Among the legacies of the late Ivan S. Brookes was his marine history of The Lower St. Lawrence, published in 1974 and an unpublished history of Hamilton Harbour in the nineteenth century. Copies of the 517 page manuscript have circulated among marine historians of the Great Lakes over the last decade. This electronic version of the text is an attempt to bring his work to a wider audience.

Ivan was a ship enthusiast from his teen years, served in the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War Two and in 1947 joined the staff of the Steel Company of Canada Ltd. Before his passing in the spring of 1993, he developed a significant collection of photographs and other material, much of which can now be consulted in the Historical Collections of the Great Lakes at Bowling Green State University. This manuscript and its illustrations remained in the care of the Special Collections of the Hamilton Public Library.

Our thanks are extended to Mrs. Ethel Brookes for permission to present this electronic version, which is copyright by the Ivan S. Brookes estate. Thanks are also due to the staff of the Hamilton Public Library, Special Collections and especially Margaret Houghton. An particular debt is owed to Ron Beaupre who facilitated the early stages of this work. This edition of the manuscript was created by Gail Richardson, Geoff Cannon, Berry Smith, Erin Lewis and myself.

Walter Lewis

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This volume is copyright The Estate of Ivan S. Brookes and is published with permission of the Estate. The originals are deposited in the Special Collections of the Hamilton Public Library.