BOOKS
IDSTORYm PHOTOGRAPHS by Jeffrey Simpson
The Hudson River: 1850-1918 A Photographic Portrait " Here is a piece of ge nuin e America na. An enduring efforr, The Hudson River: 1850-19 18 will make an ideal book for lovers of pictorial history." -United Press
Internatio nal 208 pages , 15 0 B&W photographs , c lothbo und, 529.95
Officers And Gentlemen Historic West Point in Photographs In 200 photographs and illustrations, Offi¡ cers and Gentlemen chronicles the growth of the academy and the exploits of its graduates from West Point's fo un ding in 1802 until Wor ld War I hero Douglas MacArt hur b eca me superint endent in 19 19. 224 pages , 200 B&W photographs , c lo thbound , 524.95
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42
The Medlt;y of Mast anJ Sail Il: A Camera Record, ed. Alex. A. Hurst (Teredo Books, Brighton, UK/ Naval Institute Press, Annapolis MD, USA, 1981, 473 pp., 525 photos, $29.95). Medley I, a photographic review of working sail issued in 1977, made a considerable name for itself. This is, simply, more and better. Here a whilom mariner, deep draft thinker and cherisher of things made lovely by human effort and caring has really hit his stride, gathering in hundreds of photographs, and also memories, anecdotes and observations from a worldwide network of correspondents . Here one meets direct experience with archaic and out-ofthe-way working sail and oar powered vessels, one of which, the Portuguese xavega discussed by Major David Goddard, went extinct (except for an example saved by him in the Exeter Maritime Museum!) while this book was in the making. The working of these vessels, from the big Australian grain trade ships the author sailed in, to the little Breton and English brigs and schooners he watched ply England's coastal waters as a child, is discussed with authority, and with a sea sense that cannot be mistaken. Hurst knew and kept in touch with our own Archie Horka of New Jersey (see memoir, SH15:40), the late Jim Gaby of Australia and that courtly and learned gentleman Tomaso Gropallo of Genoa, Moshulu's Captain P. A. McDonald in California ... well , read the inimitably discursive "Acknowledgements," and you will find yourself in the company of those who guard the flame . No one writes with Hurst's idiosyncratic verve and vitality (and exuberant prejudices!), no one can better make you feel and see what is in a photograph . Again , you owe it to yourself to turn these pages, and become engrossed in a deeply learned, deeply felt, memorably expressed story. P .S. The Era of the Joy Line, by Edwin L. Dunbaugh (Greenwood Press, 88 Post Road West, Westport CT 06881, 1982, 363 pp., ill., $27.50) While the overnight steamers of Long Island Sound, which connected New York City with various New England cities, have been the subject of a number of books and numerous articles, the subject has long cried for definitive treatment. The year 1982 has brought us such a work: Edwin Dunbaugh's Era of the Joy Line. The Joy Line operated freight and passenger steamers between New York and two New England capitals-Providence and Boston. It began operati ng in March 1899, and throughout its independent history provided cut-rate competition
for the New Haven Railroad's transportation monopoly, which operated both trains and some of the finest inland/ coastal steamers of the world. The line was bought out by the railroad in 1905 , and continued operations for six more years under its original name. Among the three men who ran the Joy Line was F.M. Dunbaugh, grandfather of the author. The book goes beyond the Joy Line itself to treat chronologically the marine operations of the New Haven, and other Sound lines of the period. Thus the work covers the general history of Long Island Sound steamers from the 1890s through 1907. As indicated by the introduction , this is less a book of men and their business than it is one of steamboats. The text follows these craft through the routine of daily operations, as well as the spectacular incidents which made news reporters of the day scramble. The story of the steamer Larchmont's sinking in 1907 is particularly complete, as is the description of a typical overnight voyage from Providence to New York. Mr. Dunbaugh's feeling for the steamers is evident. The book is replete with comments on the appearance, relative co mfor t, and passenger and freight capacities of the steamers, including the number of staterooms on each boat. This information serves to explain the shuffling of vessel assignments on the various lines operated by the New Haven, and clarifies the differences between the services offered by the Joy Line and its competitors. While others have told what happened when steamers were built and reassigned, Dunbaugh puts it all in perspective by telling the reader why it happened, in revealing detail. Machinery types and advances are lightly treated. This weakness leads to the perpetuation of two notable errors of a previous well known author. First, the Fall River steamer Pilgrim is incorrectly indicated to have had feathering paddle wheels . The second error involves three steamers. The Massachusetts and Bunker Hill of 1907 were propelled by steam turbines, while the third sister Old Colony had reciprocating engines. Regretfully, this book reports that Old Colony was the lone turb ine steamer of the trio. Unfortunate as these errors are, they pale in significance when contrasted with the run of this very dependable work. The well-written text addresses the subj.:ct seriously, yet has many witty touches that reveal the author's unabashed affection for the subject. The resulting narrative is both informative and entertaining. There is a prologue, fo llowed by a chapter covering the 1890s. A full chapter is SEA HI STO RY, W INTER 1982/ 83