This book relates to that quaint Nantucket which existed for two hundred years before the island was discovered by the summer boarder. The materials from which it has been written comprise the original town and court records, various letters, account books, sea-journals, and other private manuscripts, including the record books of the Quaker Society of Nantucket. None of these valuable materials have been used heretofore for such a purpose. For assistance in procuring them, I am indebted to Mr. Henry B. Worth and to Captain Thomas R. Rodman, of New Bedford; to many friends in Nantucket, and especially to Miss Helen Barnard Winslow Worth, whose kind services have been invaluable.