1887 Edition of The American Practical Navigator: Being an Epitome of Navigation and Nautical Astronomy
Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1887. Octavo. Good. Item #19445
1887 edition of what Howes calls the "First accurate navigator's guide' and an institution in Nautical writing, possibly the most important navigator in American history."
Widely regarded as the most influential work in the history of navigation. Bowditch published his first revision of the of the navigator by J.H. Moore in 1799. Discovering more than 8000 errors, in the work of Moore, Bowditch decided to publish his own work, "The New American Practical Navigator", in 1802 and it quickly became the preeminent and most used work on celestial and maritime navigation. Bowditch's work has been updated and published every year since and is still published today.
Contemporary calf binding of full brown leather with red, brown, and black title labels to spine. Square tight binding. Profusely illustrated with maps, charts and line drawings. Titling and ruling in gilt. Fold-out maps and charts. Binding with mild rubbing and edge wear, including a few scuffs. Corners bumped with some loss of leather. Upper front joint with a 2" separation to leather. 647pp + ads. Sporadic very light foxing. Interior generally clean, save for previous owner signature to front endpaper. One proud signature spanning pages 179-190, with the signature loose from the binder's string along the upper gutter.
Overall an uncommon edition of this classic and important nautical work.
Price: $225.00