TIDAL HARBOURS COMMISSION - Rear admiral William BOWLES - James John Gordon BREMER - Francis BEAUFORT ( hydrographer ) - George Biddall AIREY ( astronomer ) a.o.- Isaac PURDY ( maps ) :
Reference : 45836
London, printed by W. Clowes and Sons, 1846, in-folio, 34 x 22 cm, xvi pp + 92a pp + (8)nn pp (contents B) + 638 pp + 14 (of 15) folding colour lithographic maps. Uncut copy bound in a half cloth binding with blind supple boards, title label (in French) on spine. Boards of the binding soiled and stained, margins of untrimmed copy a bit dustsoiled, title page soiled. On the whole a clean copy with the maps in very good condition. Provenance. Copy from the library of Louis Raymond de Montaignac de Chauvance (1811 - 1891) with his printed ex-libris on the first paste down. This first owner played an important role in the French navy and was e.g. Ministre de la Marine (1874-1876). Rare exhaustive report presented to both Houses of Parliament on the geography , hydrography, economy, logistics of British harbours. This second report on the subject includes all the ports of Ireland , Island of Man and most of the ports of England. The work is illustrated with 14 (of 15) large folding colour lithographic maps made by Isaac Purdy and printed by Standidge & C°. (The map of Salcombe and Darthmouth was never bound in in this copy and so is missing).