The Sea Journal: Seafarers' Sketchbooks

Product Description A treasure trove of visual delights: a collection of first-hand journals and sketchbooks created on ocean voyages around the world and across the ages The sea has been an endless source of fascination, at once both alluring and mysterious, a place of wonder and terror. The Sea Journal contains first-hand records by a great range of travellers of their encounters with strange creatures and new lands, full of dangers and delights, pleasures and perils. In this remarkable gathering of private journals, log books, letters and diaries, we follow the voyages of intrepid sailors, from the frozen polar wastes to South Seas paradise islands, as they set down their immediate impressions of all they saw. They capture their experiences while at sea, giving us a precious view of the oceans and the creatures that live in them as they were when they were scarcely known and right up to the present day. In a series of biographical portraits, we meet officers and ordinary sailors, cooks and whalers, surgeons and artists, explorers and adventurers. A handful of contemporary mariners provide their thoughts on how keeping a journal remains integral to their voyaging lives. Often still bearing the traces of their nautical past, the intriguing and enchanting sketches and drawings in this book brilliantly capture the spirit of the oceans and the magic of the sea. The seafarers include: Jeanne Baret William Bligh Francis Chichester Vasco da Gama Francis Drake Zheng He Horatio Nelson Antonio Pigafetta Piri Reis Georg Steller Bartholomew Sharp Tupaia Susan Veeder Review A captivating collection of exquisite first-hand records providing fascinating insights into exploration and adventure at sea --Traveller Visually stunning --Sailing Today One of the most spectacular and fascinating books I have ever read. A real privilege! Superb --Book Reviews Monthly Remarkable --Bookanista Thrilling ... succeeds in illustrating not only the diversity of maritime sketchbooks but also how vital they were for their creators --Times Literary Supplement Magnificent first-hand accounts of the thrills and spills of sea exploration --The Lady There is a good deal of swashbuckling in these pages … I definitely recommend diving into this book --World of Interiors Readers of this beautifully-produced volume will be far from miserable, and may even be inspired to keep their own journals and images of life --Nautilus Telegraph Wide-ranging and beautifully illustrated --Spectator Books of the Year Beautiful ... readers could easily be left with the impression that all 18th-century seafarers were also talented artists --CNN Travel Lewis-Jones s book has everything from illustrated accounts of whaling voyages and naval battles to depictions of Kamchatkan kayakers and fluorescent sea slugs --The Scotsman A beautifully illustrated compendium --Spectator A remarkable treasure chest --Geographical The sort of book to curl up with... you will relish each turn of the page as you explore the nautical journeys ... humorous, poignant and most definitely informative ... this is a book to learn from and treasure --Family Tree Endlessly diverting and beautifully produced --Telegraph A visual feast for historians and culture lovers --The Art Society Magazine Gorgeously produced ... a lovely present for anyone who s fascinated by exploration --Practical Boat Owner From the Back Cover Despite dramatic advances in technology and equipment over the centuries, there is one vital piece of kit in most explorers’ pockets that hasn’t changed much at all – the journal. The sketchbooks and journals presented here allow us the opportunity to share, through their own eyes and thoughts, the on-the-spot reactions of around 70 intrepid individuals as they journeyed into frozen wastes, high mountains, barren deserts and rich rainforests. Some are well known, such as Captain Scott, Charles Darwin, Thor Heyerdahl and Abel Tasman; others are unfamiliar, including Adela