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This collection contains four letters written by Henry Colby, a fisherman based in East Gloucester, Massachusetts, to a friend, George McIntosh of Hallowell, Maine. Colby frequently inquired of friends and family in Maine and described his life and travels as a fisherman along the Atlantic coast, which included several lengthy trips to the Arctic Ocean.

This collection contains four letters written by Henry Colby, a fisherman based in East Gloucester, Massachusetts, to a friend, George McIntosh of Hallowell, Maine. Colby frequently inquired of his family and friends in Maine, and described his life as a fisherman, traveling along the Atlantic Coast and into the Arctic Ocean (October 8, 1869). Though brief, his letters provided several detailed descriptions of his work, including the size of the boats he worked on, his wages as a chief mate, the amount of fish caught and their value, and how the weather affected his journeys. He often apologized for the delay in his letters, as his work frequently kept him at sea for several weeks at a time, and he occasionally provided updates on his personal life, which included a new daughter in the fall of 1869. In 1870, he reported selling his boat to work on the John Fannie R (June 10, 1870).