The Ship Builder's Manual, and Nautical Referee

John W Griffiths

 New York : The author, 1853

[The American Clipper Ship] Volume 1 only. Rebound in blue cloth. Hardcover. Good binding and cover. 196 pp.  Scattered spotting, staining.  Heavier spotting to end sheets. "With a very curious lithographic full page frontispiece of the Wm. Norris Steamboat, and other plates."  6 plates, in addition to the frontispiece. Contemporary signature of J.A. Patterson, Hamilton, Maine.  

Griffiths was a ground breaking American naval architect who created the first extreme clipper ship, the Rainbow, to engage in the China trade. The Rainbow was launched in 1845 and began a new era in shipbuilding.  Griffiths made a number of significant innovations, including:  the iron keelson, a timber-bending machine, a bilge keel, and an improved rivet.  He was an authority on naval ship design and highly influential during the mid-19th century.