Maritime Archive and Library
These are some of the highlights of our library collection and are available to consult at the Maritime Archives and Library.
Please note that as some of these are our rarest or oldest items we are unable to provide access to the original items without special arrangement. However, you can follow the links below to see excerpts from them, where available, on this website.
William Whitelock Lloyd
London: Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co, c1891 (540.P&O.LLO/R/OS)
A pictorial record by the artist William Whitelock Lloyd of his voyage on board the P & O Liner, SS Himalaya.
Morgan Robertson
London: Arthur Bird, 1912 (340. ROB/R)
Written by Morgan Robertson during his time at sea and reprinted in 1912 after the Titanic disaster. This is a fictional account of a British passenger liner called Titan, which is eerily similar to the yet-to-be conceived Titanic
William Hutchinson
Liverpool: Hutchinson, 1791 (410.HUT/R/OS)
At a time of unprecedented naval expansion, Hutchinson draws from his own experiences to guide the aspiring officer on manoeuvring a square-rigged vessel.
Thomas Clarkson
Cass Library of African Studies. Slavery Series, no 8, London: Cass, 1808 (512.5 CLA/R)
This first edition book provides much detail on the abolition campaign, and is an important record of the anti-slavery movement.
Granville Sharp
London: Benjamin White, 1769 (512.5.SHA/R)
The publication is the first major work of anti-slavery by a British author. This was Sharp's first book, which brought him to prominence as a key figure in the anti-slavery campaign.
Lady Lucy Wallace Duff Gordon
London: Jarrolds, 1932 (411.1 DUF/R)
This is a first edition copy of the memoirs of Lucile Christiana Sutherland Duff-Gordon, a well-known fashion designer. In it she describes the experiences of her and her husband, Sir Cosmo, during the Titanic disaster, and the controversy surrounding their actions on the evacuation of the ship.
1838 (070.WAT/R)
An original 1838 copy of the Watson Code. Ship identification and the two-way transmission of basic messages involved the vessel displaying a signal of up to three flags from a code devised by Watson. It was based on a total of ten basic flags plus ‘repeaters’, known as the Watson or Liverpool Code.
London, 1819 (410.LEV/R)
This is a highly illustrative and important rigging and seamanship manual of early 19th century, which was regarded as a standard textbook for the Merchant and Royal Navy.
Liverpool, 1845 (710.LIV/R)
In 1835 a group from Liverpool set up a rival committee to the London-based Lloyd's Register of British Shipping. Only one issue of The Liverpool Register of Shipping was printed, as after various negotiations it was agreed in 1844 that one book for the whole of the UK was the best option.
London: HMSO,1866 (514.INS/R)
The 1855 Passenger Act laid down minimum standards for rations, space and sanitation on all emigrants' ships. These instructions detail the surgeon's role, including discipline and dietary rations.