Books and Manuscripts

The Naval Chronicle
London: Printed and Published by and for Joyce Gold, etc., 1799-1818. In 40 volumes. Tall 8vo. Illustrated with 514 engraved plates, maps, and charts (including 14 folding, two hand-colored, and 36 frontispiece portraits). Quarter blue paper over gray paper-covered boards, boards and spines worn, some boards starting or split. 

A rare, complete set of this periodical. The Naval Chronicle was a monthly magazine published in London in parts from January 1799 to 1818, during the period from the Napoleonic Wars through to the War of 1812. Each issue featured an extensive number of reports of naval battles, including lists of captured and wrecked vessels; news of promotions, retirements and deaths; biographical sketches and first-hand battle accounts; and more news and gossip generally related to the affairs of the Royal Navy.

The engraved plates show portraits of naval officers, views of overseas ports and local scenes, charts of harbors and ship battles, charts related to science and technology, including astronomy, and maps of various places, including France, Sweden, and Ceylon (Sri Lanka).