The merchant sailing ships: a photographic history: 127 photographs from the National Maritime Museum depicting British and North American sailing ... of the people who worked in and around them;

From the spectacular grace of the huge square-rigged ships and the great North American schooners to the simple beauty of the lug-rigged boats, the merchant sailing vessels of the nineteenth century occupy a key place in maritime and industrial history. The golden age of the merchant sailing ship also coincided with the emergence of photography, making possible this evocative and graphic record of ships and conditions of life at sea and on land during that era. Basil Greenhill, director of Britain's National Maritime Museum, and his wife, Ann Giffard, illustrate this fascinating account with 127 photographs (some taken more than 125 years ago), selected from the museum's superb collection.