7 vols. (Vols. I-V + supplements to Vols. IV & V). Illustrated with 609 original mounted photographs, including views of ships, both sailing and steam, ship construction, engines, parts, etc., also portraits, facsimiles, etc.; 146 foldout photostatic reproductions of blueprints and schematic diagrams. 18x13½, 5 are in gilt-lettered blue cloth, 2 are bound in full gilt-lettered blue morocco.

Magnificent and historically important tribute to one of the giants of the shipbuilding industry, whose contributions to the craft were of profound influence during a seminal period. Though active in shipbuilding for only 19 years, 1890-1908, William Armstrong Fairburn designed and built boats and ships which were at the forefront of a dynamic industry in its most dynamic age. The present volumes, finely printed in letterpress and illustrated with a large number of original photographic prints (copy photographs from originals, facimiles of documents, etc.), were produced as a record of this remarkable man, of whom it was said, "During the first decade of the twentieth century, W.A. Fairburn was acknowledged as a leader in the science and art of ship and marine engine design, construction, and operation on both sides of the Atlantic and in the Far East." They are compiled from original letters, documents, news accounts, photographs, and other sources, giving a view of shipbuilding at a pivotal time as well as one of its leading figures. As the text states, "The experience of William A. Fairburn from 1890 to 1908 was obtained during the most eventful and interesting period in the maritime history of the United States. Mr. Fairburn took a prominent part in the building of the last wooden ships and the first and only American steel sailing vessels. He was connected with the building of the pioneer vessels of what can be termed the new United States Navy. He designed and built America’s first steel cargo steamer, or tramp, and was responsible for the production of the United States Army’s first transport, the Navy’s first high-speed torpedo-boats, and the first composite and steel, electric-lighted, deep-sea, light-vessels ever built…" In 1899 he designed and build for James J. Hill of the Great Northern Railroad System, the S.S. Minnesota and the S.S. Dakota, at that time the largest vessels in the world, and were forty years later still the largest cargo or dead-weight carriers ever built. These remarkable volumes are quite rare and strictly limited, for, as stated in the introduction, "Mr. Fairburn has consented to assist in the preparation of this work, and the compilation of this and associated volumes, with the distinct understanding that it is to be printed for the record and use of his immediate family only – that is, for his two sons and their descendents. Only a few copies of this material will be printed, after which the locked type will be scattered and all plates, proofs, etc., destroyed." There were five volumes originally, published in 1938, with three supplemental volumes issued in 1941. These additional volumes resulted from the discovery in 1939 of “a box on the rafters of a storage shed, connected to his parents home [containing] a great deal of material in the form of drawings, letters, magazine and newspaper clippings, notebooks, etc., associated with his early experience as a shipbuilder and ship operator.” Present here are two of the five original volumes, as two of the supplemental volumes, IV-A and V-A. Not here is III-A, which contained more photographs. A summary of the volumes and their contents: Vol. I – 58 mounted photographs, mostly of ships either completed or under construction. * Vol. II – 85 mounted photographs of ships, either completed or under construction, also of ship engines and other parts. * Vol. III – 156 mounted photographs, primarily of ships, mostly sailing ships from the last days of the commercial sailing vessel, windjammers, etc. * Vol. IV – 71 foldout photostatic reproductions of blueprints and schematic diagrams of ships, detailing the profiles, cross-sections and various parts of such ships as the coast defense monitor U.S.S. Nevada, the steam yacht Wacouta, the cruiser U.S.S. Cleveland, the first class battleship U.S.S. Georgia and its sister ships, etc. * IV-A – 75 foldout photostatic reproductions of blueprints and schematic diagrams of ships, as above, but with even more detail on many of the individual components of the ships, including bowlines, engines, propeller screws, cargo holds, etc., as well as graphs indicating performance. * Vol. V – Primarily a textual volume, detailing the contents of the other volumes and giving a history of the shipbuilding activities and accomplishments of William A. Fairburn, and of many related shipbuilding endeavors at Bath, Maine, New London, Connecticut, and New York, New York. xiii, 365 pp. With 87 mounted photographs, some as reproductions of text pages. * Vol. V-A – Continuation of the text, giving much additional history of Fairburn’s shipbuilding activities especially during the early part of his career, the ships he built, his youthful life, etc. xxviii, 435 pp. With 233 mounted photographs, some as reproductions of text pages and facsimiles. Of the few copies of this set produced, perhaps a dozen or so, most have found there way into libraries and institutions. The present set belonged to William A. Fairburn, Jr., of Ojai, California. They contain occasional pencil annotations, apparently by William A. Fairburn, Sr., himelf. An original photograph is laid in loose, showing the peculiarly nautical study of Fairburn, Jr., where these volumes were housed for many years.