The Oxford Companion to Ships & the Sea Edited by Peter Kemp 1976 Hardcover Maritime Naval Reference

The Oxford Companion to Ships & the Sea, edited by Peter Kemp and published by Oxford University Press in 1976, is a large illustrated hardcover reference devoted to ships, seafaring, naval history, navigation, and the language of the sea.

This substantial reference gathers thousands of entries covering sailing vessels, warships, naval battles, explorers, designers, maritime customs, shipbuilding, navigation, diving, yachting, seamanship, fishing, and marine terminology.

The photographed pages show densely packed reference entries alongside black-and-white photographs and illustrations, including British battle cruisers and historic naval vessels.

It is the kind of book that works equally well for focused research or an afternoon spent following one nautical subject into another.

Details

• Item: Maritime reference book
• Title: The Oxford Companion to Ships & the Sea
• Author: Edited by Peter Kemp
• Illustrator: Line drawings by Peter Milne and the Oxford University Press drawing office
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication Year: 1976
• Edition and Printing: 1976 edition. Exact printing is not stated in the photographed copyright information.
• Format and Binding: Hardcover in blue cloth with illustrated dust jacket
• Dust Jacket: Present
• Pages: 971 main pages noted, with photographic credits referenced on page 972
• Genre: Maritime history, naval history, nautical reference
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0-19-211553-7
• Dimensions: Approximately 9 1/2 x 6 1/2 x 2 inches

Condition Grade: Good

Positives

• Graded Good: Complete and usable with a clean interior and wear concentrated mainly on the dust jacket.
• The blue cloth hardcover is clean and presents well beneath the jacket.
• Interior pages shown are clean, bright, crisp, and easy to read.
• Photographs, line drawings, reference entries, and captions remain clear and sharp.
• The illustrated title spread and photographed reference pages are clean with no visible writing or highlighting.

Issues / Wear

• The dust jacket has tearing and loss along the upper edge of the back panel.
• Dust jacket corners and spine ends show rubbing, small tears, creasing, and edge wear.
• Minor rubbing and handling wear are visible along additional jacket edges.

Condition Grade Key

• Near Fine: Almost perfect. Very minor signs of age only.
• Very Good: Shows light use. Sound and attractive with minor flaws.
• Good: Complete and intact. Noticeable wear consistent with age and use.
• Fair: Shows significant wear. Readable or usable but clearly used.

Collector's Notes

Large single-volume maritime references like this brought naval history, ship terminology, biographies, technology, and seafaring customs together before searchable digital reference libraries became everyday tools.

It suits readers interested in maritime history, sailing, historic ships, naval warfare, exploration, or a reference shelf built around the sea.

The photographed interior shows the range especially well, moving from historic ship imagery to detailed dictionary-style entries and photographs of British warships.

This is the sort of reference book you can open for one answer and still be reading several entries later.