Abstract Letterpress copybook of Jacob Merriman, captain of the merchant vessel Henry Failing, containing copies of approximately 400 letters sent by Merriman to his partners, including ship captain William H. Besse and merchant, banker and politician Henry Failing of Portland, Oregon. The bulk of the letters were sent from 1883 to 1894, during the time the ship carried such cargoes as coal, oil, wheat, and tea. The ship was a sailing vessel built in Bath, Maine, and launched from the shipyard of...