BOOK REVIEWS Frank Broeze (ed.). Maritime History at the more importantly for the future of maritime Crossroads: A Critical Review of Recent Histori• history (and its funding), this literature has made ography. "Research in Maritime History," No. 9; little impact on main stream historiography. Not St. John's, NF: International Maritime Economic only in The Netherlands or in Denmark but History Association, 1995. xxi + 294 pp. US $15 virtually everywhere (with the possible exception (free to members of the IMEHA), paper; ISBN 0- of Great Britain), maritime history is on the 9695885-8-5. periphery of historical scholarship. Of all the national historiographies surveyed This collection of thirteen essays sets out to pro• in this volume, perhaps Canada's has had the most vide a review of the recent literature in maritime spectacular growth in the last twenty years. Most history. The inspiration for the compendium grew of this work has been as a result of the research out of the "New Directions in Maritime History" done by the Atlantic Canada Shipping Project at conference held at Fremantle, Western Australia Memorial University in St. John's. Canadian in 1993. Included in the collection are historio• maritime history scarcely existed before the graphies for eleven countries (or portions there• advent of the project. But while the nineteenth- of): Australia, Canada, China, Denmark, Ger• century shipping of Atlantic Canada has been many, Greece, India, The Netherlands, the Otto• analyzed, much remains to be done. Work has man Empire, Spain, and the United States. One only begun on twentieth century topics (naval essay deals with South America, another concerns history excepted). Coastal shipping has yet to maritime labour. The editor is to be commended attract much serious scholarship. Even the mari• for including papers on a diversity of maritime time side of that hardy perennial of Canadian nations. The seemingly serious national omis• historiography, the fur trade, has yet to get much sions, such as Great Britain, France, and Norway attention. Fischer provides a useful commentary are the result of lack of space or the recent publi• on these developments, though for Canadian cation of historiographical surveys elsewhere. Great Lakes studies, readers should also consult The editor opens with an introduction that the back numbers of Ontario History. stresses the internationalism of the new maritime Greece has also had a recent flowering of history, though he also concedes that much of this maritime historiography, although as Harlaftis ideology is mere rhetoric. Only two of the papers, readily points out, much still has to be done. Ortiz-Sotelo's work on Ibero-American maritime Greek maritime historians face various problems history and Trainor's essay on labour historiogra• such as funding difficulties and secretive vessel phy, deal with more than one country. Instead the owners but there appears to be a profitable future last twenty years of historical publications have for Greek maritime studies. In contrast, American produced many parallel developments along maritime (or "Oceanic," to use Flayhart's termi• national lines. This collection itself is an excellent nology) history is older and better developed. example of the comparative scarcity of truly Yet, paradoxically, in the last decade it does not international study. seem to have been as dynamic as the new Greek The nations with the most fully developed or Canadian studies. Readers should note that maritime historiographies reviewed here appear to Flayhart does not discuss research on the Ameri• be The Netherlands and Denmark with Canada an can side of the Great Lakes nor does he deal with inconsistent third. Both Bruijn's and Holm's the periodical literature. essays analyze an abundance of scholarship that The editors of the "Research in Maritime is the envy of maritime historians in other coun• History" series should consider issuing updates of tries. But as they readily admit, this writing has Maritime History at the Crossroads at regular two major limitations. Most of it is written from intervals. Perhaps the next instalment could a national (or local) perspective. And perhaps include papers on fields such as business history, 55 56 The Northern Mariner the shipbuilding, and maritime law as well as headed notepaper? When the bulk of the Anchor more traditional national studies of Great Britain, Line records are elsewhere (Glasgow University) Japan, France, and Norway. might it not have been useful to include this information, as has been done with the Cunard M. Stephen Salmon archive at Liverpool University? Ottawa, Ontario If the ephemeral has sometimes been exalted, there is much of substance elsewhere in the guide. Gordon Read and Michael Stammers (comp.). With few exceptions, the museum has secured the Guide to the Records of the Merseyside Maritime records of Liverpool shipowners, along with Museum. Research in Maritime History No. 8; St. those of the port authority. If the guide seems in John's: International Maritime Economic History any way incomplete, it is because a second vol• Association and the Trustees of the National ume is in preparation to deal with the smaller and Museums and Galleries on Merseyside, 1995. xiii more diverse collections. Some failings are + 153 pp. US $15 (free to members of IMEHA), candidly acknowledged, such as the description paper; ISBN 0-9695885-7-7. of the John Holt & Co. collections (three hundred boxes), which the compilers would happily have One of the greatest services an archive repository expanded. But archival collections do not stand can provide is to publish an overall guide to its still and any guide must face the fact that it can holdings. Too much information is locked in the only reflect a stage of development. Together heads of curatorial staff or held only on finding Read and Stammers have an exceptional knowl• aids in the repositories themselves. What is true edge of the maritime history and archives of of archives in general is particularly pertinent Merseyside; we now have reason to be grateful where maritime sources are concerned. The com• that they shared it with us. plexity and diversity of the records require re• searchers to inform themselves to an unusual deg• L.A. Ritchie ree and in this they are too rarely assisted by pub• London, England lished guides and surveys. The compilers com• ment on the pioneering work of Peter Mathias and R.B. Prud'homme van Reine (intro. & ed.); Allan Pearsall, Shipping: A Survey of Historical G.M.W. Acda, L.M. Akveld, R. Daalder, P.C. van Records (1971), and it is a pity that it has taken so Royen (eds.). Schepen bij de vleet: maritieme long for a work to appear which in any way musea in Nederland en België. Amsterdam: De supplements or supersedes it. The appearance of Bataafsche Leeuw, 1996. 234 pp., photographs this guide is therefore especially welcome. and illustrations (b+w, colour). / 46, -/920 Bfr, The guide is arranged in four chapters. The cloth; ISBN 90-6707-390-3. first describes records deposited or presented under the Public Records Act 1958, principally The concept of this amazingly successful book is the Liverpool Register of Merchant Ships. Chap• quite simple. It is a guide to all thirty-three Dutch ter 2 deals with records of official organizations, and three Belgian maritime museums, including but it is effectively a description of the records of both national museums, like the Amsterdam Mersey Docks and Harbour Board. Chapter 3 Rijksmuseum, and local general ones having an deals with the records of trade and employers' important maritime collection. Each museum is organizations including marine insurance associa• described in a couple of pages, written by the tions. Chapter 4, which accounts for nearly half resident expert. This leads necessarily to some the guide, is devoted to shipowners' records. It is unevenness in the treatment of the various muse• this last chapter, with its brief histories and bib• ums, but given the differences between the muse• liographical references, which is of particular ums and their holdings, a certain degree of un• interest. It must be said, however, that sometimes evenness seems inevitable anyway. Most des• the slightness of the records seems at odds with criptions provide coverage of local or regional its authoritative context. Does the Anchor Line maritime history as well as the history of the merit an entry, one might ask, on the basis of a museum and its current holdings. It is clear that ship's newspaper, a poster and two sheets of much care has been given to the illustrations, Book Reviews 57 which show museum buildings, exhibits, museum decades. For the last nineteen years of that career ships and images of local maritime activities. he co-hosted the public-affairs programme As It Lists of other museums with maritime objects and Happens, where, in the guise of Fireside Al and of museum ships complete the book. Front Porch Al, he entertained listeners with The surprising effect of the book as a whole readings from the pages of world literature. Since is that it offers much more than just a guide to his retirement, Maitland, who now lives in Nova museums. Dutch maritime history in particular is Scotia, has been producing well-received antholo• described from the diversity of the museum gies apparently compiled from the large body of holdings, which focus one moment on building material that he assembled for his radio readings. ships, then on fishing or sailing, one moment on For his latest book, Maitland adopts a new the national level, then on the regional or local persona, Seaside Al, and turns his attention to the level, and which inter alia include a number of literature of the sea. It is obvious, however, that specialized museums that focus on a diversity of he has chosen not to produce yet another tradi• subjects — navies, rescue, towage, beachcombers, tional genre collection comprising recycled tales inland shipping and dredging.