Curassow

Curaçao Island

Z. Ms. Stoomschip 'Curaçao'

The First Steamer to Cross the Atlantic

the record of the steamship Curaçao of the Royal Netherlands Navy
by F.B.C. Bradlee, Salem 1925

I paid almost $30 for this 10 page booklet, and kindly let you have all of it.
Here it is.



front cover
front cover
(it was loose)

"Honor Where Honor Is Due"
is Bradlee's motto for this one. He also wrote "History of Steam Navigation in England," "Suppression of Piracy in the West Indies," "A Forgotten Chapter in Our Naval History," "Blockade Running During the Civil War and the Effect of Land and Water Transportation on the Confederacy," "The Kearsarge-Alabama Battle," "History of the Boston and Maine Railroad," etc. Published by The Essex Institute, Salem, Massachusetts 1925.
On the first page (3) he states: "It seems somewhat singular that the steamer "Curacao" of the Royal Netherlands Navy, which, it will be seen crossed the Atlantic several times in 1827-28-29, has, outside of her own country, received practically no recognition from the various authors of works on steam navigation." He goes on to show how various books have done just that on page 4 (to which may be added The Advent of Steam, a fine book anyway.) Bradlee start discussing Curaçao on page 5, naming as source the Marineblad (official organ of the Royal Dutch Navy, February 1923, article by Mr. Van Nouhuys, curator of the Prins Hendrik Marine Museum of Rotterdam.) Other sources: Dr. M. G. de Boer, Amsterdam, "the well-known authority on Dutch shipping"; Captain Frank C. Bowen, R.M., London, "noted marine historian".
On page 6 he starts discussing Savannah, to switch to Royal William on page 9. Most of the book is thus not about Curaçao at all; he never even mentions Sirius, Great Western, or Rhadamanthus.

His last paragraph:—
No one seeks to detract from the voyages of the "Savannah" and "Royal William," but from the facts shown herein, neither of them deserve to be called the first transatlantic steamer, — the "Savannah" because she depended so little on her machinery, and the "Royal William" because four years prior to her Western Ocean trip the "Curacao," of the Royal Netherlands Navy had accomplished, not one sporadic attempt, but three long, regular voyages, propelled entirely by her engines, or as much so as were any of the early ocean steamers.


From VB PICTURES
by C.E.A. van Boeckel (www.omnispective.nl/vbp/vbpictures.html)

another forgotten first
KLM opens first
Trans-Atlantic air mail service
Fokker F-VIIb
The Christmas flight of the Snip
1934


s.s. Curaçao model drawings
available from Modelbouwers



Advent of Steam
Amazon.usa Amazon.de Amazon.uk Amazon.ca		The Advent of Steam
Evolution of the steamship from paddle steamer, to screw-propelled vessel, to intro of marine compound engine in the United States, Europe, and the Far East. Also explained is the introduction of iron construction. Solid on industrial background.		 The Lore of Ships
UK Canada		 The Lore of Ships
Not much of a sailor myself, I bought this to understand the Hornblower books better.
It's a delight. Large format, good info, beautiful. From tree trunks to nuclear submarines.		 Ships and the Sea
Amazon.usa Deutschland UK Canada		 Ships and the Sea
Lots of reliable info. Maybe a bit heavy on the English side, but after all, it is in English.
I know of no equivalent book in any other language anyway.


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