The Book of Old Ships: From Egyptian Galleys to Clipper Ships (Dover Pictorial Archive)

By Henry B. Culver

Book Overview

Of all the ships human beings have constructed to navigate the waters of the world -- from a hollowed-out log sharpened at both ends to modern ocean liners weighing thousands of tons -- those powered by the wind are among the most interesting and beautiful.
In this classic review, noted maritime artist Gordon Grant has created 80 magnificent line illustrations of some of history's most important sailing ships, beginning with a graceful Egyptian galley (c. 1600 B.C.) and ending with a splendid five-masted clipper ship of 1921. Also depicted are a Roman trireme, a Viking longship, a sixteenth-century caravel, an East Indiaman of 1750, an early nineteenth-century brigantine, a New Bedford whaling bark, and dozens of lesser-known vessels, among them the galleass, carrack, buss, and flute.
Henry B. Culver, well-known authority on naval history, has provided a detailed, meticulously researched text for each vessel, describing the materials and details of construction, how the ship's design matched its function, the period in which the vessel flourished, romance and lore surrounding the craft, and more. Naval historians and model shipbuilders will value this work as an excellent sourcebook and reference with much information on the evolution of sailing vessels, the origins of shipping, customs of the sea and other pertinent matters; sailing enthusiasts will find it a wonderful browsing book, offering an informative, handsomely illustrated look back at 3,000 years of sailing history.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0486273326
• ISBN13: 9780486273327
• Release Date: November 1992
• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.84 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.4" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

The Book of Old Ships

I bought this book because I needed reference pictures of ships in order to draw them. This book has 1 illustration per ship. A good overview(some text written) on the old ships and good illustrations too. It would be great to have more pictures, from a couple different angles. This book doesn't help people who need to see details and learn about ship rigging or how they work or anything. But it is a great place on where to start to find out what ships are called and what they look like. I'm not sorry I bought it for the price.

A Treasury of Sail

The author presents a history of sailing ships through illustrations and descriptions that span 2-3 pages. He breaks the subject matter between long ships and round ships and presents the ships in chronological order from ancient galleys to clippers. The content of the description seems to be drawn from personal experience, where possible, and various research sources. The author does use a lot of naval terminology for rigging and ship structure that may leave the young or unversed in the dark. The real glory of the book is not, however, the entertaining prose, but the drawings of the ships. The art ranges from mostly black ink renderings of the ships to a few water colors (at least in my hardcover copy) that are simply beautiful pieces. If you are lucky enough to find a decent early copy (like my 1924 copy) jump on it. Or, if you are interested in seeing what various sailing ships looked like, any copy will do. P-)

Delightful reading for enthousiast and history buff alike

Essentially a reprint of a book published originally in 1924, the book manages to have both modern prose and a dated (nonpajorative in this case) perspective. Because the author is chronologically close to his subject, his focus on the meat of the matter is excellent. Complemented by excellent illustrations from Gordon Grant, Culver's prose flows forth, at once detailed, humourous, and filled with romance. An easy read that will probably be enjoyed by enthousiast, history buff, and devout non-fiction reader alike. We can only hope that this book does not go out of print for another 75 years.