"It's 1840, and a tired old man in dusty tattered work clothes, smoking a corn cob pipe, takes the last swig from his bottle of rum then tosses it onto the ground. Eventually it gets buried by the leaves. For almost two hundred years the bottle lays there undisturbed until I am lucky enough to discover it again and hold it in my hands. It wasn't in a museum and it wasn't in a private collection. It just went from his hands into mine. That just blows my mind!" In A Field Guide to American Trash, author Bram Hepburn takes us with him into the woods, scuba diving to the bottom of rivers, and to any other place that our American forefathers tossed their trash. Most trash from the 1800's or before has decomposed or disintegrated over the years, but glass, pottery, and some hard metal relics have survived the generations, and are hidden all around us waiting to be found. After forty of years enjoying this "fascinating hybrid of dumpster diving and urban archeology", Hepburn shares the trade secrets and tips that might help you find a jackpot of historical treasure in your own neighborhood! This thoughtfully written guide has colorful sections on Sea Glass (the oceans gems of old trash), snorkeling fresh water rivers and lakes, as well as metal detecting for historical treasure that once belonged to people from another time. The hobby itself is wide ranging and will take you along the foliage lined tote roads of New England, into the darkest corners of a ten foot deep Civil War era privy pit, down to the murky bottoms of black water rivers in search of historic bottles, pottery, and relics. While there is a thrill in finding a rare bottle or relic worth hundreds of dollars, the value found in the hunt itself is what gives depth to this fascinating hybrid of dumpster diving and urban archeology.