At the height of Pacific-coast steamship travel in the late 1800s and early 1900s, passengers enjoyed a dinner served on china with silver flatware. Today, the only places you can still find this china is at flea markets and antique shops or by diving at dock sites and shipwrecks.

Pacific Coast Ship China identifies and dates ship china used along the Pacific coast of North America. It covers china used by shipping organizations registered in Alaska, Yukon, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho and Hawaii; it describes patterns used in coastal, intercoastal and transpacific services. In addition to passenger vessels, it documents the china used by freighter operations, oil companies, government services and yacht clubs.

An important feature of this book is a chapter of brief histories of 75 companies and government agencies that operated ships on the Pacific coast. This guide identifies more than 280 china patterns and provides essential information for collectors, museum technicians and divers. It's also an important resource for anyone interested in the history of Pacific coast shipping, transportation or commerce.