Guide to shipbuilding by Scarborough shipwright James Maw.

This volume is a hand-written guide to shipbuilding written by James Maw, a shipwright from Scarborough. It describes various aspect of ship building, and includes many detailed annotated diagrams. Although dated 1783, a diagram of a timber crane includes the annotation in Maw’s hand, ‘Scarborough July 27th, Friday 1804, this crane was first used for lifting Oak Timber at Mr John Tindall’s, Ship Builder’. Maw's date of birth is given as ‘around 1765’ in census records, making him 18 when this volume was compiled. This would suggest that rather than being a guide for other shipwrights to follow, it was something more like a study book created as part of an apprenticeship.