Before the Dreadnought: THE ROYAL NAVY FROM NELSON TO FISHER.

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn.FINE/VG.No owner inscrptn and no price-clip to dw/dj - absence of a publisher's price - generally believed to be an export copy,which usually precedes that country's trade edn issues and distribution.Bright,crisp,clean,glossy laminated,monochrome photographic illustrated dw/dj panels,with red lettering to front panel only; with negligible shelf-wear or creasing to edges and corners - sellotape repaired (internally+externally) to nicks and closed tears along top+lower edges of same only - vertical edges without any repair present.Some minor chipping and reciprocal loss of dw/dj - to it's repair - but 99.9% complete and present.Top edges with faint thumbing but generally bright and otherwise clean,fore-edges bright and cleaner; contents bright,tight,clean,solid and sound - pristine - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corners,appears unread - apart from my own collation.Bright,crisp,clean,sharp-cornered,publisher's original plain pale beige(?) cloth boards with bright,crisp,stamped red ink letters to spine/backstrip and immaculate plain white endpapers.UK,8vo HB+dw/dj, 1st edn,4-216pp [paginated] includes Pts 1-4 comprising 5,5,4 and 4 chapters respectively and an epilogue,12pp contemporary b/w photographs and b/w portrait biographical reproduction illustrations in 3 blocks of 4pp apiece between pp72/3,pp136/7 and pp168/9 respectively, b/w illus,4 b/w maps interspersed throughout the text and the book,a chronology,appendices,a general index and an index of Ships,plus [unpaginated] half-title,title page with dedication to its verso,contents list/table with illustrations list/table to it's verso,author's introduction,and individual Pts separator pages.
In the century when 'Britannia ruled the waves' the chief instrument of her power underwent an erratic - but complete - transformation.The advent of steam,steel and the explosive shell,signalled by the appearance of the first ironclads during the Crimean War,spelt the end of the old 'wooden wall' ships that had served at Trafalgar and later,at Navarino.Similarly the end of the press gang made possible the formation of a new,professional,volunteer navy. The role of the Royal Navy as 'policeman of the world' involved it in a number of brushfire wars,anti-slavery expeditions and flag-waving excercises.Naval brigades fought at Sevastopol,during the relief of Lucknow,against the Maoris in New Zealand and the Boers in South Africa.Naval gunboats patrolled the Zambezi,the Yangtse and the Red Sea,and served against the Dervishes on the Nile.The mere presence of the Navy - as at Garibaldi's invasion of Naples - was sometimes enough to have a critical influence on events. Richard Humble's vivid and exciting account is concerned with life aboard ships just as much as with technical developments and naval incidents. The Fisher reforms and the introduction of the Dreadnought battleship in the early years of the 20thC put the seal on a century of dramatic and extraordinary change. Since April 2013,again in March 2015,and in this year too,the UK Post Office has altered it's Pricing in Proportion template,altering it's prices, weight allowances,dimensions and lowered it's qualifying compensation rates too!
So,please contact rpaxtonden@blueyonder.co.uk ,because of the weight/value of this item for correct shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - BEFORE ordering through the order page!