manuscript doubtless required some ex pl anatory foot-notes and the edito r struggled valiantly in this effort. But she tripped over simple terminology more than once and came up sorely lacking in the proper explanation of some of Beav is' choice of words and phrases. Mi sspelled names of places and ships are sprinkled through the pages , which may be attributable to Beavis' script , or that of the editor. The book is a handsome addition to the sum total of the history of the age of sail , and both Capt. Beav is and editor Kline have done well to preserve it. In the balance , the book shows a health y ration of class. HAROLD H . HUYCKE Captain Huycke, author of To Santa Rosalia , Further and Back , is an advisor to the NMHS.
Great Passenger Ships of the World, Arnold Kludas (Patrick Stephens, Ltd, Wei Ii ngborough , Eng., repr. 1985, 5 vols , $24.95hb/vol). Arnold Kludas , of the German Ship Museum in Bremerhaven, is one of the world 's most important contemporary maritime historians, best known , perhaps , for his sense of detail. His most outstanding and enduring effort has been the five volumes of Great Passenger Ships of the World. A sixth , updated volume is to be released shortly . Every passenger ship over I0 ,000 gross tons is included and this staggering list stretches back to the five-funnel, sixmasted Great Eastern of 1858 . The details listed for each entry include port of registry , overall length , service speed and a full chronological history of the vessel, from keel laying to demise . Few reade rs could require additional information . The ships themselves tend to be grouped first according to period of construction or completion , and then under their owner's name, or as sisterships or fleetmates. The photos , many of them published here for the first time , make a glorious collection . Some are arranged in a series to portray a vessel' s external changes , and there are any number of two-slackers converted to single-stackers , four-masters reduced to twin-masted ships: those life-extending refits that produced tapered funnel s and raked bows. The ships themselves represent an extraordinary li sting (and almost superhuman research) and include not only the well reme mbered transatlantic ships, but those that plied more di stant trades suc h as Australia and Latin America, the colonial steamers and migrant carriers, military troopers and even some converted Victory ships. SEA HISTORY , WINTER 1986-87
The Great Passenger Ships of the World will remain a classic reference for years to come. For anyone even mildly inspired by the sight of an ocean liner, it is well worth the investment . WILLIAM H. MILLER Mr . Miller, author of numerous books on ocean liners, co-authored with Frank Duffy the recently released The Port of New York Book .
The Golden Wreck-The Tragedy of the Royal Charter, Alexander McKee (So uvenir Press, London, 1986, 222pp , illus, ÂŁ15.95hb). In October 1859 , Britain was shocked by the news of the loss of the Royal Charter, then probably one of the fastest passenger liners afloat, and known as " the Queen of the Australia run. " The news was made all the more horrific when it was realized that only 40 men had survived out of a complement of more than 500 passengers and crew. Thi s has been described as one of the greatest peacetime di sasters in maritime history , emphasized by the fact that she had sunk within sixty miles of her destination and home port of Liverpool , after a threemonth voyage from Australia. The Royal Charter was an iron full -rigged ship with auxiliary steam power, launched in 1855 , and described in the publicity of the time as a steam clipper of 2 ,710 tons and 200 hp. She had sailed from Melbourne in August 1859 with some 500 people aboard and carrying more than ÂŁ370,000 in gold in her hold . Many of her passengers were miners who had struck it rich in the Australian goldfields and who were returning home to settle in comfort. No one knows how much coin the passengers carried, nor exactly how much gold was on board , when the ship was Jost. It happened when she was caught on a lee shore owing to a sudden violent shift of wind during a Force 12 hurricane , which drove her on to the rocks on the north coast of Anglesey, where she rapidly broke up . Alexander McKee relates the story of the ill-fated voyage in all its tragedy, pieced together from the recollections of the few survivors and the evidence given at the subsequent Inquest and Board of Trade enquiry. The author has recently done much detailed research into the events which Jed up to the tragedy, and reports the subsequent attempts at salvage which led to much of the treasure being recovered. McKee writes with the easy sty le and expertise of a profess ional marine historian , and his own underwater diving experience has been crucial to the writing
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DEN EAST on the
Island of Martha's Vineyard A large selection of quality out-of-print books including maritime and Vineyardiana. Box 721 , Oak Bluffs, MA 02557 Tel: 6 J7-6g3_3g45
R ead STEAMBOAT NEWS bimonthly publication for steamboat owners, builders and dreamers. Yearly subscription $12 (US funds). Satisfaction guaranteed.
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Catalog upon request of out-of-print books on the sea, ship and the sailor. Books bought and sold on all maritime subjects.
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Enlering Porlla.nd /-/arbor, Porllmid Head Light I 920
Schooners & Sails of the Maine Coast 1800-1920 Photographs for frami11g from a colleclio11 of rare glass 11egatives and photographs.
My grand fa ther owned a well-known calendar business, H.J. Burrowes or Portland , Maine. He spenl man y hours wiLh his 5x7 view camera photograp hin g the magnificent Schooners and sailing vessels that frequ ented Portland Harbor laden with their trade. Unfortunately, most or the glass negati ves were destroyed . We saved a small but fin e collection. Prints from these original antique glass plates are now be ing made available for the first time. In keeping with their historical value, these prinlS receive the fin est treatment available in curre nt photographic methodology. The latest film d evelo pe r combinations are used to provide the most acc urate tonal quality while maintaining the highest resolution possible. Available in sizes 8x I 0 &: 11 x 14 . Send $1.50 for handsome pictorial Oyer and price list. Linda Hoppe 13 Fa rwell Ave., Cumberland Center, ME04021
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