EXPERIMENTS ON HORSE POWER BASTARD (Lieutenant, Lieutanant and Commander in the Navy during the Napoleonic Wars)

Small collection of Autograph material addressed to Lieutenant Bastard R.N. comprising two long letters from James Brown, the first says that "in looking over the memo of Firebrands Experiments, I perceive the Cause why your friends in their mode of reckoning came so near the truth as to the result of the Speed per hour, and if you will again look over the times you will perceive, the up and down Exp. vary only about a minute. The nearer therefore those approximate the closer will this mode approach the truth. But, now take and Extreme case ... suppose you had continued your trials ... you would have had the current stronger with and against you, consequently you would have completed the mile down in less time and the one up in a longer period ..." and then he calculates the average speeds, and ends that "you may in case of further conversation entrap your opponent by suggesting a case similar to the above ...", the next letter hopes he has recovered from his Party and tells him that he will send the tools he has ordered on to him at "Falmouth. This arises from their only having been ordered by the Admiralty on the 12th Inst ... Boiler complete with Steam Box & Chimney ... Engines complete ... Coal Box ... Duplicate Piston ..." and gives their total weight, together with a manuscript account headed "Horse Power", "Consider that a horses power is equal to raising 33,000 lbs through the space of one foot in one minute, and on this data the power of the Steam Engine is calculated ... each square inch of the Piston is supposed equal to 7 lbs ..." he goes on to give examples and calculations relating to Safety Valves, Injection of water, Paddle Wheels and Coals per hour, in total 6 sides 4to., the letters no place and 25 Jewry Street, no date and 27th October 1832 together with his handwritten notebook with pages of different notes with pages titled "Tide Table", "Magnetic Bearings & Distance in Nautical Miles" and "City of Edinburgh and James Watt Engines 26 Nov. 1821" which has listings of the various strokes of the engines, the paddle wheel and the rings and then the original of the manuscript account on Horses Powerand the calculations from the experiments, the leatherbound notebook 4½" x 3", 34 sides are written on, May a few pages from the notebook removed

Lieutenant Richard Bastard entered the Royal Navy in July 1798 and saw a lot of action in his career, including the Battles of Trafalgar Rochefort and Copenhagen. He commanded the Wood Paddle Steamer 'Flamer' in 1832 and was on half pay from 1834.
There were several ships of the Royal Navy named Firebrand so the letter probably refers to a ship.


Item Date:  1829

Stock No:  39457      £775

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