"Some men followed the sea for trade, others sought whales, or seals, or fish. Some sailed for the sake of voyaging – to see distant lands or beguiling islands. Whatever the reason, they experienced the sea's changing moods, and occasionally spectacular natural phenomena."
–"Varied Fare,"
Thirty Years of "The American Neptune"
Long regarded as the most illustrious American journal of maritime history, in 1971 The American Neptune completed its first three decades of service to scholars as well as to laymen, who have found in its pages enthralling accounts of ships, sea lore, and Americana. For this handsomely illustrated commemorative volume, former editor Ernest S. Dodge has carefully selected twenty-three articles published in Neptune that represent a cross-section of its content and widespread appeal.
Seasoned with warm and colorful anecdotes, the articles cover a variety of subjects explored by a broad range of authors. Contributors range from Samuel Eliot Morison, the dean of American maritime historians, to Wallace Ordway, an obscure grower of sage in the Merrimack Valley. Such well-known names in the maritime field as William G. Saltonstall, Llewellyn Howland, Henry C. Kittredge, and Lincoln Colcord also appear.
In his introduction Mr. Dodge traces the history of the journal from its informal beginnings, through wartime publication, financial crisis, and changing staff and content, to the present. He predicts that, "As it enters the decade ahead, The American Neptune will play an increasingly useful role as an outlet for publication for a growing number of students, while continuing to be, as it traditionally has been, a catalyst for all those who love the sea."
Mr. Dodge is Director of the Peabody Museum, Salem, Massachusetts, and author of New England and the South Seas (HUP 1965).
Contents
- I Life at Sea
- II New England Grab Bag
- III Some Distinctive Coastal Craft
- IV Perils at Sea
- V The Nineteenth-Century Navy
- VI Varied Fare
– From the dust jacket
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