The Naval Annual, 1901

Portsmouth: J. Griffin and Co, 1901. Presumed First Edition, First printing thus. Hardcover. Good. vi, [2], 455, [1] pages. Illustrations. Tables. Some cover and edge wear. Spine and other parts of the cloth faded and stained. Some wear to spine. Pencil erasure residue on fep and rep. Front board weak. Tear in fep. Some endpaper and page soiling noted. The Naval Annual was a book that provided considerable text and graphic information (largely concerning the British Royal Navy) which had previously been obtainable only by consulting a wide range of often foreign language publications. It was started by Thomas Brassey, 1st Earl Brassey in 1886. Though often compared with Jane's Fighting Ships, the two British annuals were, in fact quite different. The Brassey series began a dozen years earlier, and its special strength was the dozen or more detailed articles on naval matters, authored by experts. They covered British and other nations' naval developments ranging from the latest ships to overall policy. Among the contributors were: Lord Brassey, J. O. Hopkins, Cyprian Bridge, R. H. S. Bacon, C. N. Robinson, J. R. Thursfield, G. R. Dunell, A. S. Hurd, and S. W. Barnaby. Among the topics covered are: Progress of the British Navy, Progress of Foreign Navies, Comparative Strength, British Naval Manoeuvres. Marine Engineering, Mercantile Marine, Fleet Auxiliaries, Transport Operations, South Africa, Naval Operations, Boer War, Naval Strategy, Shipbuilding, Torpedo-Boar, Ship Plans, Armour, Shell Fire, Belleisle Experiments, Gun Mountings, Ordnance, Admiralty, and Naval Estimates.