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KNIGHTON, C. S: : Pepys AND THE Navy

UK.STROUD,GLOUCESTERSHIRE.SUTTON PUBLISHUNG LIMITED,2003.

ISBN 0750297239.

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn.FINE+/FINE. No owner inscrptn and no price-clip to dw/dj,virtually as new.Bright,crisp,clean,matt,artists' colour pictorial paintings - a portrait of Pepys and a  two-decker ship firing a salute illustrated front of dw/dj with author's name in capitalised,matt,cream letters,part-capitalised,matt, dark brown lettered title to front of dw/dj; half brown,half cream coloured spine/backstrip with capitalised,dark brown title to cream portion and   similarly coloured+lettered author name to dark brown portion and publisher’s white-lettered and brown illustrated name and colophon respectively,to foot of same,rear panel of dw/dj with brown+cream original size illustration of Pepys's bookplate. Negligible shelf-wear to edges and corners – no nicks,tears or splits present. Top+fore-edges bright crisp,clean without foxing/spotting; contents bright, tight,clean,solid and sound – no dog-ear reading creases to any pages’ corner tips – appears unread, apart from my own collation.Publisher’s bright,crisp, clean/unblemished,sharp-cornered,original plain black cloth boards with bright,crisp,blocked gilt lettered spine/backstrip and immaculate plain white endpapers.UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn,iv-vpp+1-218pp [paginated] includes a Preface,10 chapters,8pp contempraneous b/w facsimile illustrated portraits and illustrations in 1 block,between pp122/23,an Abbreviations list,Notes,an 8pp Bibliography,and an Index; plus [unpaginated] title page,and a Contents list/table.            Visually the exterior appearance is exceptional and particularly internally,is also in an exceptional condition/state of preservation and presentation for a book of its 20+ year-old age.It really is an exceptional, exemplary example for its cleanliness,brightness and lack of detracting faults.                    Samuel  Pepys's diary has made him a literary celebrity,yet in his own time he was known as the chief naval official under two kings,Charles II and James II. This book is the first to be devoted wholly to Pepys's absorbing professional life and this aspect of the diarist's life has not received the attention it deserves from his modern biographers.Charles Knighton, a Pepys scholar with a particular interest in naval history, drawing on Pepy's own library,to reveal the full extent of Pepys's achievements in creating a permanent and professional Royal Navy.                                            Pepys came to the Navy Board with no maritime experience,yet his appointment as Clerk of the Acts at once involved him in all the navy's material needs.He taught himself the job so well he outwitted senior colleagues in securing contracts and detecting frauds, and successfully managed his first great test - the second Dutch War of 1664-7.However the unstable political situation of the time meant Pepys's career was by no means secure. He lost office twice - during the Popish Plot,and again when James II was ousted in the Revolution of 1688.Despite these setbacks,Pepys promoted many reforms while in office - including a shipbuilding programme of unprecedented dimensions and the introduction of half-pay for officers - which were pivotal in shaping the future of the nval service.In retirement Pepys spent much of his time assembling and arranging the library which he left intact to his old college and which has become a major archive for naval history.        'Pepys and the Navy' will appeal to all those interested in the life of the great diarist, while also allowing naval historians to follow his career in more depth than is available in conventional biographies.                        Please contact seller,for correct shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas customers - BEFORE ordering through the order page! N.B. ALL buyers please note,stocks' actual shipping/P+p costs are adjusted and any difference is refunded,after order's receipt and before the order's despatch,especially if the item(s) are offered either P+p included/FREE. ** N.B. US/Canada customers please be aware: Standard AIRMAIL postage from UK to these destinations can now cost more than the price of the book! If speed is not of the essence,then Economy rate is recommended - at approx. anything from a 1/3rd to 1/2 of the standard US AIR quote/rate - sometimes arriving sooner than the 42 days - but not always. **

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn.
Not SIGNED.

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