LITTLE, David Mason.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

Instantaneous Marine Studies. First and sole edition. This work is the first substantial photographically illustrated American yachting book. It is reasonably well represented institutionally, with 13 locations listed on WorldCat, all in the United States, but uncommon on the market.David Mason Little (1860-1923) was an MIT-trained naval architect, photographer, and politician from Salem, MA. He spent six years with the Forbes Lithograph Company and made his own dry plates after having brought back photographic equipment from a European tour. He amassed a collection of 800 negatives of marine subjects and patented a photographic shutter. In 1880, Little was the first American to photograph vessels in motion. He also designed a steam yacht specially fitted for photographic work, "which he took out into Salem and Marblehead harbors during regattas. The result was [this] pioneering portfolio of yacht photography … with a cover designed by his brother Philip" (Streets of Salem website). In 1891 Little opened a ship-building shop in Salem, its first production being the 65-foot steam yacht Eleanor. Later that year, Little designed and constructed the 70-foot steam yacht, Malay, for Charles Goddard Weld, a Boston-area physician, sailor, and philanthropist. "In presenting to the public this portfolio of marine views, taken in the summer of 1882, from various positions along our New England shore, I beg to say that they were not taken with any idea of publication, but simply for my o

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