Ship Spotting Books

A SHORT HISTORY OF UK SHIP-SPOTTING BOOKS:

During the early 20th century and between the two world wars, most 'ship-spotting' books, often presented as pocket-sized guides, focused predominantly on fighting ships. These maritime literature pieces were crafted to aid the shore-based civilian population and sea-based naval officer corps in identifying friend or foe, resembling the function of the 'Air Spotting Guides' that supported both civilian and air force personnel.

Prominent examples of these guides include the Penguin publication 'Warships at Work' by A.C. Hardy, with two editions and one reprint published between 1940 and 1944, and the Robert Ross equivalent 'Book of Warships of the British Empire' by Robert E. Groves, released in 1941.

During this same period, slightly larger volumes were produced by Sampson Low & Marston in hardback format. 'Ships of the World's Battlefleets,' edited by Paymr. Lieut.-Comdr. E. C. Talbot-Booth, saw at least three editions (December 1936, April 1938, and October 1940), along with the 'dumpy' book 'All The World's Fighting Fleets,' which ran to at least four editions.

In 1941, Francis E. McMurtie, A.I.N.A., the then editor of 'Jane's Fighting Ships,' compiled 'The World's Warships' for Sampson Low.

While Merchant Ship fleets were briefly mentioned in 'pocket' form in the Penguin publication 'World Shipping' (1941 & 1943), also authored by A. C. Hardy, the concentration was primarily on identifying different vessel types rather than fleets of specific individual ships. The first notable pocket-sized book specifically on merchant shipping fleets wasn’t published until 1953, released by Ian Allan, known as the 'Transport Spotter's friend,' featuring their first edition of 'Ocean Liners.'

Ian Allan continued to publish numerous Merchant Shipping ABC fleet books in several editions, covering both British and Foreign Coastal and Ocean Cargo Liners, Tankers, Passenger Ships, and Tugs until 1966. They also produced 'combined volumes' of these pocket books under the title 'Ocean Ships,' which eventually evolved into a standalone volume published periodically after the individual ABCs were retired. As of 2025, this has been updated and continues to be published under the title 'Ocean Fleets' by 'Mainline & Maritime.'

Another significant publisher of 'ship spotting books' during this era was Adlard Coles. They released a series of small hardbacks authored by Laurence Dunn for civil and military recognition of individual vessels, along with a set of slightly larger paperbacks featuring ships visible at Dover, on the Clyde, Thames, and Mersey, including five editions of 'Ships of Southampton & The Solent.'

For further information on the Ian Allan and Adlard Coles books, please refer to their respective sections on this site (Ian Allan 'Sea & Water' section 201 and Adlard Coles sections 10003 and 10008).

Brown, Son & Ferguson - Ships of the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company - 1962-1987

Together with the publisher Stephenson & Co, Brown, Son and Ferguson are particularly renowned for their fleet histories of various UK Paddle Steamer operators. They also published the comprehensive set of Basil Lubbock's notable Sailing Ship histories, many of which have seen multiple reprints since their initial release in the 1920s.

Browns also issued nine editions of their 'Flags and Funnels' directories spanning from 1926 to 1995.

Although Brown's Paddle Steamer Company Histories included full historical fleet lists, the only genuine 'easy reference ship spotting guide' they released was 'Ships of the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company,' consisting of five editions authored mainly by Fred Henry. You can view the front covers and publishing details of all five editions in the first scrolling gallery section below.

Marinart - Ship Spotting Fleet Books - 1973-1978

Marinart, based in Deal, Kent, was a short-lived publisher of shipping books for enthusiasts, primarily active between 1973 and 1978.

When Marinart was established in 1973, the regular Ship Spotting ABCs published by Ian Allan (in individual format) had been off the market for just over a decade, so shipping enthusiasts were certainly pleased to see a new array of pocket books focused on ship spotting become available.

A total of 25 titles and editions were published over the next five years, with second and third editions primarily identifiable by the words 'second/third series' on the front cover, even though some first editions appeared within the subsequent series on their own.

Several additional titles listed in the sales pages of these books were planned but, as far as my research indicates, never made it to publication:

British Coaster Fleets - 2nd Edition 1975 by R.A. Streater

British Short Sea Fleets - 2nd Edition 1977 by R. A. Streater

British Trawler Fleets - 1st Edition 1975 by T.J.M. Wood

Dutch Coaster Fleets - 1st Edition 1975 by D. Ridley-Chesterton.

German Coaster Fleets - 1st Edition 1975 by R. S. Fenton

Ocean Tanker Fleets (Independent Companies) - 2nd Edition 1977 by R. W. Jordan.

It seems likely that the 1975 First Edition of Dutch and German Coaster Fleets by R. S. Fenton was published as a combined volume instead of two separate titles.

To explore the complete set of Marinart 'Ship Spotting Pocket Fleet Books,' please scroll down to the second gallery below. Publishing details are provided under each image.

Marinart / Kogan Page - Other Shipping Publications - 1975-1981

In addition to their 'Ship Spotting' books, Marinart also released seven other volumes on shipping topics, summarized as follows:

'Cunard Line - a Post-War History' is a detailed illustrated chronicle of all the vessels operated by this company from 1946 to the publication date, presented in a compact hardback format.

'Merchant Shipping Fleets of the People's Republic of China' is a very scarce title that lists the fleets operated by Chinese companies as of 1976, featuring several black and white photographic illustrations. The notation 'Romar Publication No. 1' on the front cover suggests it was intended to be the first of a series, although no further titles have surfaced to this date.

'Merchant Ship Types of the 1930s' is a large-format volume that outlines the various types of Merchant Ships in service during that decade, complete with accurate line drawings of actual examples.

'Merchant Ships Newbuildings' appears to have intended continuous releases, possibly annually, but the first (1977) edition is the only one encountered thus far.

The three 'Talbot Booth Merchant Ships' volumes and their later supplements continue the earlier extensive works published in the 1930s, 40s, 50s, and 60s by Sampson Low and Marston, as well as the Journal of Commerce and the individual Civil and Military volumes on Ship Identification by Ian Allan in 1969/71, compiled by Lt. Cmdr. Talbot Booth RD RNR. These were succeeded in the 1980s by the extensive 'Jane's Merchant Ships' volumes compiled by Greenman and Streater. Talbot Booth and his team were skilled draughtsmen, and the 'Merchant Ships' volumes became renowned for their thousands of 'to scale' line drawings and silhouettes of contemporary Merchant Ships as of the publication year.

Again, several additional titles included in the sales list pages of these and the 'ship spotting' books were planned but, to my knowledge, were never published. These comprise:

'A History of the Blue Star Line' originally slated for publication in 1975 - author unknown.

'P & O Today' by D. Greenman & M. Ewan, set for a 1977 release.

'The Last Great Era - The Queen's Rule' intended for publication in 1975 - author unknown.

Please scroll down to the third gallery below for front cover images of the Marinart books that fall outside the main spotting pocket series. Publishing details accompany each image.

Offerpace - Ship Spotting Fleet Books - 1981-1988

The second and third parts of 'Talbot Booth's Merchant Ships' were published by 'Kogan Page,' indicating that by 1977, Marinart may have been winding down its operations.

In 1981, 'Offerpace' was established in Stanford-Le-Hope, Essex, UK, aiming to produce pocket-sized merchant ship fleet books that largely mirrored the previous 'ship spotting book' format found in the Marinart volumes.

The subtle distinction between the Marinart series and Offerpace was that the 'Offerpace' books targeted both the shipping industry and enthusiasts. In addition to fleet lists, they included full postal addresses and contact numbers for the companies profiled, where information was available.

Very limited information is available online concerning the backdrop of the publisher Offerpace, but some references indicate that a former Managing Editor of Lloyds of London played a role in its establishment.

Like Marinart, Offerpace's existence was relatively short-lived (around seven years), with most titles seeing only one edition. An exception is 'Coasters and Short Sea Vessels - UK and Ireland,' which spanned four editions (1983, 1984, 1986, and 1988).

To view the entire range of 'Offerpace' Merchant Ship Spotting books, please scroll down to the final gallery below, which showcases images of all front covers along with essential publishing information.

For a considerable record of a selection of UK and European Merchant Fleets from the 1970s and 80s, I highly recommend seeking out a complete collection of the Marinart and Offerpace volumes!