STEERING BY THE STARS
For Night-Flying, Night-Marching,
and Night Boat-Work
James Dundas White
J. D. POTTER, Admiralty Agent For Charts, London, 1916
A rare original 1916 edition of James Dundas White's guide to navigating at night without the aid of a compass. It was first published in 1916. Intended to be used by members of the armed forces as a practical guide to night navigation, by using the stars to find accurate compass bearings without the aid of a compass. This manual would have been a valuable aid to soldiers, sailors, and R.F.C. airmen who were, for whatever reason, unable to make use of a service, boat, or aeroplane compass at night.
With clear instructions on how to navigate using the positions of the stars at different times of the year, it includes detailed sketch maps of the stars and night sky, star bearing charts for different latitudes, and instructions on how to find the various stars.
James Dundas White (1866-1951) was at one time the member of Parliament for Dunbartonshire and for the Tradeston division of Glasgow. The elder son of the late John Orr White, he was born on July 10, 1866, at Rutherglen, near Glasgow, and was educated at Rugby and Trinity College, Cambridge. He was called to the Bar n 1891 and soon became an authority on marine law and marine insurance, and published a number of works on those subjects. He was a student of economics and he put his views into book form in Economic Ideals and Island Econorny at the beginning of the 20th century. In 1906, he entered politics and fought his first campaign as a Liberal for the Dunbartonshire seat. He held that constituency for four years but did not stand as candidate at the election in December 1910. In the election of 1911, however, he was elected for the Tradeston division of Glasgow and became Parliamentary Private Secretary to Lord Pentland, Secretary of State for Scotland. From 1912 to 1918 he was private secretary to the Right Hon. McKinnon Wood, Secretary of State for Scotland, and later Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. White was also at that time chairman of one and a member of several other departmental committees connected with the war effort. In 1919 he had a change of heart and joined the I.L.P. He contested West Middlesbrough in 1923 for Labour and, a year later, Central Glasgow, both without success. Afterwards he retired from politics. White was a prolific writer on a wide variety of subjects, including Steering by the Stars (1916), Land Value Problems (1918), and A Correlation of Longitude, Hour Angle and G.M.T. (1947 ) He was also the author of a number of articles and papers on economic, legal, and nautical subjects.
Condition:
In very good condition. The cover shows only minor signs of wear and use. The binding is good and secure. The text is in very good condition.
Published: 1916
Blue card covers, with black titling
Illustrated with diagrams and charts
Dimensions: 105mm x 165mm
Pages: 32
