Buy this book on-line

H.R. HOBSON, LT. [JG] : c1917 ORIGINAL WORLD WAR I NOTEBOOK DETAILING THE NEVER ENDING WORK OF A SHIP'S ENGINEER

16mo - over 5¾" - 6¾" tall. On offer is a fascinating U.S. Navy notebook dating from WWI. The hardbound notebook measures 6.75 inches by 4.25 inches and contains 146 pages. It is about a quarter complete. The cover has the seal of the United States navy embossed on its cover. At some point in the past, a number of pages were torn out of the notebook. The handwriting is legible. Interestingly, the notebook serves as a record of work on 2 US Navy ships, each record beginning from one of the covers. The author of this notebook is Lt (JG) H.R. Hobson, UNSRF (United States Naval Reserve Force). He served on 2 ships in WWI - USS Agamemnon and USS Cape Romain. The notebook is a 'Work Book' detailing a variety of maintenance tasks carried out by the Engineering Department of which he was the 1st Assistant Engineer. The USS Agememnon started life as the SS Kaiser Wilhelm II, named for the German Emperor. She was a 19,361 gross ton passenger ship completed in the spring of 1903. She was designed as a high-speed luxury cruiser for the German shipping firm Norddeutsher Lloyd. In June of 1914, she collided with another ship in British waters and was repaired in Southampton. After she left Southampton, war was declared and she had to evade British navy patrols, eventually arriving in New York City. When the United States declared war in April, 1917, she was in New York and was seized by the US Government. She was repaired from a failed sabotage attempt and returned to service as a troop ship under the name USS Agamemnon. She served until the end of the war when she was decommissioned. Transferred to the US War Department as an army transport vessel, she was renamed USAT Monticello. Eventually she was scrapped in 1940. USS Cape Romain was a cargo ship built in 1918 by Bethlehem Steel for the Unites States Shipping Board. She was assigned to the Naval Overseas Transportation Service. She was used as a supply ship, making trips between US ports and South America before finishing the war carrying supplies to the US Army of Occupation in Europe. She was decommissioned in 1919. She was sold and spent the next 36 years working as a cargo ship for various owners. She foundered in 1956 and sank in the Aegean Sea. Hobson's notes list numerous engineering tasks. This sample from May 27 hints at the on-going nature of his job: "Pack Boiler Stop #16 Clear #16 Safety Valve Drain Plug pin-hole in lower end #10 Port W.C. fitting Tag W.C, steam pipes on #11 and #14 Boilers Overhaul Hand Gear #3 Bunker Doors Overhaul #2 Ash Hauler Slick Valve & Cock on lower end; Straighten Siphon Suction Valve Stem #2 Pump Room". On the Cape Romain, he was engaged in similar work. His notes include some drawings for various fittings. This is an excellent example of the type of daily work that consumed naval engineers on the steam-powered vessels of WWI. Naval historians or Engineers would find that it offers a wealth of detail about the day-to-day operations of the engineering department at that time.. Illustr.: /. Manuscript. Book Condition: Fair

Bibliophile Bookbase for antiquarian books, maps and prints.