As a depository of source material relating to a wide variety of subjects, the Essex Institute holds a unique position. For many years it has been natural to turn to Salem for material on ocean shipping. In decades past, Salem wharves were lined with vessels which Salem merchants had built and manned, and which brought rich products from every civilized and barbaric land. There were Eastern ports where the names of New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore were scarcely known, but where Salem was supposed to be the great emporium of the West. Letters addressed “Salem, U. S. A.” reached their destinations without delay. In 1825, there were one hundred ninety-eight vessels flying Salem signals, and Salem ships were the first to display the American flag in many foreign ports, as well as to open trade with St. Petersburg, Zanzibar, Sumatra, Calcutta, Bombay, Batavia, Arabia, Madagascar and Australia.