Books

Nicolaes Witsens Scheeps-Bouw-Konst Open Gestelt

E-book (PDF), 410 pages, with technical drawings. Special introduction price until March 1st.

In 1671, Amsterdam mayor Nicolaes Witsen (1641-1717) published the first book about the source of Dutch prosperity in the Golden Age: shipping: “Aloude en Hedendaegsche Scheepsbouw en Bestier”. It is a voluminous work that describes everything related to ships and sailing in almost 600 pages. Of these, 132 deal with all the ins and outs of shipbuilding technology at home and abroad in the 17th century. In 11 chapters, Witsen describes Dutch shipbuilding in a specific and very detailed manner, using an example ship, a 134-foot pinas, with which he thoroughly covers all topics related to shipbuilding. The work was already praised in its time for its scientific content.

Schepen van papier

An introduction to building paper ship models.

In this e-book (PDF), model builder and retired restorer of naval models at the Rijksmuseum, Ab Hoving, shows you how to make amazingly realistic ship models in a simple, quick, and inexpensive way without needing an expensive, well-equipped workshop. All you need is a cutting mat, a knife, scissors, glue, and some paint at your kitchen table.

Designed and beautifully illustrated by his son Emiel, Ab provides a wonderful guide in this book for anyone who, like him, has a fascination with ships and ship models.