Sign up to receive email notices of recent acquisitions.
Directions for Sailing in and out of Plymouth Harbour taken by Moses Bennet, William Rhodes, Thomas Allen, and Nathaniel Green, being a committee of the Marine Society of Boston, appointed for this survey, by the desire of a committee of the General Court of the Massachusetts-Bay, appointed to build a light-house on the Gurnet, near Plymouth-Harbour, in said province, in July 1768.
Boston: [Commonwealth of Massachusetts,] 1785. Broadside, 16.125” x 13.25”. Title above two columns of text. CONDITION: Good, old folds with a few small losses to lettering and ornamental border along folds, mostly reinstated by hand. One of only two known copies of an eighteenth-century broadside consisting of sailing directions centering around the Gurnet Light, on the north side of Plymouth Bay, to guide ships entering and leaving one of the most historic harbors in the United States—the site of the Mayflower’s landing. This pilot was originally published in 1768 in connection with the construction of what is thought to have been the second lighthouse “on the Gurnet head,” which included twin beacons or “two lanthorns,” as noted in the directions, distinguishing it from the Boston Light and making it the first twin lighthouse in America. It was built on land rented from John and Hannah Thomas for five shillings a year and John served as its first keeper. During the Revolutionary War, John Thomas raised and served with a regiment of volunteers from Plymouth County. Following his departure from home, Hannah took over his lighthouse duties, making her the first female lighthouse keeper in America. John died from smallpox in Quebec in 1776 and Hannah continued to serve as keeper until 1786. The Gurnet, or Gurnet Point, is located at the end of a long narrow peninsula that, together with Saquish Neck, forms the northern boundary of Plymouth Bay and protects it from some of the sea’s mightiest swells. The Gurnet lighthouse served as a critical aid in navigation through much of the latter half of the eighteenth century. These sailing directions advise, “to the southward, you may bring them [the twin lights] in one, which is a very good Mark to clear you of Brown’s Island or Sand Bank.” Mariners “coming from the northward bound into Plymouth” are warned “you must not bring the Lights more Southerly than S. by W. to avoid High Pine Ledge, which lays N. from the Gurnet Head about two and a half and three miles…” A number of other navigational hazards are mentioned throughout these very detailed directions, including the Gurnet Rock, Dick’s Flat, Muscle Banks, etc. While printed from a different typesetting, the text of this second edition is nearly identical to that of the first edition, suggesting that the directions had proven quite reliable. The Boston Marine Society began as a fellowship of mariners in 1742 and was incorporated in 1754. Among its founders was Moses Bennet, the first of the committee members mentioned in this broadside’s title. The Society was founded to “make navigation more safe” (1754 charter) and to provide relief for the families of mariners lost at sea. “The construction of lighthouses and placement of buoys and markers has often been accomplished with the advice of the Society. Of particular concern to the Society was the appointment of pilots to see to the safe passage of vessels in and out of the port” (The Boston Marine Society). While OCLC appears to indicate eight holdings for the 1768 edition, consultation of the catalogs of the libraries listed reveals that just two have physical copies, Harvard and AAS. The Boston Public Library is also listed as having a copy of the 1768, but theirs is actually the 1785 edition. The OCLC records for the 1785 edition are similarly misleading, showing what initially appears to be five physical holdings, but all of these turn out to be digital or microform. Bristol and Ford record only the BPL copy. In short, there are just two recorded examples of the 1768 edition and one of the 1785. An exceptionally rare and vital New England maritime broadside of the eighteenth-century. REFERENCES: Bristol, R.P. Supplement to Charles Evans’ American bibliography, B6058; Shipton, C.K. National index of American imprints through 1800, 44677; Ford 2408; Rink, Technical Americana 3876; ESTC W24527; “Plymouth (Gurnet) Lighthouse” at lighthousefriends online; “The Boston Marine Society” at The Boston Marine Society online. Offered in partnership with Ten Pound Island Books of Gloucester, Mass.
Item #9850
Price: $15,000.00
Add to Wish List