I.    Introduction

II.  Detroit’s Passenger Riverboat Service

1. Formative Years (1830-1885)

2. Transitional Years:  (1886-1898)

3. The White Star Line’s Golden Years (1899-1911)

4. Year of Social and Technological Change (1912-1935)

5. In the Wake of the Tashmoo (1936-   )

6. Frank E. Kirby Remembered

7. Guide to Detroit Boat Lines and Landings (1908)

8. Showcase of Detroit Passenger Riverboats

9. Detroit, Belle Isle & Windsor Ferry Co.

10. “Our Friends As We See “Em”

11. Footnote:  U. S. S. Yosemite

III.  Post Cards in America, A brief history

IV.  Real Post Cards

        Louis Pesha, The Pesha Post Card Company

V.   The Detroit Publishing Company

VII.  White Star Magazine – 1906

1. The Offering of the White Star Line to a Recreation Seeking Public

2. Toledo, a Busy Mart

3. Sugar Island Park

4. Speeding Through the Detroit River

5. Beautiful, Romantic, and Industrial Detroit

6. Lake St. Clair and America’s Venice

7. Tashmoo Park

8. Romances of the St. Clair River

9. Homeward Bound

10. A Work about the White Star Line Steamers

VIII.  Tashmoo, the Flagship of the White Star Line

IX.    Epilogue, The Steamer Columbia

X.     Local Advertisements of the Era

XI.    Bibliography

XII.   Appendix:  Post Card Publishers

Sample Post Cards Illustrating an Excursion from Toledo-Detroit-Port Huron

The old adage holds true for Michael M. Dixon's books, "A picture is worth a thousand words." In his previous books on Harsen's Island and the St. Clair Flats he has skillfully used photographs, maps and other graphics to bring to life this summer resort.

His new book takes us a step further in the history of the region. It is a journey along the waterfront from Toledo to Port Huron fittingly illustrated with post cards from the early 20th century. At the same time that picture post cards became a popular addition to American life, Detroit riverboat travel experienced its golden years. Interestingly, also at this time the Detroit Publishing Company was arguably the most important American color post card printer. That is why this book is illustrated with many Detroit Publishing Company post cards. By combining a history of post cards in America with a summer cruise along the Detroit and St. Clair rivers the author provides not only a captivating story, but also a unique mind's eye journey in his book, When Detroit Rode the Waves.

This book not only helps us understand the history of post cards, it opens a fascinating window on yesterday. The section on the Detroit Publishing Company* covers important detail regarding the company's founding, business practices and production of so many colorful post cards. Linking the post cards from almost 100 years ago to the map of the locations they depict and reprinting the text of the White Star Magazine of 1906 provides texture for imagining the experience of water travel during its prime. Travelers from the beginning of the 20th century bought the post cards for souvenirs so they could remember their summer trips along the shores of Lake St. Clair.

One of my favorite recreational drives is along Jefferson Avenue from Detroit to Port Huron. At times I have gazed across Lake St. Clair and the Detroit and St. Clair rivers and wondered what it was like to travel in this region before the automobile. In this book, Michael Dixon provides the opportunity to take a journey back through time almost 100 years ago. It is a journey along the water that shows through post cards how the waterfront appeared to the riverboat traveler. It is a journey that our imaginations can take today because of this wonderful book.

Cynthia Read-Miller

Senior Curator, Photography and Prints Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village