These are electronic books, made to be read from a computer. Please see elibrabooks for details.

Welcome to Starpath's Mariner's Antique Library , a collection of old books on navigation that we have prepared as ebooks. Some of the content is mostly of interest to historians, but other parts remain very useful for even modern training... the detailed records of the practice voyage from Maderia to Boston in the 1851 Bowditch is just one example. All the data are there to navigate this trip with modern celestial navigation as an excellent practice exercise.

As we struggle to learn practical navigation these days, it is interesting to note how similar the process was 100 to 200 years ago.



Learn about
1851 Bowditch
 

American Practical Navigator, 1851, by Nathaniel Bowditch.
Absolutely fascinating reading for any navigator or student of navigation. [Printed copies of this book are rare and very expensive, $500 to $1200.] A packaged CD version for $9.95 ("Learn about..." link), makes a wonderful gift for anyone interested in the history of navigation.

Your purchased serial number can be used to download both the Text and the Tables. See Overview in the "Learn about..." link


Elibra ebooks
cannot be printed

item 1711e
elibra edition, $9.95

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Text (350 pages)
28 MB

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Tables (462 pages) 44 MB
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see description
in Book Catalog
  Star-Names and Their Meanings
by Richard Hinckley Allen
— This 1899 Victorian classic covers all aspects of star names and the mythology of the constellations. [Print copy of this book is $14.95, but this searchable ebook is a nice addition to it.]


Elibra ebooks
cannot be printed

item 1731
elibra edition, $5.95

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elibra product
6.5 MB
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see description
in Book Catalog
  The Mariner's Compass Rectified
by Andrew Wakely
— This 1760 edition of a much older book includes a remarkably lucid explanation of noon sights before sextants were commonplace, as well as sun almanac data up to 1766. [Print copies are $300 on up and rare.]


Elibra ebooks
cannot be printed

item 1730
elibra edition, $9.95

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elibra product
25 MB
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see description
in Book Catalog
  Seaman's Secrets
by John Davis
— Originally published in 1643, expounds on various sailings, tides, etc, with numeric examples and exercises. [Print copies are rare with replicas (not originals) selling for $50 to $100]. Ebook copies in hyperlinked html format are available online at no charge, but this elibra edition is much more compact and much easier to use.


Elibra ebooks
cannot be printed

item 1729
elibra edition, $5.95

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elibra product
5.3 MB
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in Book Catalog
  Riley's Narrative
by James Riley
— Originally published in 1817, Captain Riley conveys his tale of being abducted after being shipwrecked, and his life as a slave. A best seller in it's time, often referred to by Abraham Lincoln, and the basis of a new best seller in 2005 (Skeletons on the Zahara).


Elibra ebooks
cannot be printed

item 1728e
elibra edition, $9.95

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elibra product
21 MB
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see description
in Book Catalog
  Robbins Journal
by Archibald Robbins
— A companion piece to Riley's Narrative, Robbins was on the ship with Riley and here he conveys his side of the ordeal.


Elibra ebooks
cannot be printed

item 1738
elibra edition, $9.95

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elibra product
5.3 MB
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