The Cornish Bookworm

[John R Smith]

Friends

One of my hobbies connected with this boating passion is a search for classic boating books, of the second-hand variety, to complement my classic boat. Now, to be honest, I don’t take this book-collecting altogether too seriously, because I can see that it could become dangerously all-absorbing and horribly expensive.

But on a casual level I do enjoy spotting second-hand bookshops in places which we visit, and then spending a happy hour or so browsing dusty shelves in search of a vital tome. I am, I must admit, rather picky in my requirements – it must be yachting, cruising not racing, and never more recent than say the 1950s. Golden Era, no less.

Just after Christmas I struck gold in a local bookstore here in Truro. In the space of two days I got the following –

• Claud Worth’s “Yacht Cruising”
• Francis B Cooke’s “Cruising Hints”
• T Harrison Butler’s “Cruising Yachts” (1945 1st Ed)
• Maurice Griffiths’ “Post-War Yachting” (1945 1st Ed)
• Eric Hiscock’s “Wandering Under Sail” (1948 2nd Ed)

Which kept me happily reading away by the fireside in these long winter evenings, as you can imagine. All those books are well known, of course, but just occasionally I come across something pretty obscure (at least to me) which is even more fun. Yesterday it was a delightful little volume entitled “Sailing –a Guide for Everyman” by Aubrey de Selincourt, 1949. It’s a good read, the author is opinionated and the text very anecdotal, which is the way I like them, and even better there are numerous delightful line drawings by Guy de Selincourt.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid51/p01bf2cc41e55ba1531c5a89f7f551bbc/fca64dd1.jpg

I could be persuaded to scan a few more of these and share them with you, if you like. Does anyone know anything about Aubrey and Guy de Selincourt? (hint, hint, ACB or Ian W, perhaps). I have another really obscure one for you, but it’s so obscure I have forgotten the author’s name for the moment. Perhaps tomorrow . . .

;) John

[Alan D. Hyde]

Splendid, John.

The more, the better.

Have you read The Venturesome Voyages of Captain Voss? I've got a copy at home. Not sure what year it was, but quite amusing, to be sure.

Alan

[TomRobb]

I can recommend Sensible Cruising Designs by L. Francis Herreschoff as a good read. Our generous sponsor sells it for @ $20 or so I think.
Good to hear all four of you are doing well, particularly the two legged ones.

[shamus]

For a fascinating mixture of good and bad- "The Cruise of the Nona"- Hilaire Belloc.

I'd certainly be interested in seeing more of those drawings John.

[ 02-13-2003, 03:01 AM: Message edited by: shamus ]

[Wild Dingo]

I second Alans suggestion... good read! :cool:

Well done John!

[John R Smith]

Thanks, folks, for your contributions. I think that books about boats are a large part of our passion, somehow. And books about old wooden boats seem to have a special charm.

Anyhow, to keep my promise, here are a couple more nice drawings by Guy de Selincourt –

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid51/p9841cd6e9903d853975c07d8d1ec3f1a/fca64dcd.jpg

At anchor in what looks like a Cornish harbour, and

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid51/p56a231f5abb7e8f41f418ea68f62bdee/fca64dcb.jpg

Laid up in a mud berth.

Alan – so far I have not see a copy of “The Venturesome Voyages . . .” I will keep a lookout for it.

Tom – yes LFH is a splendid author and that book is highly desirable.

Shamus – “The Cruise of the Nona” is one of my favourite volumes, despite the fact that a good half of it is political rant rather than sailing (bit like the Forum, really). Like the Forum, I don’t bother to read the political rant ;)

Now then, for beyond obscure. This is one I picked up in the Lifeboat charity shop at Restronguet Passage. It is entitled “Sea Peace”, by Lord Stanley of Alderley, this edition 1955 (with no publishing history). Essentially it details the story of Lord Stanley’s cruises in his various yachts between 1932 and 1946, with some nice plates in the middle –

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid51/p6cee0473d1e686125ef5ca0785c00830/fca55f48.jpg

This is “Our Boy”, owned by Stanley just before WW II. She is a scaled-down Brixham Trawler, built as a yacht. Like all the later Brixham trawlers, she is ketch-rigged.

John

[ 02-13-2003, 05:42 AM: Message edited by: John R Smith ]

[Mike Field]

.
Nice work John. Browsing bookshops is fun. But I must confess that I do virtually all my used-book buying these days from the internet -- you get an infinitely higher strike-rate (which works against you of course if you're as impecunious as me. :( )

Aubrey de Selincourt is sometimes quoted in the same breath as Arthur Ransome, and I know that people who enjoy Ransome often enjoy de Selincourt too. But I haven't read him myself, so I guess we're still waiting for someone else to stumble along and enlighten us.
.

[martin schulz]

You do know John that this Bookshop is also a Must-See, don't you? So I am accusing you of holding back valuable information's for my field-trip. ;)

I am still looking for books from the 50s about cruising with small boats where my boat might appear.

[ 02-13-2003, 01:09 PM: Message edited by: martin schulz ]

[Sam F]

Originally posted by Mike Field:
.
Nice work John. Browsing bookshops is fun. But I must confess that I do virtually all my used-book buying these days from the internet -- you get an infinitely higher strike-rate (which works against you of course if you're as impecunious as me. :( )
That impecunious problem is widespread. Probably because those Internet purchases are just too easy!
Browsing bookshops is nice too, especially so since things turn up now and then that I've never heard of.
Recently I ran across "Sailing with Mr. Belloc" by Dermod MacCarthy. It proved to be a delightful account of a type of sailing now long gone.

[Dave Fleming]

Do We ALL have the bug???

SWIMPAL is getting verra verra sharp with the gybes about my book purchases on ABEBooks.
Just spent the weeks grocery money this morning on some stuff. Mostly fiction on the Pacific Northwest.
To Build a Ship
Song of the Axe
Fish the Strong Waters
etc..

Perhaps of I sweeten up things with a volume bye
de Selincourt, she likes Ransome, it might be a verra verra diplomatic manoever on my part.
Hummyaaa Hummyaaa, wink wink..

PS: don't go here, sigh.
BOOKS (http://www.chathampublishing.co.uk/index.asp)

[ 02-16-2003, 04:32 PM: Message edited by: Dave Fleming ]

[shamus]

Thanks for posting the extra illustrations John. I'm not an artist at all, so I'll expose my ignorance. Could these be woodcuts or similar process?

[John R Smith]

Shamus

Kate and I are not sure about these illustrations. Some of them look as if they could only be pen and ink, others could be lino or woodcut.

What is interesting, is that they really make the book memorable in a way that photographs, no matter how fine, could not.

And in a cruising book, maps are really important, I believe. I want to follow the ship's course as I read the account. Some of the best maps are those wonderful charts in the original printing of "Riddle of the Sands". Frank Cowper's books are good in this respect, too.

John