MILES, Edmund. An Epitome, Historical and Statistical, Descriptive of the Royal Naval Service of England.

MILES, Edmund. An Epitome, Historical and Statistical, Descriptive of the Royal Naval Service of England.MILES, Edmund. An Epitome, Historical and Statistical, Descriptive of the Royal Naval Service of England. London: Ackermann and Company. 1841. 8vo. Later vellum backed blue cloth, spine ornamented in gilt and with black morocco lettering piece, top edge gilt; pp. xii, [2], 184, [2], 14 (publisher's catalogue), 8 hand coloured aquatint plates with cationed tissue guards, 14 hand coloured wood engraved flags in the text; very light spotting to cloth,

MILES, Edmund. An Epitome, Historical and Statistical, Descriptive of the Royal Naval Service of England. London: Ackermann and Company. 1841.

8vo. Later vellum-backed blue cloth, spine ornamented in gilt and with black morocco lettering-piece, top edge gilt; pp. xii, [2], 184, [2], 14 (publisher's catalogue), 8 hand-coloured aquatint plates with cationed tissue guards, 14 hand-coloured wood-engraved flags in the text; very light spotting to cloth, occasional light offsetting from plates, otherwise a very good copy with engraved armorial bookplate of Robert Laycock inside front cover.

First edition of a finely produced and illustrated book on the Royal Navy at a relatively peaceful period in British history. The charming illustrations were engraved by Newton Smith Fielding after William Adolphus Knell. Knell had originally worked in "the popular Dutch seventeenth-century marine style, … in mid-career he shifted to an English manner to maintain his share of the market. The results were lighter and less heavy-handed pictures marked by translucent seas and broader handling in the skies. He specialized in inshore scenes of England, France, and the Low Countries" (ODNB).

Abbey, 339.

SKU: 2111888