RARE EARLY WORK ON NAVAL NAVIGATION - ONE OF THE FIRST DANISH PILOTS

RASCH, JØRGEN.

Den Møenske Styrmands-Bog, efter hvis Anledning Ungdommen i Styrmands-Kunsten der paa Stæden skal oplæres samt nogle Betænkninger om Ebbe og Flood.

Kiøbenhavn (Copenhagen), Kongl. Maj. og Univers. privil. Bogtrykkerie, 1702.

4to. In contemporary half calf with three raised bands. Small paper-label pasted on to top of spine. Light wear to extremities. Small tear to title-page, no loss of text. Dampstain to upper half of last 30 ff. (4), 112 pp. + 6 plates and numerous engraving in text. 


Exceedingly rare first edition of this – arguably most famous and sought after – early Danish work on naval navigation, a textbook for a small navigational school on the Danish island of Møn. We have not been able to trace a single copy at auction and OCLC only list two copies, both in Denmark.

In the 17th and 18th century Denmark was one of the largest seafaring nations in the world and had numerous small schools dedicated to various maritime aspects. Most schools used foreign material and almost none of the locally printed works have been preserved.  

Jørgen Rasch (ca. 1665 – 1714), Professor of mathematics at the University of Copenhagen. As a young man Rasch travelled around Europa and after enduring various difficulties at sea, he was captured by pirates and taken to Cairo, where he, luckily, was not considered a slave and his knowledge of shipbuilding and seamanship was admired, as well as his proficiency in almost all European languages. He was even paid a considerable salary. However, after 14 years of travelling he returned to Denmark. There, he was accepted as the first instructor at the newly established Navigation School on Møn.
He was appointed head of the school with an annual salary of 300 rdl. and housing. In the first year, Rasch was busy preparing the present work. He was undoubtedly a talented and knowledgeable man, but stubborn and difficult to deal with; occasionally, he gave himself vacation for 2 to 3 months. This led to many conflicts. Nevertheless, the school did quite well; in 1708, it had 34 students. in 1712, Rasch was appointed as a mathematical professor at the university, effectively dooming the navigation school.

Order-nr.: 61088

DKK 20.000,00