S. S. Savannah : The Elegant Steam Ship

Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1963. A square, tight copy. Sharp corners. One edge of the Dust Jacket has an old water spot. No chips. No tears. No creases. No owner's name or bookplate. No remainder mark. Pages are fresh and clean. This is the previously untold story of the first steam-powered vessel to cross the Atlantic in 1819. With 24 pages of illustrations. Includes much of interest on the role of Stephen Vail and his Speedwell Iron Works. It was at Speedwell near Morristown, New Jersey that the Savannah's steam engine was fabricated. [Speedwell Iron Works was also where Stephen Vail's son Alfred perfected the telegraph in the 1830s. Contrary to popular belief, it was Alfred Vail, not Samuel Morse, who made the telegraph a success]. This book contains a Preface and 15 chapters: 1) Moses Rogers; 2) Savannah Signposts; 3) A Laudable and Meritorious Experiment; 4) The Savannah Takes Form; 5) The Engine; 6) Most Tidy and Brilliant; 7) Sea Legs; 8) Chasing a President; 9) Great Experiment; 10) A Signal Trophy of American Enterprise; 11) Impayable Gratification; 12) At St. Petersburg; 13) From Neva to Potomac; 14) A Sailing Ship; 15) Epilogue. List of chapter notes/sources. Selected bibliography. Index. From the Dust Jacket: "This is the story of a ship and her pioneer master, [Captain] Moses Rogers, who had the revolutionary idea of making the first trans-Atlantic voyage in a steam- propelled vessel." Bound in the original blue cloth, lettered in gold on the spine. . First Edition. Hard Cover. Fine condition./VG jacket (price clipped). 8vo. xii, 249pp.. Great Packaging, Fast Shipping.