Four volumes document every aspect of the French 74, from shipyard construction techniques to handling under sail. Many large diagrams and drawings. The "seventy-four" was a type of two-decked sailing ship of the line, which nominally carried 74 guns. It was developed by the French navy in the 1740s, replacing earlier classes of 60- and 62-gun ships, as a larger complement to the recently-developed 64-gun ships. Impressed with the performance of several captured French seventy-fours, the British Royal Navy quickly adopted similar designs, classing them as third rates. The type then spread to the Spanish, Dutch, Danish and Russian navies.

Translation of: Le vaisseau de 74 canons. Includes indexes.

Volume 1. Hull construction -- Volume 2. Fitting out the hull -- Volume 3. Masts, sails, rigging -- Volume 4. Manning, shipbuilding.