MID-ATLANTIC.
Illustrated History.
“This is an attempt to assemble a portion of the wealth of pictures of events, objects, and vessels on and around Chesapeake Bay … In pictorial records few areas of the United States have been so fortunate and no area holds more of maritime interest.” So begins the preface to this impressive book packed from cover to cover of black & white illustration and photographic proof of said wealth. Considering this collection was put together decades before the idea of mass digitization of visual records and online archival searches had even been hatched, it seems that much more impressive. As Chevington himself mentioned, he tried to keep it light on the written word and let the visuals do the talking. Not surprisingly, given the volume’s 1956 publication date, Chevington missed an opportunity to project the maritime history of the Chesapeake further back beyond the first Europeans. Still, even using the start point of the first European explorers and settlers, it is quite the lineage of sailing prowess, innovation, and the regional maritime way of life that is captured here. Quick passages lead to an extensive array of visuals early in the book detailing the evolving methods of shipbuilding from colonial times on up through the mid-20th century, a craft and industry (with its particular focus on Baltimore) at the core of the Chesapeake’s character to this day. Early primitive sailing vessels give way to the age of steam, the volume’s voluminous black & white illustrations thorough in documenting ports of call, the good (American exports) and bad (the slave trade) of maritime commerce, privateering and pirates, as well as warfare on the high seas. Chevington was also diligent in focusing attention on the local, sections devoted to centuries worth of ferries, the small individual sailing ships indicative of the bay, and the thing for which the Chesapeake Bay is world-renowned: its crab and seafood. With some 250+ “oil paintings, watercolors, engravings, lithography, daguerreotype, and photographs” (in the author’s own words), over a half-century after its release this is still some kind of visual record, its roots “ancient” by America’s standards. [Condition: Used Very Good. Despite wear, a few small tears, and bent edges to the dust-jacket and a few small patches of wear to the fabric hard cover itself, the interior pages are in mint condition. This was likely a show volume.]
Condition: Used Very Good.
Nonfiction / History.
M. V. Brewington.
Bonanza Books, 1956.
Oversized Hardcover, 238 pgs, 7.5 x 11" / 1.75 lb
