Nicolaes Witsen and Shipbuilding in the Dutch Golden Age (Ed Rachal Foundation Nautical Archaeology Series)

In 1671, Dutch diplomat and scientist Nicolaes Witsen published a book that served, among other things, as an encyclopedia for the “shell-first” method of ship construction. In the centuries since, Witsen’s rather convoluted text has also become a valuable source for insights into historical shipbuilding methods and philosophies during the “Golden Age” of Dutch maritime trade. However, as André Wegener Sleeswyk’s foreword notes, Witsen’s work is difficult to access not only for its seventeenth-century Dutch language but also for the vagaries of its author’s presentation. Fortunately for scholars and students of nautical archaeology and shipbuilding, this important but chaotic work has now been reorganized and elucidated by A. J. Hoving and translated into English by Alan Lemmers. In __Nicolaes Witsen and Shipbuilding in the Dutch Golden Age__, Hoving, master model builder for the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, sorts out the steps in Witsen’s method for building a seventeenth-century __pinas__ by following them and building a model of the vessel. Experimenting with techniques and materials, conducting research in other publications of the time, and rewriting as needed to clarify and correct some vital omissions in the sequence, Hoving makes Witsen’s work easier to use and understand. __Nicolaes Witsen and Shipbuilding in the Dutch Golden Age__ is an indispensable guide to Witsen’s work and the world of his topic: the almost forgotten basics of a craftsmanship that has been credited with the flourishing of the Dutch Republic in the seventeenth century. To view a sample of Ab Hoving’s ship model drawings, please visit: http://nautarch.tamu.edu/shiplab/AbHoving.htm Introduction -- How Ships Are Built In Holland Today -- Contracts As Historical Sources -- Conclusion -- Appendix: Variations On Witsen / By Diederick Wildeman. A.j. Hoving ; Translated By Alan Lemmers ; Foreword By André Wegener Sleeswyk ; With An Appendix By Diederick Wildeman. Hoving Selected The Portions Of Witsen's 1671 Publication That Deal Specifically With Dutch Shipbuilding And Had Them Translated Into English By Lemmers. Hoving Then Integrated This Translation Into A New Text With Commentary. To Reorganize Witsen's Text, I Have Cut His Entire Work (except The Irrelevant Chapters ...) Into Hundreds Of Selected Fragments And Then Arranged Them In A New Sequence That Follows Witsen's Own Description Of The Construction Process.--introd. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 307-309) And Index. Text In English. Title Page 4 Contents 8 Foreword 10 Acknowledgements 14 Chapter 1: Introduction 18 Chapter 2: How Ships Are Built in Holland Today. 52 Chapter 3: Contracts as Historical Sources 220 Chapter 4: Conclusion 250 Appendix: Variations on Witsen 254 Table 1 267 Table 2 276 Table 3 279 Table 4 282 Drawing 1 293 Drawing 2 296 Drawing 3 297 Drawing 4 300 Drawing 5 302 Notes 304 Glossary 314 Bibliography 324 Index 328