Blue background cover of "Ship Model Building." Titled in large red script, with author "Gene Johnson" below. White sailing ship in background. Text at bottom reads "Third Edition-- Revised and Enlarged. Many new drawings and complete working plans for a Clipper Ship, a Gloucester Fisherman, a Harbor Tugboat, a Dragger, and the 'ironclads' Monitor and Merrimac."

Yellow-orange background of the cover of Hobbs' "How to Make Clipper Ship Models." Black script typical of early 20th C.; three gray-scale photo vignettes are present showing a clipper ship model being built.

When the love of books, boats, and graphic design converge... Gene Johnson's "Ship Model Building" (3rd edition, 1961; orig. 1943) and Edward Hobbs' "How to Make Clipper Ship Models" (1952 reprint of 2nd edition.[1938]). #NauticalBooks #Boats #BookCovers #ModelShips

1947 "Boats Anyone Can Build" titled at top; below reads: "Over 300 photographs, blueprints, and drawings, plus complete plans and easy-to-follwo, step-by-step instructions show you how to build your own sailboat, runabout, motor cruiser, and dozens of other types of pleasure craft. Consult the convenient boat selection chart to find the boat that's exactly right for you." Blue background, with a sailboat being fitted out on the beach in foreground.

Titled at top: "23 Boats you can Build"; in center: "Step-by-step Instructions, Pictures, and Plans. Yellow sky background with a sailboat in the foreground, motor-cruiser and rowboat behind it. .

When the love of books, boats, and graphic design converge... Two mid-century gems: "Boats Anyone can Build" (by Popular Science) 1947, and "23 Boats you Can Build" (by Popular Mechanics) 1950. #BoatBuilding #BookCovers #NauticalBooks

Cover of Frank Goodrich's ca. 1875 "History of the Sea." Center is a round gold embossed seal with the title, and a sailboat in the middle. The cover is thick with deep cut bevels, covered in red cloth. The top three sections are black embossed images of a ship at sea, a sea bird, a ship framed by icebergs; the three sections at bottom feature a diver exploring a wreck, a whale spouting, and coral, starfish and various fish. The gold seal at center is framed with decorative blank embossing.

When the love of books, boats, and graphic design converge: F. B. Goodrich's "History of the Sea," n.d. (ca. 1875). Black and gold embossed red cover, with deep bevels sectioning off eight areas. #BookCovers #NauticalBooks #Ocean

Royal blue cloth cover of Carpenter & Barker's "Nature Notes for Ocean Voyagers." Title is imprinted, but un-colored; the publishing house's motif is also imprinted -- C G & Co.= Charles Griffin & Co., London. In center is a gold embossed flying fish.

Captains Alfred Carpenter & D. Wilson Barker's eclectic "Nature Notes for Ocean Voyagers" (1926), featuring a lovely gold embossed flying fish on the cover. The book is scientific at first, but also has chapters on sea monsters, sailors' rituals and ships' mascots. #NauticalBooks #BookCovers #Ocean

Sepia photograph of a small sailboat with the sprit rig up, sitting on a deck, framed by the boat house doorway. Behind the boat is the John Day River, Astoria, and a wooded hillside on the horizon.

Dust Jacket of Howard Chapelle's "American Small Sailing Craft: Their Design, Development, and Construction." Black and White text on red back ground; at bottom black text reading "Over One Hundred Plans and Illustrations" Lower half is white back ground with four black-line inkings of sailing craft transposed with red-line images of boat plans showing profile, plan, and section views. One of the finest over all cover designs in my opinion.

Barnegat Bay Garvey Box-- a duck hunting boat from New Jersey, built from lines in Howard Chapelle's "American Small Sailing Craft," (2017 edition; orig: 1951), figure 20. ...And the beautiful jacket of the book-- same as first edition. #Boats #BookCovers #NauticalBooks #Boatbuilding #SailingA

"Vanta Kutchin by Douglas Leechman" (in bold red text); "National Museum of Canada" at bottom. Background is two colors-- blue and black; below the title is a man paddling a bark canoe.

When the love of books, boats, and graphic design converge: Douglas Leechman's "Vanta Kutchin," (1954), an ethnography published by Department of Northern Affairs and National Resources and National Museum of Canada. #BookCovers #NauticalBooks #Canoe #Canada

Well worn copy of Keely and Davis' "In Arctic Seas-- or The Voyage of the Kite." This title in gold over a Prussian blue cloth cover. In center is a silver embossed image of the Kite sailing (head-on) between icebergs, with the sun poking beneath cloud cover; waves in the foreground.

Olive Green cloth cover of A. P. Low's "The Cruise of the Neptune" (embossed in gold). Dates of "1903-04" at bottom. In the center is a gold embossed profile of the three-masted D. G. S. Neptune-- presumably 'Dominion Government Ship,' an auxiliary steamer.

Covers of two lesser-known Arctic Expeditions, both with nice gilt embossing. Keely & Davis' 1892 "In Arctic Seas: Voyage of the Kite," one of the Peary relief voyages, and A. P. Low's "Cruise of the Neptune," (1906), a Canadian government expedition. #BookCovers #NauticalBooks #ArcticExpedition

Plain board cover with Japanese text above English. English: A Study of Ancient Ships of Japan Volume VII Part IV Skin-Boats Sec. III THE KAGAMI-NO-FUNE or Wicker Boat by Shinji Nishimura Published by The Society of Naval Architects 8, Marumonchi 3-chome, Kojimachi-ku, Tokyo March 1930.

A former owner's book plate: a sepia photograph looking out of a shadowed archway at a cathedral. The text reads "Ex Libris Franz Boas." The cathedral is the "Dom zu Minden," begun in 803, destroyed in 1945, and re-built. Minden is where Boas was born (1858).

Shinji Nishimmura's 1930 "The Kagami-No-Fune, or Wicker Boat"-- part of his series on ancient ships and boats of Japan; This volume covers skin boats. Also shown is a former owner's book-plate. More in Alt-Text. #BookCovers #NauticalBooks #Japan #NauticalArchaeology

Cover of Neyret's Vol. I of "Pirogues Océaniennes" (1974), featuring brown inked drawings of Melanesian Sailing Canoes and paddles with subtle red highlights. This entire volume of 180 pages covers just one region, emphasizing the tremendous diversity of canoe forms; Volume II covers 'the rest of the world.'

Cover of Neyret's Vol. II of "Pirogues Océaniennes" (1974). Brown inked drawings of a sailing canoe on the cover with details and red ink highlights, on a white background. A section heading in lower center lists regions covered: Polynesia, Micronesia, Indonesia, Indian Ocean , and Other Continents (all in French).

When the love of books, boats, and graphic design converge: Jean Neyret's "Pirogues Océaniennes" (I & II), 1974. A heavily illustrated catalog of the world's canoe-forms. The simple and subtly colored cover features some of the drawings that are black-line inside. #NauticalBooks #BookCovers

Cover of C. Bowyer Vaux's "Canoe Handling," 1901. Light gray cloth with stylized title and gold embossed sailing canoe at lower right.

Cover of W. P. Stephens' "Canoe and Boat Handling," 1898 (8th edition). Light gray cloth with stylized title at top. Center shows cross-section view of a canoe's hull; it is asymmetrical as one side shows the bow view and the other the stern view. The horizontal line shows where the calculated waterline would be, given a certain load.

When the love of books, boats, and graphic design converge:
2 simple but elegant covers from the turn of the last century featuring very elegant script. Vaux's "Canoe Handling" 1901, and Stephens' "Canoe and Boat Building" 1898. Both Pub'd by Forest & Stream. More in Alt. #BookCovers #NauticalBooks

Tri-lingual cover of Captain H. Paasch's "From Keel to Truck," 1885. Embossed and gilded brown cloth with rope work design surround an anchor, wheel, capstan, and screw. Below the titles is an auxilliary (steam and sail) Atlantic steamer-- four masts and two stacks.

Frontispiece engraving of Captain Paasch (behind the moustache) with his interesting signature below, perhaps signed with the aforementioned 'stache. Title page with usual text, primarily in German; published in Antwerp. It notes Paasch was an English Lloyd's Inspector. The red stamp shows it was sold by L. Friederichsen & Co. of Hamburg.

When the love of books, boats, and graphic design converge...
H. Paasch's "Vom Kiel Zum Flaggenknopf: Marine Wörterbuch... etc." 1885. An illustrated nautical dictionary in French, English and German. A very vividly gilded cover! Front & title included. More in Alt-Text #BookCovers #NauticalBooks

Blue cover of Chatterton's "Fore & Aft Rig," 1927. The cover is unique as it has a color plate glued on showing King Charles II's Yacht "Mary"-- a gaff-rigged topsail cutter, I believe. A larger square rigged ship is in the background, left.

When the love of books, boats, and graphic design converge...
E. Keble Chatterton's 1927 "Fore & Aft Craft: The Story of the Fore a\& Aft Rig." Cloth with a glued-on color plate showing Charles II's yacht 'Mary,' which appears to be a top-sail gaff-rigged cutter. #BookCovers #NauticalBooks

Book Jacket/Cover of 1943 Cornell Maritime Press' "How To Abandon Ship" by Phil Richards and John J Baningan (second ed.). Shows a red freighter down in its bows with a lifeboat in the foreground.

When the love of books, boats, and graphic design converge...
Covers of some of my favorites: "How to Abandon Ship" by Phil Richards and John J. Banigan, 1943 (2nd ed.). Grim instructions from two who survived war-time sinkings.
#BookCovers #NauticalBooks #BookDesign