I just wanted to share my joy in a recent book acquisition that I made! After many years of searching, I have my very own copy of Way's Packet Directory by Frederick Way, Jr. My copy is the1848-1983 hardcover edition with a clean dust jacket!
By Frederick Way, Jr
Fortunately the book is currently in I believe it's 3rd printing as the prices have come down considerably recently I have seen this book sale, not just list but sale for $600.00. I found my copy for $10.00 shipped!! I was so excited.
This book is 640 pages of nothing but Mississippi/Ohio River steamboats with wonderful details. Such as where they were manufactured, who captained them and final disposition of the boats.
I originally got interested in steam wheelers when my fiancee' was selling vintage postcards. I started steering (no pun intended) her towards steamboat postcards and I would do the research on them for her listings. This is also where I learned about the existence of this book and the fact that our local library did not own a copy. I found this very disheartening, being that we live in a river town.
According to Wikipedia:
Fredrick Way, Jr. (February 17, 1901 - October 3, 1992) was the youngest steamboat captain on the Ohio River and Mississippi River. He was the author of books on the boats that ply the inland waterways. He captained the flat-bottom, stern paddlewheeler, the Delta Queen, from San Francisco, down the Pacific coast, through the Panama Canal, across the Gulf of Mexico and up the Mississippi and Ohio rivers to Pittsburgh in 1946.
As time permits me, please ask any questions about Mississippi river area Steamboats and I'll look them up for you.
