An Elementary Course on Ordnance and Gunnery... Together with a Concise Treatise on Steam.

Philadelphia: Carey and Hart, 1845. "Prepared for the use of the Midshipmen at the Naval School, Philadelphia..." The Naval School in Philadelphia served as the first United States Naval Academy from 1834 to 1845. First edition of an important and influential text. The first section deals with naval cannon; the second with steam power.Ward, a naval officer, was killed early in the Civil War, but his text stayed in print through the 1860s. (See DAB for Ward's career.) This copy bears ownership signatures of Rear Admiral Thomas O. Selfridge, 1845, and his son J.R. Selfridge, 1867. Bound in quarter cloth of plain boards with paper spine label. Light foxing in text but very good condition.. 23.5 cm. viii, 109, 59 pp. b/w plates, some folding and illustrations in text.