- 81
BOWDITCH, THE NEW AMERICAN PRACTICAL NAVIGATOR. NEWBURYPORT, 1802
Estimate
3,000 - 5,000 GBP
bidding is closed
Description
- The new American practical navigator. Newburyport: Edmund M. Blunt for Brown & Stansbury, 1802
FIRST EDITION, 8vo (225 x 132mm.), folding "Chart of the Atlantic Ocean" and 7 engraved plates (one partially hand-coloured), numerous diagrams and tables, contemporary sheep, folding chart and one plate repaired, some browning and staining, slightly worn and rebacked
Provenance
bought from Joseph Felcone, Princeton, NJ, 2000
Literature
Tomash & Williams B216; John F. Campbell, History and bibliography of the New American practical navigator and the American coast pilot (Salem, 1964), pp.75-78 no. 3; Shaw & Shoemaker 1936; cf. Karpinski pp.142-143 (listing 7 other issues)
Condition
Condition is described in the main body of the catalogue, where appropriate.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
Catalogue Note
Variant issue, with the imprint "Newburyport (Mass), Edmund M. Blunt for Brown & Stansbury" and differing advertisements at end. No priority among the seven known variants of this first edition has been established. "This work is often termed the greatest book in all navigation history, and it is certainly the chief American contribution to the science of navigation." (Daniel Elliott, Maritime history: a hand-list of the collection in the John Carter Brown Library (1474 to ca. 1860), Providence, RI 2005, p.42).
Intending to write a corrected edition of J.H. Moore's Practical Navigator, Bowditch found that such extensive revisions were necessary that the result was a new work.
Intending to write a corrected edition of J.H. Moore's Practical Navigator, Bowditch found that such extensive revisions were necessary that the result was a new work.