The History of The American Sailing Navy; The Ships and Their Development

New York: Bonanza Books, 1949. Reprint Edition. Hardcover. Very good. xxii, 3-558 pages. Color frontis. Illustrations. Tabular Data Appendix. Index. No DJ present. Cover has some wear and soiling. Howard Irving Chapelle (February 1, 1901 - June 30, 1975) was an American naval architect, and curator of maritime history at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. In addition, he authored many books and articles on maritime history and marine architecture. During World War II, Chapelle served in the United States Army Transportation Corps ship and boat building program, rising to lieutenant colonel. He was appointed Division of Transportation curator of the National Museum of History and Technology. Ten years later, in 1967, he stepped down as curator to assume the role of senior historian. He retired in 1971, accepting the title of historian emeritus. Howard Chapelle was one of America's most distinguished naval historians. His crowning achievement, The History of the American Sailing Navy, has long been out-of-print, but its treatment of the subject remains unparalleled. Accompanying the authoritative text are detailed plans of over 50 sailing vessels as well reproductions of contemporary paintings and drawings. Lincoln Colcord said: "Chapelle, in my opinion, has the soundest ideas on the history of naval architecture and the development of American ship types of any man writing on the subject...HIs work will be of permanent historical value." This is the most comprehensive book ever to be published on the sailing men-of-war of the United States Navy. The author presents a full story of the building of our sailing Navy from colonial times to the time of the last all-sailing man-of-war, built just prior to the Civil War. The book has 200 plans and half-tones.