Diving for Pleasure and Treasure [FIRST EDITION, FIRST PRINTING]

Blair, Jr., Clay

Published by World Publishing Company, Cleveland, Ohio, 1960

About this Item

Fine unread condition blue linen boards with green front cover illustration and gold spine lettering contained in a near fine condition color photographic dust jacket. Includes List of Other Books by Clay Blair, Jr.; Author Dedication; List of Illustrations; Acknowledgments; Appendix; Index and About the Author. Illustrated with over 150 black-and-white photographs and color illustrated front and rear endpaper maps. "In this book, which reads like a detective story and actually embodies one of the great historical finds of our century, the story of the sunken Spanish galleon El Matanzero is related by one of its underwater discoverers. Clay Blair, Jr., author and amateur skin diver, and Robert Marx, one of America's best-known divers, located in the coral seas off the coast of Yucatan in Mexico the wreck of a ship, which they soon decided must have lain their for centuries. As find after find of coral encrusted relics came to the surface from the sea bottom, they came to realize that they had struck one of the richest finds, in its historical implications, that had yet been discoverd by underwater explorers. How the treasures from the two-hundred-year-old wreck were separated and identified, how the history of the ship itself and of its personnel was traced back through dusty records on two continents, makes an exciting, real adventure story that rises to a climax as gripping as any to be found in fiction. But this is not a novel; it is an authentic tale of exploration and research. It tells the story of undoubtedly the richest marine archaeological treasure yet recovered in this hemisphere. The book is also a practical guide for those skin divers who have tired of shooting fish and who want greater rewards for their efforts; how to dig on a wreck and identify finds are clearly described in terms of the author's own experience. The success of the Yucatan expedition makes this book required reading for those who wish to achieve something solid from their underwater ventures. The first attempt of the diving team of Marx and Blair, searching for the wreck of the Monitor, the famous "cheesebox on a raft," prefaces the story of their actual accomplishment. The book is fully illustrated with more than 150 pictures of the people, the country, the finds; endpaper maps will be helpful to the reader." - from the inner front and rear jacket flaps.

Seller Inventory # 009335

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Diving for Pleasure and Treasure [FIRST EDITION, FIRST PRINTING]
• Publisher: World Publishing Company, Cleveland, Ohio
• Publication Date: 1960
• Language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Bennett, Walter (photography)
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good