The Ship By Bjorn Landstrom
The Ship (Collectible First English Edition)
The Definitive Illustrated History from Primitive Log Rafts to Nuclear Submarines
The Definitive Illustrated History from Primitive Log Rafts to Nuclear Submarines
Bibliographic Specifications
- Title: The Ship: An Illustrated History
- Author / Illustrator: Björn Landström
- Publisher: George Allen & Unwin Ltd, London
- Publication Date: 1961
- ISBN-10: None Issued (Pre-ISBN Era)
- Edition Details: First English Edition, First Impression. Widely considered a landmark masterpiece of maritime illustration and naval architecture history.
- Binding: Hardcover with original publisher's heavy premium cloth boards, housed in the original illustrated dust jacket under a fresh protective archive cellophane wrapper.
- Physical Format: Large Quarto Format (Oversized 4to), 309 pages. Lavishly enhanced with 800 stunning, historically precise full-colour and monochrome technical illustrations, structural cutaways, rigging diagrams, and hull profiles meticulously drawn by the author.
- Language: English (Translated from the original Swedish Skeppet)
Official Condition Report
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The Book: Very Good (VG)
- Exterior / Boards: The original publisher's premium heavy cloth boards are solid, square, and structurally sound. The spine is completely straight, robust, tightly bound, and undamaged, with the original gilt lettering remaining clear and uniform.
- Interior: Exceptional and pristine. The internal text blocks and magnificent art spreads are remarkably clean, clear, crisp, and completely free from foxing, handling soils, ink highlights, thumb soils, or previous owner inscriptions.
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The Dust Jacket: Poor (PR)
- Condition: The original 1961 illustrated dust jacket is in poor condition, exhibiting significant vintage wear, edge tears, chipping, and areas of paper loss (as visible in accompanying listing photography). Crucially, the jacket has now been stabilized and preserved under a brand-new, premium archival-grade cellophane sleeve, significantly enhancing its presentation value while preventing any further deterioration.
Synopsis & Historical Value
Published in 1991 by George Allen & Unwin, Björn Landström’s The Ship is globally recognized as one of the most important and breathtakingly beautiful books ever compiled on maritime history. Spanning over 6,000 years of naval evolution, Landström chronicles humanity's journey across the waves, tracing development from primitive dugouts and ancient Egyptian papyrus boats to Viking longships, majestic Spanish galleons, ironclads, and modern nuclear-powered submarines. What sets this volume apart is Landström's lifelong dedication and technical genius as an artist; every single page is adorned with historically accurate, meticulously researched illustrations. Because Landström reconstructed these vessels directly from archaeological fragments and original blueprints, this first English edition serves as an invaluable, gold-standard reference atlas for professional scale model builders, naval historians, and transport enthusiasts alike.
Published in 1991 by George Allen & Unwin, Björn Landström’s The Ship is globally recognized as one of the most important and breathtakingly beautiful books ever compiled on maritime history. Spanning over 6,000 years of naval evolution, Landström chronicles humanity's journey across the waves, tracing development from primitive dugouts and ancient Egyptian papyrus boats to Viking longships, majestic Spanish galleons, ironclads, and modern nuclear-powered submarines. What sets this volume apart is Landström's lifelong dedication and technical genius as an artist; every single page is adorned with historically accurate, meticulously researched illustrations. Because Landström reconstructed these vessels directly from archaeological fragments and original blueprints, this first English edition serves as an invaluable, gold-standard reference atlas for professional scale model builders, naval historians, and transport enthusiasts alike.
Author Profile: Björn Landström
Björn Landström (1917–2002) was a legendary Swedish-Finnish author, illustrator, naval historian, and theater director who fundamentally revolutionized the field of maritime historical documentation. Renowned for his obsessive attention to detail, Landström traveled the globe to inspect shipwreck sites, ancient carvings, and archival naval logs, combining the precision of a marine engineer with the talent of a classical artist. His seminal books—including The Ship, The Quest for India, and Columbus—won international acclaim and multiple academic awards. His masterfully rendered illustrations remain tightly held within private collector libraries and museum archives as unmatched standards of maritime visual heritage.
Björn Landström (1917–2002) was a legendary Swedish-Finnish author, illustrator, naval historian, and theater director who fundamentally revolutionized the field of maritime historical documentation. Renowned for his obsessive attention to detail, Landström traveled the globe to inspect shipwreck sites, ancient carvings, and archival naval logs, combining the precision of a marine engineer with the talent of a classical artist. His seminal books—including The Ship, The Quest for India, and Columbus—won international acclaim and multiple academic awards. His masterfully rendered illustrations remain tightly held within private collector libraries and museum archives as unmatched standards of maritime visual heritage.
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