The Art of Rigging Paperback – January 4, 2013

George Biddlecombe wrote his manual on ship rigging in 1848, and the current edition is a reprint of the 1925 edition published by The Marine Research Society, in Salem, Massachusetts. By then, the era of sailing ships, whether as a merchant man or men o' war were fading memories of long-retired sailors and ship captains. Those who wish to understand how those ships operated, whether pursuing their history or engaging in historically accurate model making will want to have a copy of Capt. Biddlecombe's book is a desk reference because it is a good and accurate dictionary and encyclopedia of how sailing ships were actually rigged and why they were rigged that way. We often hear the expression, "learning the ropes", meaning that the novice sailor was required to learn how each cable, rope, and line was to be used and handled; the same applies to those who wish to learn about these ships and the men who sailed them the world over, and of course, those wanting to re-create those sailing ships in miniature. "Learning the ropes" today means learning the names that sailors used to identify particular types of cordage and the purposes for which each type was used. This book does not replace manual is intended to guide ship modelers in replicating rigging on their ship models; there are quite a few of those around, and they emphasize the technique of making static models, as distinct from understanding what is actually being modeled. Understanding the purpose and functionality of the ropework that Capt. Biddlecombe describes goes a long way toward informing both neophyte and experienced model builders about how a ship's rigging should appear in scale miniature. All too often, what we know of ship rigging comes from paintings and illustrations done by men who may have known little about the ships they were illustrating on canvas or paper. The lines they depict become decorative detail meant to suggest shrouds,backstays, preventer stays, and the like. Likewise, plans drawn by draftsmen nowadays may or may not depict the lines of a ship accurately, and even if the hull comes within acceptable dimensions, the masts, yards, and their rigging maybe only suggestive of how they really were. Modelers who aspire to re-creating in miniature sailing ships as they actually were will profit from having this book.Having that knowledge contributes mightily to the manifest and subtle pleasures of making those models as stand-in for the real thing.My only comment by way of criticism would be that I would have preferred that the publisher might have used a larger size format for the engraved illustrations, but that is a minor point.

Tis book is a bit small in the diagrams magnification is needed to read the numbers on the diagrams. However this book is a treasure if you want to know or refer to the names of these lines and what they are used for.it is a treasure. If you are a scale model shipwright you will be able to understand what the to lines are. This book is written in ship lore language and is hard understand without using the dictionary. However it is a great reference especially for model ship building.

More tech than I wanted, but very informative

My husband is so excited when he saw this book. He always had an interest in old sailing boats. He loves all the details that are in the book. Details he was not expecting to be in the book. Each type of sail has it own details.

This is a rewrite of my first review after having given the book another shot this evening. I'm even clearer on why I don't like it.1. The reduced size of everything makes an already complicated book with detailed drawings very difficult to read.2. Any book with this much information needs an index. It probably wasn't in it when it was written in the mid 19th century, and not added in 1925 and later. Perhaps that wasn't done back then. There's far too much information without having a cross-referenced index when you need to find something. The contents listing in the front takes you to pages with long descriptive paragraphs and references to "plates" of illustrations that you have to look for in yet another part of the book. So much back-and-forth that it makes you dizzy.In short, it's just not written for modern consumption if you expect to find something with illustrations next to text that searchable in an index to start with.Suggestion: The other extreme is a beautiful book with great illustrations that have the opposite problem of not enough written detail, but it's a perfect companion for something like this Dover book if you actually want to SEE something, and see it in beautiful, detailed color: Ships and Sailing (DK Visual Dictionaries), here on Amazon. If only there was ONE book that combined the best of these two.

Very useful for rigging tail ship models.

This book is in excellent condition and will be invaluable for helping with the rigging of my model ships.

When you open the pages of "The Art of Rigging," you step back in time over two hundred years. The language herein is that of mariners of the days of wooden ships. You must learn the language to fully appreciate the treasure that is this book.The author or, more properly, reviser, Captain George Biddlecombe, Royal Navy, died in 1878. This book, first published in 1848 by another author, Charles Wilson, was based on a rigging manual published in 1794. It was again revised and published in 1925.If you are expecting modern terms, word usage, and grammar, forget it! This is the real stuff, exactly as done and recorded by the men of the late 18th and early 19th centuries.If you are expecting an easy read on the order of "Dick & Jane and Their Dog Spot," forget it! This book is hard work, even the pictures can be difficult, but it is a varitable gold mine of information if you're willing to dig.Here is a quotation that I found particularly opaque until I translated it into modern English: "Burton pendants are triced up by the girtlines, and placed over the top-mast-head, that the thimbles may hang on each side, to hook the burton-tackles in."Poetry! I leave it to you to perform your own translation!If you believe that there is no gain without pain, this book is for you. If you want your pablum spoon-fed to you, you'd best be advised to buy a plastic model.(...)

I like the fact that it is like a dictionary of terms. For English been not my mother tongue this is very helpful to learn reminology.

Es handelt sich um einen Neudruck eines Fachbuches über Takeln und Seemannschaft aus dem Jahr 1925 nach den Aufzeichnungen von George Biddlecomby (1807 - 1878) herausgegeben von Capt. Ernest H. Pentecost.

Esta francamente bien. Es cómodo de usar aunque esté en inglés. Buen libro.

All kinds of useful information about the rigging of ships. A great help in building a model.

Negatives: The "plates" are mostly fuzzy and grossly distorted (see the picture). The identification numbering is mostly illegible, but that is irrelevant, because the accompanying list does not include the numbering. (see the 2nd picture.)Positives: Some of the diagrams are clear and legible. The text information is interesting and useful to modelers. The book is inexpensive and a nice size, almost A4.The Solution: The hard back version might be better, but it is quite expensive. But the best solution is to download the free version from the Internet. The pictures, drawings and tables in the Internet version are quite clear and undistorted.Sorry publishers, but the paperback version should have been pulped.