Old-Time Nautical Instruments

"Old-Time Nautical Instruments" by John Robinson is a journey through the evolution of seafaring tools, from the days of Columbus to the rise of steamships. Published in 1921, the book charts the development and importance of essential devices used by ship captains, such as the astrolabe, cross-staff, Davis quadrant, and sextant, each important for navigation in earlier centuries. It shares historical stories and shares about instruments in museum collections while highlighting the difficulties sailors faced charting unknown waters with older equipment. As a history, it calls on readers to explore the deep history of how people navigated the seas.