Descrizione

8vo., First Edition, with a fine portrait frontispiece in photogravure (original tissue guard present), engraved title-vignette, 8 splendid sepia-toned lithographed plates of naval engagements, a full-page plan of rigging and a double-page map in blue and black; strongly rebound in mid-twentieth century navy blue buckram, gilt back, uncut, a bright, clean copy. Admiral Sir John Dalrymple Hay (1821-1912) served in no fewer than twenty-three ships of the Royal Navy, from Thalia in 1834 to Indus in 1859, during which period he visited South America, the Pacific, the Near and Middle East, India, China, North America and the West Indies among other regions. He entered parliament in Palmerston's last government and was appointed to the Board of Admiralty in 1866. Following his retirement from the navy he continued active is a wide range of official and administrative roles. Curiously, this detailed and very readable autobiography remains the only substantial account of his career. Appendices include a genealogy, transcriptions of various maritime-related bills and papers, and his famous letter promoting the necessity for corporal punishment during wartime. NMM Catalogue II/1, 652.