PREV ARTICLE
NEXT ARTICLE
FULL ISSUE
PREV FULL ISSUE
BOOK REVIEW: THE TREASURE SHIP S. S. NEW YORK, 2008, BY Q. DAVID BOWERS John and Nancy Wilson forwarded this nice review of Dave Bowers' recent book, The Treasure Ship S. S. New York. -Editor  The S. S. New York was a sidewheel steamer which traveled between New Orleans and Galveston in the 1840s. It sank in 1846 with a treasure of gold coins and other valuables. Q. David Bowers first sets the scene with a description of America in 1846 to better understand the times in which the ship sank. He then discusses the money used in America at that time to know what to expect on the ship. The ship is then described along with the history of the ship from building to the sinking. The author then describes what it was like in New Orleans and Galveston at that time. The kinds of merchandise and commerce in general including the slave trade are described in detail. The S. S. New York left Galveston on September 5, 1846 with $30,000 to $50,000 in money on board and ran into a hurricane. The storm caused the ship to breakup and sink with a loss of 19 lives and 36 saved. Q. David Bowers then chronicles the finding of the ship and salvaging much of the contents. He lists the coins recovered along with pictures of the pieces and condition with interesting data about each coin. The last chapter, chapter 9, lists other treasure ships and their status at the present time. Quoting information found on the Stack’s book link regarding this book, “Close your eyes (after reading) and you will be aboard the ship as it cuts through the waves heading from Galveston, Texas to New Orleans, and then is confronted by an unexpected hurricane. Excitement, adventure, tragedy —all play a part.” After reading this book, which is well written, interesting and hard to put down, we cannot disagree with this quote. You do feel like you are part of the period and the S. S. New York. The book is well illustrated, in color and is 94 pages long. The reference comes in a regular hardbound edition, which is available for $29.95; and also a deluxe hardbound, with a Special Bookplate signed by the author and the four treasure finders, limited to 200 copes, first-come, first-served for $89.00. For a limited time only the firm is offering free shipping if you mention code SSNYFREE. The book can be ordered from Stack’s web page at, www.stacks.com They can also be contacted at their two offices: Stack’s, 123 West 57th Street, New York, NY 10019, (800) 566-2580 or (212) 582-2580 or Fax (212) 245-5018. They also can be contacted at: Stack’s, P. O. Box 1804, Wolfeboro, NH 03894. (866) 811-1804 or (603) 569-0823 or Fax (603) 569-3875. Wayne Homren, Editor The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org. To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@gmail.com To subscribe go to: https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/esylum All Rights Reserved. NBS Home Page Contact the NBS webmaster 
|