MANUSCRIPT /R. de Kerraoul: “Pothuau ,Journal du bord (logbook of the French battleship cruiser Pothuau)-exercises de l escadre( in the Mediterranean) et travaux divers.October 1898-July 1900 “. [Eastern Mediterranean 1898-1900] MANUSCRIPT,small 4to 22,5x17cm contemporary notebook ,with hard paper covers for nautical use, manuscript notes on cover :Pothuau, Journal de board (logbook-daily calendar)-exercises de l escadre et travaux divers du bord ,126 pages of written manuscript text (each page approx.30 long lines of text) ,by ink on the contemporary notebook s empty pages, and 15 manuscript maps and plans (some folded),in French, mostly easily readable, overall in very good plus condition . Rodolph de Kerraoul (1856-1934) was a French (from Bretagne) naval officer who was the second officer onboard the French battleship Pothuau ,since her launching in 1897 up to early 1901.The Ponthuau was transferred to the French fleet of the Mediterranean (escadre de la Mediterranee ) in summer 1898 and she became the flagship of the light squadron .This account is the official logbook of the ship ,flagship of the French Mediterranean fleet ,kept as a calendar, with daily events records ,by lieutenant captain Kerraoul .The squadron ,after some initial tests in western Mediterranean left for Greece and the Levant where French naval presence was paramount, especially in Crete and in the Ottoman controlled ports .In this logbook (that must be the principal logbook which covered also all the tactical moves of the fleet of the Mediterranean) the listings started the 29th of October 1898 (with a remark :entry of Pothuau) and finished with a note dated 22nd of July 1900 (with a remark: depart of the fleet from Mediterranean for Brest). In the logbook it has been inscribed a lot of invaluable first hand information about the Levant .The logbook of the Ponthau has been inspected twice by the relevant French admiral, the 7 August 1899 and the 26th of July 1900. Very lengthy accounts ,including a lot of information for the visited ports and places ,as well as the naval exercises and routes .The fleet after some initial exercises in western Mediterranean spent almost two years touring the Levant ,visiting several places and ports, among others ,in Crete ,Piraeus ,Smyrna ,Rhodes, Alexandretta and many other .In addition of the invaluable text testimonies which need careful reading ,the logbook contains 15 manuscript maps and plans including several manuscript nautical charts of eastern Mediterranean ports and bays ,as Piraeus(folded) ,Rhodes ,Smyrna ,Alexandretta, Lattakia ,Beirut, Haiffa, Tripoli (in Lebanon) etc with the positions of the French fleet. An invaluable manuscript ,a naval travel account. Unrecorded and unique.