The Journal of Bounty's Launch

[MSzwarc]

The Journal of Bounty's Launch by Lt. William Bligh, RN, annotated and illustrated by A. Richard Mansir, published 1989 by Kittiwake Publications, ISBN:0-929834-00-3

This interesting volume is put together with the modeler in mind. The body of the book consists of transcriptions of portions of the journal that Lt. Bligh kept of the harrowing 4000 mile, 48 day journey he and the 18 other castaways made in HMS Bounty's 23' launch, along with an introduction, illustrations, and drawings by Richard Mansir.

The text of the journal is as Bligh wrote it, complete with peculiar spellings, punctuation, and abbreviations, and the seemingly random capitalization of nouns and adjectives. The journal entries alone make for an interesting read, but they are accompanied by Mansir's tiny pen and ink sketches, as well as several pages of full-color illustrations, including detailed illustrations of the launch and its contents, a speculative illustration of the launch as modified by the castaways, and maps of the incredible voyage. Following the journal are the launch's lines, 3-view drawings, and several drawings of various construction details of the launch, as well as drawings showing how the sails were rigged and used. And finally, there are some brief notes for modelers on building a model of the launch.

 

I found the unique format of the book to be completely engaging, providing the reader with a first-hand account of this amazing voyage, and then providing the experienced modeler with the drawings and details to build a model of the launch. The drawings are certainly sufficient to build from, and can easily be enlarged to the desired scale. The modeler's notes suggest a construction procedure, but are not in any sense an “instruction manual”. And the modeler can glean plenty of details to add to the model from a careful reading of the journal and examination of the illustrations. This book would be a useful addition to the library of anyone interested in the story of the mutiny on HMS Bounty.

Edited February 28, 2013 by MSzwarc