Philip Allan (London, UK)
Series dates: 1928-1936
Size: 4.25″ x 6.75″
Frederick A. Stokes Co. (New York)
Series dates: 1929-1930
Size: 5″ x 7.75″
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The Nautilus Library was initiated by the publisher Philip Allan in the UK in 1928. The inaugural four volumes, all with 1928 publication dates in the UK, were advertised in the Times Literary Supplement (October 18, 1928; above right). The series consisted of reprinted books, mostly non-fiction, about the sea, some in revised new editions. The first four titles were published in 1929 in the US by the Frederick A. Stokes Co. of New York. Stokes would not publish any more titles from the series after the initial four. Allan continued to add to the series until 1936, 32 volumes in total. At least 5 titles (#6, 8, 13, 14, and 16) were published in 1931 in the US as the Deep Sea Library by the publisher William Farquhar Payson (New York).
The UK editions of the Nautilus Library have at least two jacket designs. It’s not clear if one proceeded the other or if they were used simultaneously. The jacket below is the more adventurous of the two designs. The jackets are common to the series. Two bold black bands stretch across the spine and jacket front. The series name is included on the jacket spine and front and front flap. The series number (in this case 23) is on the spine, along with the price (which is also included on the jacket front and front flap). The series is blurbed on the front jacket spine.
The rear of the jacket lists titles from 1 to 24. The series would reach its final volume, #32, in 1936. The series is “The Standard Library of Books about the Sea and Ships.”
Blue cloth bindings with gold typography and decorations.
The title page includes the book title, series number, and series name.
The first 24 titles are listed, facing the title page.
The copyright page includes “Made and Printed in Great Britain by Unwin Brothers Limited, London and Woking.”
Jackets for Stokes US version of the series are, I believe, common to the series (although I have not seen a jacket besides the one below). E. Keble Chatterton‘s Seamen All (first published in 1924, reprinted in the Nautilus Library in the US by Stokes in 1929) was series number 2 for both the Stokes and Allan series. The series name is on the jacket spine (with the title, author, and publisher). The front of the jacket includes, besides the illustrations, the book’s title and author. A blurb for the series is placed on the front jacket flap, and the initial two titles in the series are listed. The price of $1 has been clipped from this jacket.
The back of the jacket advertises eight new novels published by Stokes, and the rear jacket flap advertises a biography of Richard E. Byrd, also published by Stokes.
The books are bound in a pale green plastic infused material with two-color printing that mimics the jacket (but omits the series name from the spine).
The endpapers include lines and stars along with a few of Stokes company colophon.
The half-title page includes the book title with its series number, along with the series name at the bottom of the page.
Titles in the Nautilus Library: Stokes (US) published the first four titles in 1929. No more titles in the series were published by Stokes. Allan (UK) published the entire run of 32 titles between 1928 and 1936. At least five titles (see * below) were published in 1931 as the Deep Sea Library by the publisher Payson (New York).
1. Mysteries of the Sea, by J.G. Lockhart (Allan 1928, Stokes 1929)
2. Seamen All, by E. Keble Chatterton (Allan 1928, Stokes 1929)
3. Perils of the Sea, by J.G. Lockhart (Allan 1928, Stokes 1929)
4. Sea Wolves of the Mediterranean, by E. Hamilton Currey (Allan 1928, Stokes 1929)
5. Sea Venturers of Britain, by H. Taprell Dorling (1929)
*6. The Cruise of the Alerte in Search of Treasure, by E.F. Knight (1929)
7. The Story of H.M.S. Victory, by Geoffrey Callender (1929)
*8. Strange Adventures of the Sea, by John Gilbert Lockhart (1929)
9. Smuggling Days and Smuggling Ways, by Henry N. Shore (1929)
10. Sea Escapes and Adventures, by H. Taprell Dorling (1929)
11. The Buccaneers, by Arthur Henry Cooper-Prichard (1929)
**12. The Loss of the Titanic, by Lawrence Beesley (1929)
*13. Great Storms, by L.G. Carr Laughton and V. Heddon (1930)
*14. A Great Sea Mystery: The True Story of the Mary Celeste, by John Gilbert Lockhart (1930)
15. The Diary of a Rum-Runner, by Alastair Moray (1930)
*16. Whalers and Whaling, by E. Keble Chatterton (1930)
17. Across Three Oceans, by Conor O’Brien (1931)
18. On the High Seas, by E Keble Chatterton (1931)
19. Shackleton’s Boat Journey, by Frank Arthur Worsley (1933)
20. The Ayesha, by Hellmuth von Mücke & J G Lockhart (1933)
21. Blenden Hall: The True Story of a Shipwreck, by John Gilbert Lockhart (1933)
22. Clear Lower Deck: An Intimate Study of the Men of the Royal Navy, by Sidney Knock (1933)
23. Ocean Racers, by C. Fox Smith & John Haskell Kemble (1934)
24. Strange Tales of the Seven Seas, by John Gilbert Lockhart (1934)
25. The Sea Apprentice, by C. Fenton (1934)
26. Bligh of the Bounty, by Geoffrey Rawson (1934)
27. Sea-Toll of Our Time, by Robert L. Hadfield (1935)
28. In Great Waters: Memoirs of a Master Mariner, by S.G.S. McNeil (1935)
29: My South Seas Adventures, by Jack McLaren & John Haskell Kemble (1936)
30. Beatty, by Geoffrey Rawson (1936)
31. The Post-Captain, by John Davis & John Moore (1936)
32. Convict Ships and Sailors, by Alan Villiers (1936)
*Published as the Deep Sea Library in 1931 by the publisher William Farquhar Payson, NY
**Announced for the Deep Sea Library in 1931 by the publisher William Farquhar Payson, NY but not apparently published.
A list of the first four titles in the Nautilus Library faces the title page. the title page includes Stokes colophon.
There is no date on the copyright page, although all titles in Stokes’ Nautilus Library were published in 1929. The book was printed in the United States, probably using plates from Allan in the UK.
