Research References - ancient/medieval vessels

There is a series that seems very good.  It is the "Conway's History of the Ship" series.  I have "The Age of the Galley" from the series.  Don't know which ones from the series have been released yet- they list seven titles, including Cogs, Caravels and Galleons, which I have seen and is very good.

Thanks, Don!  I will check these.  Cheers, Rick

The series "Conway's History of the Ship" makes an excellent starting point for virtually any research project in the history of naval architecture or shipbuilding.  It originally consisted of 12 volumes, all hardbound; as I remember they originally cost $50 apiece or thereabouts.  I managed to pick up all of them - over a period of several years.  Shortly after I bought the last one, of course, the series came back in paperback for about $35 per volume.

The two volumes that deal with the period RTimmer's interested in are The Earliest Ships and Cogs, Caravels and Galleons:  The Sailing Ship, 1000-1650.  The first name covers Viking ships, among many other topics (including non-Western vessels, which the rest of the series ignores for the most part).  The second is self-explanatory.  I found The Earliest Ships on the Conway website - for an excellent price:  http://www.anovabooks.com/products/product.asp?catId=10&subcatId=42&id=322 .  Cogs, Caravels and Galleons appears to be out of print; the best I could find in a few minutes' surfing were some used copies at Amazon, for prices that are pretty outrageous:  http://www.amazon.com/Cogs-Caravels-Galleons-Sailing-1000-1650/dp/0785812652/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1266429390&sr=1-1 .

Anyway, that's what I'd recommend for a start.  That whole series is excellent as an introduction to the subject as it was understood when the books were written - the 1990s, as I remember (I'd have to check the books themselves to get the exact dates).   Each volume has an extensive bibliography, which is an excellent starting point for future digging.

Hope that helps a little.

Rick:  This book has been long out of print, but if you have the opportunity,. you might try to locate, SAILING SHIPS, by Bjorn Landstrom. This colorful highly illustrated book has pictures of ancient/medieval vessels. Inquire at specialty used book sellers dealing in marine subjects, such as, J. Tuttle Marine Books, of Madison, WI. e-mail: tuttlemaritime@charter.net or: http://tuttlemaritime.com

          Good luck.

     Montani semper liberi !         Happy moderling to all and every one of you.

                                                     Crackers       

Landstrom's Sailing Ships is, in effect, a much-abridged excerpt of his classic, The Ship.  (I think everything that's in the small book is in the big one - though he may have made a few additional drawings for the smaller one.)  The Ship belongs in the library of every ship lover.  I still have the one my father gave me for my 15th birthday; I wouldn't sell it for any price.  Unfortunately it's been out of print for a long time, but used copies are available for remarkably low prices:  http://www.amazon.com/Cogs-Caravels-Galleons-Sailing-1000-1650/dp/0785812652/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1266429390&sr=1-1 .

I can't think of a better way to spend $9.00.

The book obviously covers a vast time span, and can't spend more than a few pages on each topic.  And some of it is dated now.  (I believe the original copyright date of the English-language edition is 1961; the original Swedish one probably was published a few years earlier.)  But it's a magnificent work - a real classic in every sense. 

Thanks to both crackers and jtilley!  I will be getting the two Conway books, and one of the editions of the Landstrom, in the next couple of months.  The J. Tuttle Maritime Books is an excellent link, and lots of interesting books there just from an initial poking around.

Thanks again, Rick