Ship sailing left, flying American flag at front. “OREGON” at left end of ship in image.
Launched by Samuel Cunard, a successful merchant and ship owner in Halifax, The Oregon traveled between Liverpool and New York from 1883 to 1886, when the ship sank after a collision. Cunard, in partnership with George Burns of Glasgow and David MacIver of Liverpool, was successful in a bid to provide mail service twice a month between Liverpool, Halifax and Boston. The line started operations in 1840. Cunard expanded his shipping interests to include a network of agents to assist people traveling from Scandinavian to North American ports. The transatlantic ships, like The Oregon, departed from Liverpool to New York or Boston on a regular schedule, providing new opportunities for immigrants traveling from Europe to the United States. In this image Currier & Ives give a sense of the great waves of the Atlantic Ocean and devote the entire foreground to the white-crested action.
