Treatise on maritime meteorology for use in navigation Reid, Lieut.-Colonel William The Progress of the Development of the Laws of Storms, and of the Variable Winds, with the Practical Application of the Subject to Navigation London: John Weale, 1849 [First edition] Tall 8vo (26x16.5 cm); 424 pages plus errata page. Illustrated with 6 charts (3 folding) and numerous full and partial page diagrams. Rebound in full leather with gilt titled label on spine. Condition fair plus: Solid rebinding with amateurish spine decoration. Exl-lib from the Cincinnati Public Library with old blind stamped oval library seal on one of folding charts, and a library card at the rear. Two folding charts have minor problems with separations in the fold lines, and the folding frontis chart is a facsimile. One folding chart is frayed on the left edge. Otherwise smudges and paper edge damage. Synthesis of mid-19th-century knowledge about tropical cyclones (“revolving storms”) and global wind patterns, expressly written for sailors and navigators. It expands Reid’s earlier “Law of Storms” work with regional case studies (e.g., Arabian Sea, China Sea, Bermuda, North Atlantic), extracts from ships’ logbooks, and operational rules illustrated with charts and woodcuts for avoiding the most dangerous sectors of a cyclone. Reid’s 1849 book is both a landmark scientific compilation and a hands-on navigator’s guide — one of the first widely read works to turn the emerging cyclone circulation concept into concrete, region-specific instructions that improved safety at sea.