It’s been quite a while since I’ve posted anything to the blog here. It might seem like nothing has been happening, but that’s actually not true. A quick look at the ShipIndex webpage will show that; we have a new, much-improved page that responds to the size of the screen, meaning it works as well on a smartphone as it does on a laptop or a desktop.

Getting that done was a pretty big project, and it took a long time. I’m thrilled that it’s finally done. We may spot a thing or two to change, but for the time being I think we’re pretty happy with how it has turned out. A friend and colleague took over the process of carrying the project across the finish line, and he did a great job on that.

Another change has been to bring on someone to pick up the data work that I hadn’t been able to get to. I love doing that stuff, but just knew it wasn’t going to happen any time soon, and there was (and remains) a ton of work to be done there. And if we’re not adding content to the database, then we’re not adding much value. So our new data expert is working through backfiles as quickly as possible, and will soon be moving on to new files and to websites, as well. We have been working through that backlog of content that was waiting to be finished and loaded into the database, and we’ve been loading a ton of it.

Here’s a list of content that has been added in the past few weeks:

• Oceanliner Pictures.
• Tyne Tugs and Tug Builders: A History of Tyne Tugs, Their Builders and Owners.
• Bonsor, N.R.P. North Atlantic Seaway: An Illustrated History of the Passenger Services Linking the Old World with the New, Volume 5. Jersey Channel Islands: Brookside Publications, 1980.
• Brown, David. Royal Navy and the Mediterranean, Vol. II: November 1940 – December 1941. London: Whitehall History Publishing, 2002.
• Butt, Marshall W. Portsmouth Under Four Flags: 1752 – 1970. Portsmouth, VA: Portsmouth Historical Association, 1971.
• Clowes, W. Laird, Sir, Sir Clements R. Markham, A. T. Mahan, Herbert Wrigley Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt. The Royal Navy: A History From the Earliest Times to the Present (Vol. 6). London: S. Low, Marston & Co., 1897-1903.
• Corbett, Julian S., Sir. Naval Operations Volume II. London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1921.
• Corbett, Julian S., Sir. Naval Operations Volume I: To the Battle of the Falklands. London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1920.
• Corbett, Julian S., Sir, Henry Newbolt. Naval Operations Volume V. London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1931.
• Cram, W. Bartlett. Picture History of New England Passenger Vessels. Hampden Highlands, ME: Burntcoat Corporation, 1980.
• Darlington, Robert A., Fraser M. McKee. Canadian Naval Chronicle: 1939-1945. St. Catharines ON: Vanwell Publishing Limited.
• Dillon, William Henry, and Michael A. Lewis. A Narrative of My Professional Adventures (1790-1839): Vol. 2, 1802-1839 (Navy Records Society, vol. 97). London: Navy Records Society, 1956.
• Dudley, William S. Naval War of 1812, Volume I: 1812. Washington: Naval Historical Center, Department of the Navy, 1985.
• Emmons, Frederick E. American Passenger Ships: The Ocean Lines and Liners, 1873-1983. Newark: University of Delaware Press, 1985.
• Finch, Ted. Liberty Ships Index. Ted Finch, 2002?
• Garzke, William H., Jr., Robert O. Dulin, Jr. Battleships: United States Battleships, 1935-1992. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press.
• Ghareeb, Gordon, Martin Cox. Hollywood to Honolulu. Providence: Steamship Historical Society of America, 2009.
• Greenwood, John O. Fleet Histories Series, Volume One. Cleveland, OH: Freshwater Press, Inc., 1990.
• Greenwood, John O. Fleet History Series, Volume Two. Cleveland, OH: Freshwater Press, Inc., 1990.
• Greenwood, John Orville. Namesakes II. Cleveland, OH: Freshwater Press, Inc., 1973.
• Greenwood, John Orville. Namesakes of the 80’s. Cleveland, OH: Freshwater Press, Inc., 1980.
• Greenwood, John Orville. The New Namesakes of the Lakes. Cleveland, OH: Freshwater Press, Inc., 1975.
• Grover, David H. U.S. Army Ships and Watercraft of World War II. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1987.
• Haws, Duncan, and David Savill. Anchor Line (Merchant Fleets in Profile, no. 9). Hereford, England: TCL Publications, 1988.
• Haws, Duncan. Donaldson Line (Merchant Fleets in Profile, no. 13). Heresford, England: TLC Publications, 1988.
• Haws, Duncan. Pacific Steam Navigation Company (PSNC) (Merchant Fleets in Profile, no. 8). Hereford, England: TCL Publications, 1990.
• Kemp, Paul. U-Boats Destroyed: German Submarine Losses in the World Wars. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press., 1997.
• Kooiman, William. The Grace Ships, 1869-1969: An Illustrated History of the W.R. Grace & Co. Shipping Enterprises. Point Reyes, CA: Komar Publishing, 1990.
• Latham, Robert, and William Matthews. The Diary of Samuel Pepys: A New and Complete Transcription (11 Volumes). Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1970-1983.
• Marshall, Don B. California Shipwrecks: Footsteps in the Sea. Seattle, WA: Superior Publishing Company, 1978.
• McLaren, T.A., and Vickie Jensen. Ships of Steel: a British Columbia Shipbuilder’s Story. Madeira Park, BC: Harbour Publishing, 2000.
• Melton, Jim. Ships’ Deserters, 1852-1900: Including Stragglers, Strays, and Absentees from H.M. Ships. Sydney: Sydney Library of Australian History, 1986.
• Morison, Samuel Eliot. Two-Ocean War: A Short History of the United States Navy in the Second World War. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1963.
• Murray, Stuart, Roger W. Mabie, and William duBarry Thomas. Thomas Cornell and the Cornell Steamboat Company. Fleischmanns, NY: Purple Mountain Press, 2001.
• Parsons, Ronald. Sail in the South: a Selection from A.D. Edwardes Collection of Shipping Photos in the State Library of South Australia. Adelaide: Rigby, 1975.
• Ratigan, William, and Reynold H. Weidenaar. Great Lakes Shipwrecks and Survivals. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1960.
• Rawlinson, John L. China’s Struggle for Naval Development 1839-1895. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1967.
• Rose, Susan, and William Soper. Navy of the Lancastrian Kings: Accounts and Inventories of William Soper, Keeper of the King’s Ships, 1422-1427 (Navy Records Society, Vol. 123). London: Allen & Unwin, for the Navy Records Society, 1982.
• Skalley, Michael. FOSS: Ninety Years of Towboating. Burbank, CA: Superior Publishing Company, 1986.
• Van der Linden, Peter J., John H. Bascom, Marine Historical Center of Detroit. Great Lakes Ships We Remember. Cleveland, OH: Freshwater Press, 1986.
• Wernham, R.B., Sir John Norris, and Sir Francis Drake. Expedition of Sir John Norris and Sir Francis Drake to Spain and Portugal, 1589 (Navy Records Society, Vol. 127). Brookfield, VT:Temple Smith, 1988.
• Winfield, Rif. British Warships in the Age of Sail, 1603-1714: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Seaforth Publishing, 2009.
• Winfield, Rif. British Warships in the Age of Sail, 1793-1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Seaforth Publishing, 2008.

That’s a lot of new content! We also updated links to some online resource, where the webpage had totally changed its structure and didn’t have updated links, and improved some others, as well.

Each new resource has a “new” note on it, on our Resources page. If you’re following a particular ship name, then  you’ll get an email when new content is added for that ship name. Remember, you don’t need to be an active subscriber to get those emails. You need an account (because we need to know how to contact you), but that’s it. If you see a new citation that looks interesting, you can either subscribe to access the new content, or access it through your local library, if they offer access.

New content will keep being added over the next few weeks, and we have a plan for collecting even more monographic content at a major research university, then at New York Public Library, then at the Library of Congress, and then beyond. If there’s a title you think we should add, please do let me know, either here, or by email to comments (at) shipindex (dot) org!