The New Practical Navigator; being a complete epitome of Navigation
Author
John Hamilton Moore
(British, died 1807)
Date1807
Object number00016792
NameBook
MediumPaper
DimensionsOverall: 220 x 136 mm, 0.8 kg
ClassificationsBooks and journals
Credit LineANMM Collection
DescriptionA book by John Hamilton Moore titled 'The New Practical Navigator; being a complete epitome of Navigation: to which are added, all the tables requisite for determining the Latitude and Longitude at sea: containing, the different kinds of sailing and necessary corrections at sea for Lee-Way, variation &c. exemplified in a Journal at Sea' printed by J.Crowder, published in London, 1807.
The book includes mathematical diagrams and tables, topics such as trigonometry, tides, the use of the sextant, tables of latitudes and longitudes, how to compile a journal, and how to survive a shipwreck. The book is dedicated to the Right Honorable George John Earl Spencer, Viscount Althorp on May 1st, 1807.
HistoryJohn Hamilton Moore joined the Royal Navy and later set up his own Nautical Academy in Middlesex. Moore also had a business selling charts and nautical instruments in addition to teaching navigation. In 1772 he published 'The New Practical Navigator and Daily Assistant'. The aim of his book was to be useful. To explain the practical concepts of navigation in a concise way. Although navigational books had been written previously, it was Moore's belief that while correct and accurate in theory, they were not particularly accessible to the majority of seamen or useful.
The aim for his The New Practical Navigator was not to rewrite navigational theory but be practical for those outside classrooms and actually at sea.
"I am well aware that there are persons who, to their own superior abilities in an obscure club, will quibble and carp at some parts [of the book] and say, that they see nothing new. To such Critics it may be answered, that a Triangle was a Triangle before the days of Euclid, and so it is now; but, if the arranging, digesting, simplifying, and rendering Navigation attainable to the most common capacity, with all the useful tables contained in one Book, which was never done before, it certainly may be called New, or at least an Improvement...".
Moore’s book proved popular in Britain and the United States yet Moore came in for much criticism due to the perceived inaccuracies of his book. His work was edited and improved upon by the Salem mathematician Nathanial Bowditch whose own navigational guide (see 00008604) became hugely successful and over time replaced Moore's book.
Yet the idea for a practical and simple how-to guide on navigation and the basics of shipboard life, certainly began with Moore and his 'The New Practical Navigator'.SignificanceA fascinating, information - filled book that summarises the state of navigation at the turn of the century. Illustrated with
diagrams and attractive plates, the wide ranging contents covers such topics as trigonometry, tides, the use of a
sextant, how to compile a journal, and how to survive a shipwreck.
