Book Review:
Old Ship Figure-Heads & Sterns
with which are associated galleries, hancing-pieces, catheads and divers other matters that concern the "grace and countenance" of old sailing ships
by L. G. Carr Laughton (Leonard George Carr)
Edition 1991
Published London : Conway Maritime, 1991.
Physical Description Hard Cover; In Dust Jacket / Slip Case 281 p., 55 p. of plates : ll. ; 31 cm. 2,7 kg
Notes Originally published: 1925. (limited edition with 1.500 copies) / The 1991 edition is limited to 750 copies
Small Folio in original gilt lettered blue cloth, gilt top edge and dust jacket with 8 tipped-in colour plates (including frontispiece), b&w plates and illsutrations in text from drawings.
Oversized hardback book with 281 pages of text. Illustrated with color frontispiece and 7 additional color plates, 48 plates in monochrome and over 70 line drawing in the text.
CONTENT:
Due to the fact, that modelers and history interested members will be very much interested in the details I show here the contents list and the list of plates, illustrations, the Index of subjects and Index of ships much more in detail, than usual. So you can easier find your ship or period you are interested in.
REVIEW by Richard Hunter - Figurehead Historian
Prior to its original publication in 1925 by Halton & T. Smith of London, very little material had been published in the United Kingdom, on the subject of Decorative Maritime woodcarving, both in the Naval and Merchant traditions, specifically the area around the ships figurehead and the stern carvings, that was apart from the very occasional magazine article, appearing in such publications as the Century and Gentleman magazines, Illustrated London
, or The Strand magazine plus a number of other relatively obscure publications from the late 1890’s onwards, even then the treatment of the subject could be seen as was somewhat casual in it’s approach, and at the same time loose in it’s overall detail, errors and miss identifications published in one article would be repeated almost verboten in others, little of the material held in the archives of the British Admiralty or the Public records office was used or taken into account, without a doubt as a Naval historian Leonard Carr-Laughton understood and appreciated the subject and took great care with his meticulous and painstaking research in both public and private archives, in the United Kingdom , North and South Europe.
Much of this material had not been published before, he was able to categories the subject into a number of major chapters, Figureheads, The Stern, Quarter Galleries, the Broadside, Inboard works, and Painting & Gilding, each chapter had a number of sub-chapters such as British and then Foreign practice, this is invaluable if one is to understand and appreciate the different styles and traditions used thoughts the centuries from the early limited figureheads and decorations of the fifteenth century to the great excess of the highly ornate extravagance of the Baroque period thought out the whole of Europe during the seventeenth and eighteenth century, to the ultimate end of the tradition at around the end of the nineteenth century, with the dramatic changes in Naval Architecture across the World with its fundamental and far-reaching change from traditional sail to steam during the last half of the century, and then eventually from Wood to Iron and then in time Steel during the last quarter, each chapter is rich with fine line illustrations taken from surviving models of the period, today this detailed research stands as the bench mark for our present day understanding and appreciation of this complex and fascinating subject, copies of the original large and handsomely bound limited edition are extremely rare and much sort after by collectors, as such good editions carry a high price on the open market.
Available RePrints:
Paperback reprint from 2011 by Dover Publications
https://www.amazon.com/Ship-Figure-Heads-Sterns-Dover-Maritime/dp/0486415333
or
Paperback Reprint in bigger size by Algrove in 2005
Smyth-sewn softcover, 8-1/2” x 11”, 296 pages, 8 full colour pages, numerous black and white photographs and line illustrations, first published in 1925, reprinted in 2006 as part of the Classic Reprint Series.
LOOK INSIDE:
see more in the following post
Old Ship Figure-Heads & Sterns
with which are associated galleries, hancing-pieces, catheads and divers other matters that concern the "grace and countenance" of old sailing ships
by L. G. Carr Laughton (Leonard George Carr)
Edition 1991
Published London : Conway Maritime, 1991.
Physical Description Hard Cover; In Dust Jacket / Slip Case 281 p., 55 p. of plates : ll. ; 31 cm. 2,7 kg
Notes Originally published: 1925. (limited edition with 1.500 copies) / The 1991 edition is limited to 750 copies
Small Folio in original gilt lettered blue cloth, gilt top edge and dust jacket with 8 tipped-in colour plates (including frontispiece), b&w plates and illsutrations in text from drawings.
Oversized hardback book with 281 pages of text. Illustrated with color frontispiece and 7 additional color plates, 48 plates in monochrome and over 70 line drawing in the text.
CONTENT:
Due to the fact, that modelers and history interested members will be very much interested in the details I show here the contents list and the list of plates, illustrations, the Index of subjects and Index of ships much more in detail, than usual. So you can easier find your ship or period you are interested in.
REVIEW by Richard Hunter - Figurehead Historian
Prior to its original publication in 1925 by Halton & T. Smith of London, very little material had been published in the United Kingdom, on the subject of Decorative Maritime woodcarving, both in the Naval and Merchant traditions, specifically the area around the ships figurehead and the stern carvings, that was apart from the very occasional magazine article, appearing in such publications as the Century and Gentleman magazines, Illustrated London
, or The Strand magazine plus a number of other relatively obscure publications from the late 1890’s onwards, even then the treatment of the subject could be seen as was somewhat casual in it’s approach, and at the same time loose in it’s overall detail, errors and miss identifications published in one article would be repeated almost verboten in others, little of the material held in the archives of the British Admiralty or the Public records office was used or taken into account, without a doubt as a Naval historian Leonard Carr-Laughton understood and appreciated the subject and took great care with his meticulous and painstaking research in both public and private archives, in the United Kingdom , North and South Europe.Much of this material had not been published before, he was able to categories the subject into a number of major chapters, Figureheads, The Stern, Quarter Galleries, the Broadside, Inboard works, and Painting & Gilding, each chapter had a number of sub-chapters such as British and then Foreign practice, this is invaluable if one is to understand and appreciate the different styles and traditions used thoughts the centuries from the early limited figureheads and decorations of the fifteenth century to the great excess of the highly ornate extravagance of the Baroque period thought out the whole of Europe during the seventeenth and eighteenth century, to the ultimate end of the tradition at around the end of the nineteenth century, with the dramatic changes in Naval Architecture across the World with its fundamental and far-reaching change from traditional sail to steam during the last half of the century, and then eventually from Wood to Iron and then in time Steel during the last quarter, each chapter is rich with fine line illustrations taken from surviving models of the period, today this detailed research stands as the bench mark for our present day understanding and appreciation of this complex and fascinating subject, copies of the original large and handsomely bound limited edition are extremely rare and much sort after by collectors, as such good editions carry a high price on the open market.
Available RePrints:
Paperback reprint from 2011 by Dover Publications
https://www.amazon.com/Ship-Figure-Heads-Sterns-Dover-Maritime/dp/0486415333
or
Paperback Reprint in bigger size by Algrove in 2005
Smyth-sewn softcover, 8-1/2” x 11”, 296 pages, 8 full colour pages, numerous black and white photographs and line illustrations, first published in 1925, reprinted in 2006 as part of the Classic Reprint Series.
Old Ship Figure-Heads and Sterns : With Which Are Associated Galleries, Hancing-Pieces, Catheads and Divers Other Matters That Concern the "Grace and Countenance" of Old Sailing-Ships: L. G. Carr Laughton: 9781894572743: Amazon.com: Books
Old Ship Figure-Heads and Sterns : With Which Are Associated Galleries, Hancing-Pieces, Catheads and Divers Other Matters That Concern the Grace and Countenance of Old Sailing-Ships [L. G. Carr Laughton] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Old Ship Figure-Heads and Sterns : With...
www.amazon.com
LOOK INSIDE:
see more in the following post
Gear
