Item #901608 A Full and Particular Account of All the Circumstances Attending the Loss of the Steamboat Lexington, in Long Island Sound, On the Night of January 13, 1846; As elicited in the evidences of the witnesses examined before the Jury of the Inquest, held in New-York immediately after the lamentable event. Anonymous.
A Full and Particular Account of All the Circumstances Attending the Loss of the Steamboat Lexington, in Long Island Sound, On the Night of January 13, 1846; As elicited in the evidences of the witnesses examined before the Jury of the Inquest, held in New-York immediately after the lamentable event
A Full and Particular Account of All the Circumstances Attending the Loss of the Steamboat Lexington, in Long Island Sound, On the Night of January 13, 1846; As elicited in the evidences of the witnesses examined before the Jury of the Inquest, held in New-York immediately after the lamentable event
A Full and Particular Account of All the Circumstances Attending the Loss of the Steamboat Lexington, in Long Island Sound, On the Night of January 13, 1846; As elicited in the evidences of the witnesses examined before the Jury of the Inquest, held in New-York immediately after the lamentable event

A Full and Particular Account of All the Circumstances Attending the Loss of the Steamboat Lexington, in Long Island Sound, On the Night of January 13, 1846; As elicited in the evidences of the witnesses examined before the Jury of the Inquest, held in New-York immediately after the lamentable event

Providence: H. H. Brown & A. H. Stillwell, 1840.
First Edition. Paperback.

The elegant paddlewheel steamboat Lexington, commissioned by Cornelius Vanderbilt in 1834, was enroute from New York to Boston when it caught fire on January 13, 1846. This work is an account of the inquest jury’s 8-day investigation, its findings, and its verdict. The jury determined that the ship’s boiler fuel had been converted from wood to coal and that the increased heat of the coal hadn’t been properly considered in the new design. There were rough seas on the night of the fire and extra coal was burned as a result. A spark from the overheated smokestack set its casing on fire and spread to bales of cotton stacked too close to the smokestack. The crew investigated the source of the fire before working to put it out, too few fire buckets were on hand, and only 20 of the passengers were able to find life preservers. Insult to injury, the sloop Improvement was in the vicinity when the Lexington caught fire, but failed to come to its rescue, its captain citing tide and scheduling considerations. Of the purported 143 people to have been on board, only 4 survived –1 passenger and 3 crew members. A List of Passengers, &c. of the Lexington (as near as could be ascertained) is provided. “*The bodies of these persons have been recovered.”

Item #901608

5-1/2 x 8-5/8”, printed blue wrappers, 32pp, frontis. engraving, includes list of passengers, a full accounting of the eight-day inquest and verdict.

Heavy foxing, a few short tear to edges of wrappers, contemporary owner’s name front wrapper, a remarkably well preserved copy of a fragile item, very good.

Price: $150.00

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