Lloyd's Steamboat Directory, and Disasters of the Western Waters
Reference works are designed to provide relevant and succinct information about specialized topics. As society and technology advance, some topics grow outdated or fall out of fashion. In the 19th century, steamboats revolutionized the world by making possible mechanically powered boat-travel, which didn’t rely on sails or human labor. This work’s stated goal was to “point out to the travelers on these waters the safest and best boats in each trade,” which it accomplished by including a history of the steamboat, accurate maps of navigable rivers, and descriptions of disasters involving these boats. It may seem odd for the library to keep this work as steamboats are now antiquated, but the history of technology is a research focus at Lehigh and is facilitated by preserving access to historical volumes.
James T. Lloyd
Lloyd's Steamboat Directory, and Disasters of the Western Waters ... Cincinnati: O., J. T. Lloyd & Co., 1856.
Lehigh University Catalog Record: https://asa.lib.lehigh.edu/asa/Record/160825
A version of this text has been digitized and is available through Hathitrust.