchant marine. / by Lehmann Hisey, 1922.
Seamanship:
The men on deck; master, mates and crew, their duties and responsibilities; a manual for
the American merchant service, by Felix Riesenberg…
Practical seamanship for use in the merchant service: including all ordinary subjects;
Seamanship and ship handling an extension course in practical navigation and preparation for Merchant Marine Examination of the United States Coast Guard. / by L.E. Delaney and Lorcan F. Crawford, 1947.
Standard seamanship for the merchant service, by Felix Riesenberg … 625 illustrations.
Shipbuilding—Canada:
Wooden ships and iron men; the story of the square-rigged merchant marine of British North America, the ships, their builders and owners and the men who sailed them. / by Frederick William Wallace … illustrated by photographs and drawings, 1924.
Shipping—History:
Cargo carriers of the Great Lakes : the saga of the Great Lakes fleet–North America’s fresh water merchant marine. / by Jacques LesStrang, 1985.
Jane’s merchant shipping review / edited by A.J. Ambrose, 1984.
Lake carriers Cargo carriers of the Great Lakes : the saga of the Great Lakes fleet–North
America’s fresh water merchant marine / by Jacques LesStrang, 1981.
The story of the American merchant marine, by John R. Spears.
Ships:
American mariner : a documentary biography of her role as liberty ship, training ship, missile instrumentation ship, mystery ship, test target / Herbert Paul Hahn, 1980.
American merchant ships, 1850-1900, by Frederick C. Matthews …
The last of the windjammers, v.1. / by Basil Lubbock Merchant fleets, a survey of the merchant navies of the world, by Critchell Rimington … with numerous contributed articles.
Liberty ships. / by John Gorley Bunker.
Merchant marine house flags and stack insignia. / United States Hydrographic Office, 1961.
Ships of the U.S. Merchant Marine; with an introduction by Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, U.S.N. Illustrated by Jack Coggins, 1947.
United States Navy:
ABC defense and damage control for merchant marine personnel.
World War, 1939-1945
“A careless word– a needless sinking” : a history of the staggering losses suffered by the U.S.
Convoy : merchant sailors at war, 1939-1945 / [by] Philip Kaplan, Jack Currie.
Merchant Marine, both in ships and personnel during World War II / by Arthur R. Moore, 1983.
Merchant Marine war diary (1945) : Battle of Okinawa : China Sea typhoons : victory. / by Henry Kasper, 1991.
Nor death dismay, a record of merchant ships and merchant mariners in time of war. / by Samuel Duff McCoy …, 1992.
Convoy : merchant sailors at war, 1939-1945 / [by] Philip Kaplan, Jack Currie.
Sea war; the story of the U. S. merchant marine in World War II. / by Felix Riesenberg, 1956.
The fighting commodores : the convoy commanders in the Second World War / by Alan Burn.
The United States merchant marine at war. Report of the war shipping administrator to the President.
If you do not see what you are looking for, please call the Library for more information at
310-548-7618 x 215.
Navigation, “… the art or science of conducting a vessel from one port to another both by means of landmarks and by observation of celestial bodies, or by electric beacons…” is defined in the Mariner’s Dictionary, by Gershohom Bradford, 1952, page 178. Vessel steering and piloting along coastlines, harbors and roadsteads was technologically enhanced by aids to navigation such as the compass, chart or map, and measuring devices and instruments in wide-spread use after World War II. Reliance on celestial navigation, also in common use before radar technology,
is much older, extending back to the first millennium B.C. with the Phoenicians
who “… planned voyages … using a wind-rose and the stars…”, from the Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea, by Peter Kemp, 1976, page 578.
Books on navigation in the Library represent historical material. The following list of
books is selected exclusively for the technology of the 20th century, and are only partially
represented here. For pilot charts and maps of coastlines, seas, islands and oceans, or,
if you do not see what you are looking for here, please call the Library at 310-548-7618, x 215.
Navigation History:
1. A history of marine navigation. / by W. E. May, 1973.
2. A history of the practice of navigation. / Brown, Ferguson & Son, 1951.
3. History of navigation & navigation improvements on the Pacific coast. / by Anthony F.
Turhollow, Benjamin F. Gilbert, and K. Jack Bauer, 1983.
4. A short history of navigation. / by W.J. V. Branch and E. Brook-Williams, 1942.
Reference works:
1. The American practical navigator : an epitome of navigation / originally by Nathaniel
Bowditch ; published by the United States Hydrographic Office under the authority of the
Secretary of the Navy, 1931
2. Navigation and nautical astronomy. A textbook on navigation and nautical astronomy,
prepared for use at the United States Naval Academy by Captain Benjamin Dutton, 1932.
3. Navigation afloat : a manual for the seaman. / by Alton B Moody ; foreword by M.W.
Richey, 1980.
4. The Oxford Companion to ships and the sea. / edited by Peter Kemp, 1976.
5. Piloting, seamanship, and small boat handling / Charles F. Chapman ; with revisions by Elbert S. Maloney … [et al.].
6. A select bibliography of British and Irish university theses about maritime history, 1792 to 1990 / compiled by David M. Williams and Andrew P. White, 1991.
General Works:
1. Delaney’s illustrated rules of the nautical road. / by L.E. DeLaney, 1948.
2. Dutton’s Navigation and piloting. Fourteenth Edition by Elbert S. Maloney, 1985.
3. Elements of navigation; a complete exposition of the newest methods as used in the Navy and Merchant Marine. / by W.J. Henderson … , 1918, c1895.
4. The Key to the thirteenth edition of Reed’s new guide book containing the working of the questions and the quantities from the nautical almanac and admiralty tide tables. /
Revised by C.M. Swainston, 1899.
5. Mariner’s notebook. / by William P. Crawford, 1971; 1968, 1966, 1962.
6. Navigation. / by the editors of Time-Life Books, 1976.
7. Navigation prepared by the naval training command./ prepared by Saul Lapidus-Courier Book 1972, c1966.
8. Navigation second edition with a chapter on compass adjusting, and a collection of
miscellaneous examples./ by Harold Jacoby, 1918.
9. Reed’s seamanship and nautical knowledge, compiled for candidates preparing to pass
the examinations for certificates of competency as mates and masters, including answers
to shipbuilding, stability, meteorology, deviation of the compass, cargo works and ships
maintenance. / Thomas Reed & Company, 1931.
10. “Wrinkles” in practical navigation. / by S.T.S. Lecky…, 1887.
Aids to navigation
1. The ABC of compass adjustment being a thorough explanation in simple language of a
complex problem. / by E.W. Owens, 1913.
2. How to adjust your own compass. / K.W. David, 1961.
3. Magnetic compass adjustment simplified. / Bureau of Ships, 1944.
Aids to navigation—Light Lists
1. Complete list of lights and other marine aids. Vols. I-IV. / Treasury Department. / United States Coast Guard, 1953.
2. List of lights and fog signals. / United States. Defense Mapping Agency, Hydrographic / Topographic Center. 1974, 1971, 1953.
3. Light list. Pacific Coast, United States, Canada, and Hawaiian Islands. / U.S. Coast Guard. 1948, 1945.
4. Light list. Pacific Coast and pacific Islands. / compiled by U.S. Treasury Department, U.S. Coast Guard. 2006, 1995, 1964.
Aids to navigation—Lighthouses:
The significance of aids to marine navigation. / United States Coast Guard, 1943.
Biography:
Carry on, Mr. Bowditch; illustrated by John O’Hara Cosgrave, II, 1983, c1955.
See Reference Works for Nathaniel Bowditch as author.
Boating:
See Sailing and Yachting.
California:
1. Harbors and navigation code of the State of California, adopted May 25, 1937, with
amendments up to and including those of the first extraordinary session of the legislature,
1954. Annotated and indexed by the publisher’s editorial staff, 1954, c1944.
2. International port of call : an illustrated maritime history of the Golden Gate. / by Robert J. Schwendinger ; pictorial research by Justine Hume ; produced in association with the Marine Exchange of the San Francisco Bay region, 1984.
Celestial navigation:
1. Celestial navigation step by step. / by Warren Norville, 1975.
2. Celestial navigation : Captain Joe Thompson’s cookbook method. / by Joseph E.
Thompson, 1981.
3. Celestial navigation; a quick, easy, and thorough explanation, with realistically worked
examples, of the practice of celestial navigation at sea, using simple and inexpensive
equipment and requiring only the ability to add and subtract figures, by Frances W.
Wright, 1969.
4. Commonsense celestial navigation. / by Hewitt Schlereth, 1982, c1975.
5. Manual of celestial navigation. / by Arthur A. Ageton … , 1944.
6. Practical celestial navigation. / by Susan P. Howell, 1987.
Charts:
Nautical charts and publications public sale Region 1 United States and Canada 4th edition. / National Imagery and Mapping Agency, 2000, c1998.
Coastwise navigation:
Advanced coastal navigation. / U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, 1987.
Dead reckoning:
Piloting and dead reckoning / by H. H. Shufeldt and G. D. Dunlap.
Distances:
1. Table of distances between ports, via the shortest navigable routes / as determined by the Hydrographic Office, United States Navy Dept, 1936.
2. Distances between United States ports / published by the Defense Mapping Agency,
Hydrographic Center, 1978.
Electronics in navigation:
1. Guide to marine electronics./ By The National Marine Electronics Association, 1983.
2. Radar and electronic navigation. by G. J. Sonnenberg, 1970, c1951.
3. Radar for safer boating : what it is; how it works; when and how to use it for navigating and increasing safety./ Jack West, 1967.
4. Radar plotting manual. / U.S. Navy Hydrographic Office, 1960.
5. The use of radar at sea. / edited by F. J. Wylie, 1978.
Education, examination, questions for Ship captains’ licenses in the United States:
1. The Coast Guard license : from six-pac to ocean operator / by Budd Gonder, 1984.
2. Crawford Nautical School information. / Crawford Nautical School, 1969.
3. Cugle’s Practical navigation. / by Charles H. Cugle, 1943.
4. Navigation. Introduction, Lessons 1, 2 & 3. / Captain L.E. Delaney, 1947.
5. Ocean and inland operator book 1 and book 2 license preparation course. / Richard A.
Block, editor, 1982.
6. Problems & answers in navigation & piloting. / Elbert S. Maloney, 1978.
7. Pugsley’s new guide to the United States local inspectors examination of masters and
mates : of ocean-going steam and sailing ships, containing all useful information and
explaining how to find latitude and longitude by observation, and many other useful
calculations not included in the examination, / by Capt. R.M. Pugsley, 1920.
Gyro-compass:
Gyro-compasses, publication 17-20. / Sperry Gyroscope, 1945.
Inland navigation:
1. Code of Federal Regulations 33 Navigation and navigable waters. / Office of the Federal Register, various dates.
3. Deep water. / New York Marine News Company, Inc, 1952.
Los Angeles Harbor (California):
See California.
Marine meteorology:
Mariners weather log. / National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Environmental Data and Information Service./National Oceanographic Data Center (U.S.), 2008.
Mathematics:
1. Mathematics for navigators a supplement to Dutton’s Navigation and nautical astronomy. / by Bennett M. Dodson and Delwyn Hyatt, 1944.
2. Mathematics used in navigation. Lessons 1, 2, 3 & 4. / by Captain L.E. Delaney and E.W. Tinsely, 1948.
3. Navigational applications of plane and spherical trigonometry / by Carol A. Congleton;
illustrated by Sal R. Garcia, 1980.
4. Piloting/navigation with the pocket calculator. / by Jack Buchanek & Ed Bergin, 1976.
5. Short, easy and improved method of finding the apparent time at ship. / D. M’Gregor & Co., Ltd., 1929.
6. The danger angle and off-shore distance tables with a table of natural sines, tangents, etc./ by S.T.S. Lecky, 1941.
7. Using electronic calculators to solve problems in navigation a supplement to Slide rule for the Mariner. / by H. H. Shufeldt, 1977.
Nautical astronomy:
1. A complete epitome of practical navigation, and nautical astronomy, containing all
necessary instructions for keeping a ship’s reconing at sea… new edition. / By J.W. Saul,
1917, c1852.
2. A treatise on navigation and nautical astronomy, including the theory of compass
deviations, prepared for use as a textbook at the U.S. Naval Academy. / by Commander
W.C.P. Muir …, 1918
3. Basic problems in celestial navigation. / by Barton Roth, 1944.
4. Navigation and nautical astronomy / by Prof. J.H.C. Coffin ; prepared for the use of the
U.S. Naval Academy, 1902, c1898.
Polynesians, Micronesians:
1. The voyaging stars : secrets of the Pacific island navigators / David Lewis, 1978.
2. We, the navigators; the ancient art of landfinding in the Pacific. / David Lewis, 1975.
Oceanography and ocean engineering:
Science and the sea. / U.S. Naval Oceanographic Office, 1967.
Pilots and pilotage:
1. Coastal navigation step by step. / by Warren Norville, 1976.
2. The new-skipper’s Bowditch : piloting from here to there, and home again, with maximum pleasure and minimum trauma. / by James Louttit, 1984.
Royal Navy–Handbooks, manuals:
1. Manual of seamanship, volume 1, 1908. / By authority of the Lords Commissioners of
the Admiralty.
2. Manual of seamanship, volume 2, 1909. / By authority of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty.
Rule of the road at sea for Inland navigation, Law and legislation in the United States:
1. Rules of the nautical road. Farwell’s Rules of the nautical road. / Raymond James Farwell, 1977.
2. Rules to prevent collisions of vessels and pilot rules for certain inland waters of the
Atlantic and Pacific coasts and of the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. / no date.
3. A mariner’s guide to the rules of the road. / William H. Tate, 1982.
Safety measures:
1. Particularized navigation: how to prevent navigational emergencies. / by Frances W.
Wright, 1973.
2. Navigation rules, international-inland / U.S. Department of Transportation, United States Coast Guard, 1983.
Sailing and Yachting:
1. Kindergarten of celestial navigation. / by Joseph Sellar, 1964 .
2. Practical navigation for the yachtsman. / by Frederick L. Devereux, Jr. Illustrated by
Richard Mikulski, 1972.
3. Sailing in the fog. / by Richard Henderson, 1986.
4. Sailing at night. / by Richard Henderson, 1987.
5. Sailing in windy weather. / by Richard Henderson, 1988.
6. World cruising routes / Jimmy Cornell.
7. The yachtsman’s guide to coastwise navigation. / by Stafford Campbell, 1979.
8. World cruising routes. / by Jimmy Cornell, 1987.
9. Navigation for offshore and ocean sailors. / by David Derrick, 1981.
Tables:
1. Self-contained celestial navigation with H.O. 208. / by John S. Letcher, Jr. ; illustrated by the author, 1977.
2. Astronomical navigation tables. Volume A. Latitudes 0 – 4 North and South… / Great
Britain Hydrographic Office,1941.
3. Dead reckoning altitude and azimuth table. / by Arthur Ageton, 1943.
4. Lecky’s general utility tables; for the quick solution of many every day problems in
navigation… / by T.S. Lecky, 1911.
5. Cugle’s two-minute azimuths, volume 1 and volume 2 / by Charles Hurst Cugle, 1945.
6. Tables of computed altitude and azimuth latitudes 0 to 9 inclusive volume 1. / United
States Navy Department Hydrographic Office, 1941.
7. Noon-interval tables. / United States Hydrographic Office, 1943.
8. Distances between United States ports. / United States Department of Commerce, 1978.
United States Navy:
1. Quartermaster 1 & C. / U.S. Navy Training Publications Center, 1949.
2. Quartermaster 3 & 2. / U.S. Navy Training Publications Center, 1963, c1951.
Weather:
1. Admiralty list of radio signals volume 3 1988. Hydrographer of the Navy (Great Britain), 1988.
2. Navigation of ships in a fog. / by C.D. Wilkinson and J.T. Douglas, 1908.
3. On finding the latitude and longitude in cloudy weather and at other times. / By A. C.
Johnson, 1916.
4. Radio weather aids to navigation. Radio weather broadcasting … 1941- ./ United States
Navy Department Hydrographic Office, 1941
The Library’s collection of books on the history of sailing ships are only partially represented here.
If you do not see what you are looking for, please call the Library for more information at 310-548-7618 x 215.
Listed here are books and periodicals on sailing ships from ancient Egyptian or Greek sailing vessels to American Clipper ships and full-riggers. Works on sailing ships focus on sail as the primary means of propulsion for transporting goods, passengers, and navies. They deal with the ancient and modern history of sailing as it evolved from powering small vessels in the ancient world that used local navigation knowledge to the engineered relationship between vessel sail and vessel hull for speed under sail when industrialization began in Europe and the Americas. Book and periodical titles in this list are selected because they offer technical illustrations and photographs or paintings to accompany descriptions of historical sailing ships. Ships registers and reference books also feature steam, motor, diesel and other vessels, ships in the U.S. Navy and the Merchant Marines.
The books on sailing ships listed here were selected from the Library collections at the
Los Angeles Maritime Museum. More books are available than appear on this list, for
example books on voyages and travel accounts, battles, and descriptions of historic ships
are not listed here but are available at the Library. For more information on these
books please call the Library at 310-548-7618.
Dictionaries, Encyclopedias, Registers and Reference Works
America and the Sea / Benjamin Larabee, et al., 1998.
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships / E.M. Eller, editor ; foreword by
Arleigh Burke, et al. United States. Navy Department. Office of the Chief of Naval
Operations, 1959. This is a series in 8 volumes, published between 1959 and 1981.
Lloyd’s Register of Shipping / Lloyd’s Register of Shipping, 1926 – 2001 (some years
missing). Ships are registered by name. For each ship the following information is given
in tables: the register’s identification #s, ship’s name, owners, port of registry, tonnage,
classification, hull (date of construction, length overall, ship type, propulsion), cargo
facilities, machinery, boilers, etc.
Merchant Vessels of the United States. / United States Bureau of Customs, 1873-1980
(some years missing). The earliest publications listed vessels under different categories
such as Sailing, Steam, and Unrigged.
The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. / Peter Kemp, Oxford Univ. Press, 1976.
Encyclopedic reference book has some photographs and illustrations.
Record of American and Foreign Shipping./ American Bureau of Shipping, 1924;
1945 – 1993 (some issues missing). Ships registered by name.
Ships of the World : an Historical Encyclopedia / Lincoln P. Paine, 1997.
American sailing ships–History
The American fishing schooners, 1825-1935. / Howard I. Chapelle, 1973
Fast Sailing Ships : Their Design and Construction, 1775-1875 / David R.
MacGregor, 1988.
The Search for Speed Under Sail 1700 to 1855 / Howard Chapelle, 1967
The History of the American sailing Navy; the ships and their development. /
Howard Irving Chapelle, 1949.
The History of American Sailing Ships / by Howard I. Chapelle ; with drawings by
the author, and George C. Wales and Henry Rusk.
Sailing ships (general)—History
These books are abundantly illustrated, featuring technical drawings, paintings and
illustrations of the periods portrayed. For books on maritime art, see below.
The Great Age of Sail. / [Texts by] B. W. Bathe [and others] with the collaboration of
Jean Merrien. Edited by Joseph Jobé. Translated by Michael Kellyim, 1967.
Great Sailing Ships; an Illustrated Catalogue and History of 150 Extant Barks,
Barkentines, Brigs, Brigantines, Frigates, Schooners, and other large sailing vessels
built since 1628. / by Otmar Schäuffelen. Translated by Inge Moore…, 1969.
The Rigging of Ships in the Days of the Spritsail Topmast 1600-1720. / R.C.
Anderson, 1927. Offers text, diagrams and photographs of ship models, copies of
engravings from the historical period.
Ships / Enzo Angelucci and Attilio Cucari, 1977
Books on merchant sailing ships by Basil Lubbock, featuring illustrations and technical drawings and charts.
The Arctic Whalers. / Basil Lubbock, 1955
The Blackwall Frigates./ Basil Lubbock, 1922.
Colonial Clippers. / Basil Lubbock, 1922.
Coolie Ships and Oil Sailers. / Basil Lubbock, 1955.
The Down Easters : American Deep-Water Sailing Ships, 1869-1929 /
Basil Lubbock, 1976.
The Last of the Windjammers, vols. 1 and 2. / Basil Lubbock, 1949, c1929.
The Log of the “Cutty Sark”. / Basil Lubbock, 1954.
The Nitrate Clippers / Basil Lubbock; with illustrations, 1976.
The Romance of the Clipper Ships / selected from “Sail” by Basil Lubbock ; illustrated
in full color by J. Spurling, 1972.
The Western Ocean packets / by Basil Lubbock, 1988.
California and the West Coast
Pacific Sail: Four Centuries of Western Ships in the Pacific /Roger Morris, 1987
Pacific Square Riggers; a Pictorial History of the Great Windships of Yesteryear /
Jim Gibbs, 1969.
Maritime History in Photography and Fine Art
American Marine Painting a loan exhibition on display at Virginia Museum
September 27-October 31, 1976 and Mariner’s Museum November 8 – December
12, 1976. / Virginia Museum, 1976.
American Naval Prints from the Beverly R. Robinson Collection U.S. Naval
Academy Museum, Annapolis, MD. / Introduction by Roger B. Stein. 1976.
The Art of Nautical Illustration : a Visual Tribute to the Achievements of the
Classic Marine Illustrators. / Michael E. Leek, 1998.
Dictionary of marine artists / Dorothy E.R. Brewington, 1982.
A Pacific Legacy—A Century of Maritime Photography 1850-1950. / Wayne Bonnett,
1991
Sail: the romance of the clipper ships, pictured by J. Spurling, storied by Basil
Lubbock, edited by F.A. Hook, 1972.
Sailing Ships—Prints by the Dutch masters from the Sixteenth Century to the
Nineteenth Century. / Edited by Irene DeGroot and Robert Vorstman, 1980.
Stobart : the rediscovery of America’s maritime heritage / John Stobart with Robert
P. Davis, 1985.
Periodicals:
Journals and magazines listed below offer articles on historical sailing ships. The title,
frequency of publication and Library holdings are listed here.
The American Neptune ; quarterly, 1968 to 1984.
Mains’l Haul ; quarterly, 1966 to 2005.
Mariners Mirror ; quarterly, 1967 to 1996.
Maritime Life & Traditions ; quarterly, 1998 to 2006. Ceased in 2007
Nautical Research Journal ; monthly, 1951 to 1981
If you do not see what you are looking for, please call the Library for more information at
310-548-7618 x 215.
Seamanship is defined as “… the art of sailing, maneuvering and preserving a ship or boat in all positions and under all circumstances…” in The Compact Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary, published by Oxford University Press in 1982. The definition originally came from the Encyclopedia Britannica in 1886.
Historically, the word seamanship was used to delineate the sailor’s skill for ships that were propelled by wind power, skill that was primarily used with ship’s lines, sails, etc. and were aimed at informing the sailor about the array of unique mechanisms and devices that support a ship underway. A ship’s propulsion, steering, and motion overlap with ship building and navigation, topics that are related but published separately for the naval architect and marine engineer.
Book titles shown do not reflect the entire collection: if you do not see what you are looking for, please call the Library at 310-548-7618 x 215.
Reference Works: Handbooks and Manuals
Examination Preparation:
Blue book of questions and answers for second mate, chief mate, master, ocean, coastwise, yachts. / by W. A. MacEwen, 1966.
Questions and answers for deck officers. / by H. Norby, 1944.
Seamanship and nautical knowledge for second mates’, mates’, and masters’ examinations./ by Charles H. Brown, 1938.
Merchant Marine:
Modern seamanship. / By Austin M. Knight, 1937, c1930.
Pipe all hands. / by H.M. Tomlinson, 1937.
Practical seamanship for use in the merchant service: including all ordinary subjects… / by John Todd, 1919.
Meteorology:
Heavy weather guide. / by William J. Kotsch and Richard Henderson, 1984.
Heavy weather guide. Part I: Hurricanes. / by Edwin T. Harding. Part II: Typhoons, by William J. Kotsch, 1965.
Navies of the United States and Great Britain
Admiralty manual of seamanship, 1972-.
Manual of seamanship… / by authority of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, 1919, c1908.
Sail and power; a manual of seamanship for the United States Naval Academy. / by Richard Henderson and Bartlett S. Dunbar, 1967.
Special Training
Oceanography and seamanship. / by William G. Van Dorn, 1974.
Chronicle & directory published by the Pennsylvania Schoolship Association: a chronicle of the Association and Pennsylvania’s Nautical School and training vessels, including a directory of those graduates… as of April 1, 1989.
Manual for the guidance of apprentices on training ships. / by Capt. Eugene E. O’Donnell, 1919.
United States Coast Guard
Basic seamanship and safe boat handling. Based on the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary instruction courses. / by Blair Walliser, 1967, c1962.
Sailing and seamanship. / U.S. Coast Guard Auxilliary, 1988, c1985.
Seamanship and ship handling an extension course in practical navigation and preparation for Merchant Marine Examination of the United States Coast Guard. / By L.E. Delaney and Lorcan F. Crawford
Yachting:
The Annapolis book of seamanship. / by John Rousmaniere, 1989, c1983.
Cruising under sail : incorporating Voyaging under sail / by Eric Hiscock, 1981; 1965
Heavy weather cruising. / Tom Cunliffe, 1988.
Heavy weather sailing. / by K. Adlard Coles.
Offshore cruising encyclopedia. / by Stephen and Linda Dashew, 1989.
Offshore manual international. / edited by Peter Johnson, with Robert Humphreys, Roger Marshall, 1977.
Piloting, seamanship, and small boat handling. / Charles F. Chapman ; with revisions by Elbert S. Maloney … 1951, c1920.
Singlehanded sailing : the experiences and techniques of the lone voyagers. / written and illustrated by Richard Henderson, 1988.
History
A history of seamanship. / by Douglas Phillips-Birt, 1971.
Seamanship in the age of sail : an account of the shiphandling of the sailing man-of-war, 1600-1860, based on contemporary sources. / by John Harland, 1984.
Ships and seamanship in the ancient world. / by Lionel Casson, 1986.
The boatswain’s manual. / by William A. McLeod, 1945.
The kedge-anchor or young sailor’s assistant. / by William N. Brady, 1970, c1857.
The rule of the road at sea and in inland waters; or steering and sailing rules; collisions and law of the port helm. / by Thornton A. Jenkins, 1869.