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1754 · 165 — <p>Britain in the 18th century was an adventurist sea going nation sailing to Asia Africa and the colonies in the Americas. They had compasses to help guide their routes but no reliable means to judge their progress while they were out of sight of land. A gentleman in 1725 had proposed the design of a machine for measuring a ship's way but it lacked in accuracy. Mr. Smeaton in1754 presented his paper<em><strong> An Account of some Experiments upon a Machine for Measuring the Way of a Ship at Sea</strong></em> to the Royal Society in which he descibes the testing of the machine its shortcomings and his recommendations for improving its accuracy.</p><p>We are offering a First Edition copy of the paper as read before the Society on April 4 1754 and published in the Philosophical Transactions Vol.48 For the Years 1753-1754 pages 532 to 546. The paper has been extracted and disbound from the volume. The booklet which measures approximately 6 1/4 x 8 1/2 inches has pages that are tanned but the text is clear and easily read. The overall condition of the paper considering its age and being extracted from its original covers is very good.</p><p>The illustrations accompanying this description show the first page of the article and a page of Mr. Sweaton's recommendatons. The illustrations have been mounted on a bare page which is included among the other pages of this item's description.</p><p><strong>John Smeaton </strong>FRS 8 June 1724 - 28 October 1792 was a British civil engineer responsible for the desogn of bridges canals harbours and lighthouses. He was also a capable mechanical engineer and an eminent physicist. Smeaton was the first self-proclaimed "civil engineer" and is often regarded as the "father of civil engineering". He pioneered the use of hydraulic lime in concrete using pebbles and powdered brick as aggregate. Smeaton was associated with the Lunar Society. Wikipedia</p> Royal Society of London