Folio. 21pp, [1]. Modern grey paper boards. Ink deaccession stamp of the University of Reading to browned title page.

In 1789, following the wreck of the ship Adventure and all souls aboard, a public subscription was got up to offer a reward for the creation of the best lifeboat. Lionel Lukin (1742-1834), a coach builder, had written a pamphlet upon 'unimmergible boats', and had taken out a patent in 1785; however, shipwright Henry Greathead (bap. 1757, d. 1818), who won the competition, is the reported inventor of the lifeboat. The first trial of Greathead's boat, in 1790, proved a great success. Following a parliamentary petition, the House unanimously awarded Greathead £1,200 in consideration of the immense value of his invention to the nation.

OCLC together record copies of this rare report at just two locations (BL and Yale).