Original Copy of Davis' Seaman's Speculum Found

[robcg]

Hello All,

 

A while back we had some discussion here about the 1985 facsimile reprint of John Davis' 1711 book on rigging The Seaman's Speculum. The NRG currently has a digital copy of this facsimile available, and it's a great resource for anyone rigging a ship from the late 1600s to early 1700s. I wanted to share some news regarding the original volume from which this facsimile was made; the long lost book has been found.

 

The US Navy Department Library in Washington DC has the original on the shelf. Item ID is 30399000725895 and call number is VM531 .D38 1711. Library website is https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library.html 

The staff at the library are great to deal with, and happy to assist researchers.

 

Those familiar with the NRG reprint will know that there was some trouble with the microfiche from which the facsimile was made, and some of the numbers on page 57 were out of focus and illegible. The editor in 1985 tried to interpolate based on other parts of the book, but specifically noted that the values on page 57 were suspect. I've attached a photo of this particular page (which does show a minor discrepancy between the original and the facsimile on line 13) for any who are interested.  

 

Happy Rigging