PALMER, W. H.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

A Review of the Commission of H.M.S. "Barfleur" on the Mediterranean and China Stations 1895-98. First and only edition, rare, grangerized with an original watercolour of HMS Barfleur at Weihaiwei by Flag Lieutenant, later Vice-Admiral, William Bowden-Smith, as well as with an additional albumen photograph of the ship in Yokohama. This material was likely added by Robert A. Scoales, the librarian of the Japan Society of London; his inscribed book label is on the front pastedown.Completed in 1894, Barfleur was a 10,500-ton, Centurion-class battleship, which joined the Mediterranean Squadron in 1896. In 1897, she assisted in the pacification of Crete, before sailing to the China Station under the comma of Captain George J. S. Warrender. The author, a signalman, devotes the majority of this account to the ship's activities in the Mediterranean, and he includes a final chapter describing Hong Kong, the new British base at Weihaiwei, and growing regional tensions. During the Boxer Uprising, Barfleur joined Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Seymour's expedition to relieve Peking, and a detachment from the ship fought at the Taku Forts.Bowden-Smith (1874-1962) served on the Barfleur until early 1900, when he received his first command. His career concluded as Commodore-in-Charge, Hong Kong, 1920-22. His watercolour, in the same fashion as the original frontispiece (now opposite p. 57) and the additional photograph, has been mounted on leaves with printed captions. Of this account, we have loc

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