CLERK, JOHN An Essay on Naval Tactics, Systematical and Historical. 52 engraved plates, 30 of them folding, with partial

hand-coloring. 2 volumes. 4to, original boards, Volume 1 backstrip partly cracked; uncut. London: T. Cadell, 1790-97 FIRST COMPLETE EDITION of Clerk's chief work, the first part of which was privately printed in 1782. Although he was mistaken in the controversial claim that his theories influenced the victory of Admiral Rodney off Dominica the same year, "the lessons he taught... might not have been recognized by the naval service at large, had not this civilian, from an outsider's point of view, given one more proof that a looker-on often sees most of the game" (DSB).