Von der Weser in die Welt, Band IV

Die Geschichte der in England und Wales gebauten Segelschiffe, die an der Weser beheimatet waren.
520 pages with 500 ill, 130 in colour • large format 21 x 28 cm, hardbound, Price € 65,00 zuzüglich Porto,

ISBN 978 90 6707 727 9

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"Von der Weser in die Welt" - under this heading, the author published three extensive volumes between 1993 and 2008 dealing with the shipyards in the Weser region and the sailing ships built on them (and some early steamboat newbuildings), mainly in the 19th century. This is in itself a completed project for a specific field of research, namely the sailing ships that had been built on the Lower Weser over the years.

However, the author was repeatedly confronted with questions from the interested public concerning sailing ships which were based in Bremen, Elsfleth, Brake or Geestemünde but were not listed in the three volumes mentioned. The reason for this is that these ships were not built on the Weser, but by other German shipyards or abroad, for example in Great Britain or North America. In order to fill this gap, the author decided to publish another part "Von der Weser in die Welt". This deals with the sailing ships built outside the Weser region, which had their home port here, at least for a time. Some early steamships have also been included, fishing vessels only if they were used as freighters along the Weser.

In order to get the project "under control" in terms of time, this entire area has been divided into regions. After North America (USA and Canada), the largest foreign suppliers of Weser sailing ships (whether newbuildings or second-hand tonnage) were Great Britain and Ireland, so it was a good idea to start with the sailers and early steamers built here. The author, a member of the World Ship Society for decades, also had in mind to arouse interest in the Anglo-Saxon world in German sailing ships, precisely because they came from a British or Irish shipyard.

Since the work was very extensive, the author and publisher decided to split it into two volumes, one for England and Wales (Volume IV) and one for Scotland and Ireland (Volume V). This division made it possible to present "manageable" books which, while belonging together, dealt with distinct and manageable areas. Mainly for technical reasons, a single-column layout was chosen in contrast to Volumes I to III, as well as a different font, while the format was retained. The author hopes that this approach will meet with the approval of the public, and any decision taken in this context is a compromise with pros and cons.

The systematic approach developed by the author in the first three volumes has been retained. The biographies of the ships, which are also given special emphasis in volumes IV and V, are each preceded by a brief history of the respective shipyard. In contrast to volumes I to III, however, volumes IV and V do not list all the sailing ships built by this shipyard and deal with their biographies, but only those that were later based on the Weser.