Jane's Fighting Ships, 1953-54; Founded in 1897 by Fred T. Jane
New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company Inc., 1953. Presumed First U.S. Edition, First printing thus. Hardcover. 13" x 8.5". 52 pages of advertisements in front. xxiii, 462 pages. Illustrations. Tables. Index. Addenda. Ex-library, Bureau of Ships Library stamped on fep. No other library markings observed. This is a large, heavy book and if shipped outside of the United States would require an additional shipping payment. This is an annual reference book of information on all the world's warships arranged by nation, including information on ships' names, dimensions, armaments, silhouettes and photographs, etc. Each edition describes and illustrates warships of different national naval and paramilitary forces, providing data on their characteristics. The first issue was illustrated with Jane's own ink sketches--photos began to appear with the third volume in 1900. The present title was adopted in 1905. It was originally published in London in 1898 as Jane's All the World's Fighting Ships, in order to assist naval officers and the general public in playing naval wargames. Its success eventually launched a number of military publications carrying the name "Jane's". Ten early editions of Jane's (those of 1898, 1905-06, 1906-07, 1914, 1919, 1924, 1931, 1939, 1944-45, and 1950-51) were reissued in facsimile reprints by Arco Publishing starting in 1969. All of these appeared in the oblong or "landscape" format that characterized the series until the 1956/57 edition, while from 1957/58 the present "portrait" layout was adopted, thus matching the sister Jane's publication on aircraft. Raymond V. B. Blackman was one of the world's leading experts on foreign navies and a former editor of the military reference work Jane's Fighting Ships. Jane's Fighting Ships is one of the authoritative volumes on military hardware and other subjects produced each year by the Jane's publishing house and studied around the world. Mr. Blackman, who edited Fighting Ships from 1949-73. He joined the navy at 16 and served for 10 years, having trained as a naval engineer. He then took up journalism, becoming naval correspondent for a local paper. He rejoined the Royal Navy in 1939, working in the design department developing mines and anti-submarine weapons. After the war, Mr. Blackman returned to journalism. From 1946 to 1956, he was naval correspondent of The Sunday Times of London. Mr. Blackman was the author of ''Modern World Book of Ships'' in 1951 and of successive editions of ''The World's Warships'' and of ''Ships of the Royal Navy'' in 1973. Condition: Good.
Keywords: Naval, Battleships, Aircraft Carriers, Destroyers, Frigates, Gunboats, Cruisers, Coast Guard Vessels, Coast Guard Cutters, Shipbuilding, Reference Works, Warships
[Book #85872]
Price: $175.00