HOT ! 1858 “Explanations & Sailing Directions to Accompany the Wind & Current Charts”

As shown. See all photos. One cover fully detached. Spine flapping, flaked. Ample page discoloration. Still felt it was worthwhile listing since it’s a rare and beautiful book. 11.5” x 9” x 2”

“Approved by Captain D. N. Ingraham, chief of the Bureau of Ordnance and Hydrography, and published by authority of Hon. Isaac Toucey, secretary of the Navy.”

Matthew Fontaine Maury (January 14, 1806–February 1, 1873) was an American oceanographer and naval officer, serving the U.S. and then joining the Confederacy during the American Civil War. He was nicknamed "Pathfinder of the Seas" and is considered a founder of modern oceanography. He wrote extensively on the subject, and his book, The Physical Geography of the Sea (1855), was the first comprehensive work on oceanography to be published. In 1825, at 19, Maury obtained a midshipman's warrant in the United States Navy. As a midshipman on board the frigate USS Brandywine, he began to study the seas and record methods of navigation.