Periodical Information

The following notes regarding use of the index, drawn from the print volume's Foreword, may be useful:

"In addition to the ship's name (shown in italics), the specific volume (in Roman numerals), and page number reference in which they appear, most ship entries provide the category of vessel (bark, schooner, steamer/steamboat, etc.)...

"Although Roman numerals are used to identify Neptune volume numbers, sometimes they are used to refer to illustrative plates...

"A ship's name with the preceding 'ex-' indicates a former name of the same vessel. The letter 'n' is used to denote a short note, rather than the usual article presentation."

In summary: The Roman numeral is the volume number, the Arabic numeral is the page number. Content from 'Pictorial Supplements' is also included; these are generally illustrations.

The Fifty-Year Index to The American Neptune is a valuable resource. In addition to these 11,650-odd ship names, the index "includes the names of captains, masters, and some of the crew and passengers of many of the vessels" mentioned in the journal. It also contains several subject headings for each article that appeared in The American Neptune's first fifty years, plus book reviews, geographical features, and more. I owe special thanks to William T. La Moy and Nancy TenBroeck for providing me with access to this index.