Salvor6:
That publication has a particular place in my heart. When I was a lad my Mother ordered me a copy when she was getting some other Superintendent of Documents publications and the title caught her eye. About the same time in our little library I stumbled upon Dig for Pirate Treasure by the late, great Bob Nesmith and then I found the old Gold Bug Newsletter and learned about The Foul Anchor Archives and Bob's book lists I was hooked!
My original copy has many letters and postal cards stapled to it as I tried to keep track of everyone I wrote to, seeking copies of all those maps. To this day I regret not purchasing Hammond's Capt. Kidd's Treasure Map - the five or ten bucks it cost was a lot of money back then! Many of the listed publishers and sellers were OOB - sometimes the sources of treasure literature are as ephemeral as treasure itself.
The first edition of Treasure Maps in the Library of Congress, compiled by J. Douglas Hill and Richard S. Ladd, was published in 1955 and reprinted in 1957. All the original items and quite a few new ones were included in a revised edition: A Descriptive List of Treasure Maps and Charts in the Library of Congress, compiled by Richard S. Ladd (Washington, DC: Superintendent of Documents, 1964). This edition was reprinted by Bob McCoy's Rio Grande Press and copies are often offered for sale.
Then A Descriptive List of Treasure Maps and Charts in the Library of Congress, Second Edition, compiled by Donald A. Wise (Library of Congress: Washington, DC: 1973) was issued. Quite a few maps and charts were added (including a crude high school effort of my own - the first and rather inaccurate attempt to document the many shipwrecks in Lake Michigan's Manitou Passage) but some were omitted. And the very interesting roster "A Selected Group of Books on Treasure Trove" was not included.
For some reason the Second Edition, although much larger, is less well-known than the 1964 version. And, when it does come up for sale, generally considerably more expensive.
I'd happily offer anyone a photocopy of either one for what it costs to make and send one - as US Government publications, neither is under copyright.
The result is that one must have both editions to obtain all the available information. A modern edition, that would be a catalog of my own collection, has been "in the works" for many years. I thought I would complete it when I retired; but I haven't been able to retire yet.
The maps and charts of most help to serious treasure hunters are the historic ones by Bowen, De Brahm, Jeffreys, et al. The shipwreck, lost mine and buried treasure maps are certainly fun, but I don't think they have ever really helped anyone find anything. The "Nautical and Wreck Charts Officially Published" are detailed - these were a primary source for F.L. Coffman's Atlas of Treasure Maps and they have useful information.
Good luck to all,
The Old Bookaroo
