When I first started collecting ivories I became
intrigued with American Riverboats of years past. I
was invited to join a society: "The Sons and
Daughters of Pioneer Riverman" and referred to a
book by Frederick Way, Jr, "Way's Packet Directory."
A detailed listing of thousands of Riverboats dating
back to 1848 of passenger steamboats of the
Mississippi River System (and other rivers) since
the advent of photography in America. The book
lists captains, owners, where the boat was built,
what rivers it operated and so on. All descriptions
are quite complete with sizes and boiler
information. Some of the listing contain letters
from captains sent home, to the detailed outfitting
of dining cargo and cabin areas. When I say
complete, this 600+ page book is complete! What
surprised me the most in studying, was the numbers
of boats with the same name a "Natchez" (at least
12), "Ruth" (8), "Robert E. Lee" (at least 6) and
"Nashville" (6). Many boats of the same name are
listed throughout the book. Such names as "Star of
Texas" and "Queen of the West" are not listed. In
reading the book from cover-to-cover, several times,
there is not one word of mention pertaining to
gambling, organized or otherwise! Of course novels and Hollywood tell us of such -- but what better
place to research the subject than a book of this
magnitude.

JB