Two cent blue Internal Revenue stamp (Scott #R104) affixed and cancelled.
Signed check, 2 7/8 x 7 ½, Merchants National Bank, 1872 signed by prominent whaling agent Charles Tucker, for supplies for outfitting the whaling vessel Europa. Cut cancelled, Fine cond
 
Charles Russell Tucker was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts, in 1809. He was a prominent merchant, a member of one of the largest firms engaged in the whale fishery,and president of Merchants National Bank. 
In 1830, Charles began working in the counting room of Isaac Howland, Jr. & Company, merchants and whaling agents of New Bedford. By 1836, Tucker was acting as an independent agent; and, in 1844 established a partnership with Edward D. Mandell (1821-1897) known as Charles R. Tucker & Company. This firm acted as agent for whaling vessels such as the Ship Europa (Whaling Ship). The ship Europa was sold in November 187 1 to Charles Tucker of Dartmouth, and in December it was registered to Tucker (a 2/16 share) and ten other owners. 
The agent was the moving spirit of the industry. Typically, he bought the vessel and then sold parts of the voyage to obtain whatever additional finance he needed. Together with the captain he chose the types of equipment to be carried, depending somewhat upon the ground the vessel was to hunt and the types of whales to be hunted-other decisions made by the agent. Some equipment carried over from one voyage to the next, but most did not. The provisioning requirements of a whaling vessel were numerous and disparate, and the agent had to seek advice and supplies from others.  The agent chose the captain and the two selected officers, boatsteerers, often the cooper, and perhaps the cook and steward.