Quarto. xxix, 425pp, [3]. With half-title, a list of subscribers, and 79 engraved plates.Later navy half-morocco, navy cloth boards, ruled and lettered in gilt. A trifle rubbed, some offsetting, scattered foxing.

The first edition of an informative history of naval engagements by Royal Navy officer Charles Ekins (1768-1855). The work pioneered the dedicated examination of tactical development throughout the history of the nation; though scholars have criticised its lack of reference to foreign authorities and the often vague diagrams, which though taken from official dispatches, are frequently inaccurate.