HENRY SIMPSON’S NAVIGATION EXERCISE BOOK A hand-written instruction manual created by an aspiring sailor c. 1711-1715 (c) Whitby Literary and Philosophical Society, Whitby Museum
This rare example of a student’s workbook, showing a young man’s mastery of complicated ship maneuvers is part of the library’s collection of artifacts, documents and books on Whitby’s shipping and shipbuilding past. Because Learning to maneuver the many-masted, cumbersome seagoing vessels of the 18th century was nothing to take lightly, and 18th century Whitby, England, was one of the best places to learn. Although perhaps better known to modern explorers for its vampiric literary connections, Whitby was once the third largest shipbuilding town in England, and was home port of the explorer James Cook and the builder of his ship the HMS Endeavor.