The New Helvetia Collection of Western Expresses continued...

FINE. AN EXTREMELY RARE AND UNUSUAL USE OF ONE-CENT 1857 ISSUE STAMPS ON AN ILLUSTRATED ADVERTISING COVER CARRIED BY THE CENTRAL OVERLAND CALIFORNIA AND PIKES PEAK EXPRESS COMPANY, THE PARENT STAGE EXPRESS TO THE FAMED PONY EXPRESS.

Ex Dale-Lichtenstein. With 2004 P.F. certificate (Image)

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EXTREMELY FINE. A VERY RARE EXAMPLE OF MAIL ADDRESSED TO ONE OF THE THREE CO-FOUNDERS OF THE PONY EXPRESS -- WILLIAM B. WADDELL -- SENT FROM SALT LAKE CITY WHILE WORK ON THE ROUTE WAS UNDERWAY.

The three principals in Russell, Majors and Waddell, played different roles in managing the company. Russell was the lobbyist and promoter, Majors was the teamster, and Waddell was the back-room manager. Examples of mail to any of these three individuals are scarce, and this is especially desirable with the Salt Lake City postmark. (Image)

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VERY FINE. ONE OF FOUR RECORDED WESTBOUND PONY EXPRESS COVERS DELAYED DUE TO THE PAIUTE INDIAN WAR IN 1860, OF WHICH TWO HAVE FREE FRANKS.

As recently documented in The Impact of Indian Attacks on the Pony Express in 1860 (published by our firm and available on our website at LINK), even when service in California and Nevada was suspended from June 1 to July 6, 1860, the Pony Express continued to run horses in both directions on a shortened route between St. Joseph and Ruby Valley. The westbound mail addressed to California that left St. Joseph on May 20, May 27, June 3 and June 10 (all Sunday departures) was carried as far west as possible and held until a military escort could accompany the riders beyond the dangerous part of the route. Five covers are recorded with these departure dates, one of which also left on June 3, but was delivered to a military offer at Camp Floyd near Salt Lake City.

The westbound trip departing from St. Joseph on Sunday, June 10, was the last scheduled Sunday departure, and it made it through to California after catching up with the three earlier mails. The Mountaineer 6/16/1860 reports the arrival of an express from the East in Salt Lake City at 8 p.m. on June 15, which fits with the June 10 departure. The Daily Alta California 6/24/1860 contains a report from Carson City dated June 23, which states, "The long missing Pony Express arrived at Carson City last evening, bringing dates from St. Louis to June 10th." The San Francisco Bulletin 6/25/1860 reported The Pony Express will arrive here to-night about 10 o’clock, on board the Sacramento steamer. The Express will bring four several letter-bags -- the number now due -- and will have altogether 300 letters, at least" (boldface added for emphasis). This report confirms that the four delayed express mails -- May 20, May 27, June 3 and June 10 -- arrived in San Francisco on June 25.

How did the express with the four mails, including the cover offered here, travel to Carson City? The military escort of "20 picked men, well armed and mounted," which guarded the May 25 eastbound mail through hostile territory after they left Carson City on June 9, passed through Roberts' Creek on June 15, as reported by an army private named Charles A. Scott in his journal. The convoy moved at a rate of approximately 40 miles per day, obviously a much slower pace than an individual Pony rider could achieve. The timing strongly indicates that the westbound mail, which had accumulated in the safe zone for weeks, was carried to Carson City with the same military escort on its return trip. The westbound express reached Carson City during the evening of June 22 (Daily Alta California 6/24/1860). Six days of travel points to a June 16 or 17 departure from somewhere near Ruby Valley, where the 4th Artillery had set up their base of operations.

Senator Milton S. Latham went to California in 1850 and was elected to Congress on the 1852 Democratic ticket. After his term expired, he declined to run for re-election and served as collector for the port of San Francisco. In 1859 he was elected governor, but he resigned five days after taking office to fill the U.S. Senate seat left vacant when Senator David C. Broderick was killed in a duel. It was during his term as a U.S. senator that Latham franked this cover addressed to his friend and fellow Democrat, General James W. Denver, who was the former territorial governor of Kansas, state senator and U.S. congressman, and who would be commissioned as a general in the Union army at the start of the Civil War.

Senator Latham was a friend of William H. Russell, the Central Overland California & Pike’s Peak Express Co. president, and a strong supporter of COC&PP in their effort to secure the contract for the Central Route. He was among the few individuals later permitted to send Pony Express letters free of charge. In this case Senator Latham’s free frank applied to the $5.00 Pony Express rate and U.S. postage. There are 15 recorded Pony Express covers with any form of free frank for postage or express charges. Of these, six are signed by Latham (FKW E94, W3, W5, W7, W48 and W62). The eastbound cover (E94) has the San Francisco Running Pony oval. Three of the westbound Latham covers have the St. Joseph Running Pony oval (W3, W5 and W7), and two have the oval within circle datestamp (W48 and W62). The cover offered here is one of two recorded Latham free-franked covers delayed by the Paiute Indian War (the other is dated May 27, FKW W5).

FKW Census W6. Ex Salzer, Vogel, Walske and Stach (Image)

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A RARE TELEGRAPH MESSAGE TO CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR DOWNEY FROM GENERAL CURTIS, ANNOUNCING THE PREPAREDNESS OF CALIFORNIA STATE MILITIA TO MARCH TO CARSON VALLEY TO DEFEND AGAINST ATTACKS BY PAIUTE AND SHOSHONE INDIANS. DATED THE DAY AFTER PAIUTE WAR CHIEF NUMAGA ANNIHILATED MAJOR ORMSBY'S MILITIA AT THE THE FIRST BATTLE OF PYRAMID LAKE.

Following the Paiute Indian attack on Williams Station on May 7, 1860, a militia force of 105 men was assembled from towns in the Washoe mining region of what is present-day Nevada. This force was placed under the command of Major William Ormsby, a former Pioneer Stage agent and previously a member of William Walker's filibustering expedition into Central America. On the morning of May 10, Ormsby led his men northeast along the Carson River toward Williams Station. After two days and nights of extremely harsh weather, the ragtag army followed a path from the Truckee River to a place just a few miles south of Pyramid Lake. It was precisely where Pauite War Chief Numaga wanted to meet his enemy. The ambush quickly turned from a fight to slaughter. Three quarters of Ormsby’s men were killed, including Ormsby himself. Another 29 were wounded. Scalps were taken, bodies mutilated and horses stolen. News of the disastrous battle was brought to Virginia City by a volunteer on horseback who had deserted his post. As reports of the First Battle of Pyramid Lake spread, fears of an Indian Armageddon caused widespread panic. Families took refuge in secure buildings. The residents of Silver City built a wooden cannon, but fortunately for them never fired it. Officials sent desperate pleas to California and Washington to send troops.

This telegram, sent from Sacramento the day after Ormsby's defeat, was in direct response to the news. The California militia and U.S. Army regulars were eventually combined under the command of Colonel John Coffee "Jack" Hays, a former Texas Ranger and experienced Indian fighter. In his message to Governor Downey, General Curtis confidently states that the various militia groups are ready to march "at any moment."

Original documents related to the Paiute Indian War are extremely scarce, and this is of particular interest to Pony Express students and collectors, because the message is written on the Alta California Telegraph Company form. It was prepared at the San Francisco office from a telegram transmitted by wire from Sacramento. This office was the home base of the Pony Express in San Francisco, from which point the messengers would depart and arrive.

Described in Nathan-Boggs Pony Express book (pp. 9-10) (Image)

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VERY FINE APPEARANCE. AN ATTRACTIVE PONY EXPRESS COVER WITH A CLEAR STRIKE OF THE SAN FRANCISCO RUNNING PONY HANDSTAMP.

This cover was carried on the Saturday, September 29, 1860, trip from San Francisco. The addressee, Henry I. Beers, was a prominent California businessman who returned to New York in 1859 and made his fortune in oil and real estate in Western Pennsylvania.

FKW Census E21. Ex Dale-Lichtenstein and Stach. With 2004 P.F. certificate (Image)

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FINE APPEARANCE. ONE OF THREE RECORDED PONY EXPRESS COVERS WITH THE NEW YORK OFFICE OVAL AND THE ST. JOSEPH OVAL-IN-CIRCLE DATESTAMP STRUCK IN GREEN.

This cover was carried on the westbound trip from St. Joseph, departing Thursday, December 27, 1860, and arriving at San Francisco on January 12, 1861, a long winter run of 16 days. It is addressed to Crosby & Dibblee, a large shipping firm that operated in San Francisco from 1852 to 1862. Charles W. Crosby and Albert Dibblee both arrived in San Francisco in 1850. Crosby had worked as a dry goods clerk in Boston. After accumulating a fortune in California, he moved to New York City in the 1860’s. Albert Dibblee was born in upstate New York and worked for the State Bank of New York before emigrating to California in 1850. In addition to his business activities, Dibblee was a member of the Vigilance Committee of 1856.

This cover demonstrates the under-3,000 miles loophole” that allowed westbound mail to be sent in bundles from the East Coast to St. Joseph by mail with only 3c U.S. postage. This loophole was closed by the Act of February 27, 1861, which eliminated the mileage provision and required 10c on any letter crossing the Rocky Mountains. The covers in the FKW census carried after this December 27 trip are prepaid with 10c U.S. postage.

This cover also shows a very unusual combination of markings: the "California Pony Express" New York office datestamp (12 recorded in FKW book) and the large oval-in-circle datestamp applied at St. Joseph in green (7 eastbound, 9 westbound). Only three covers in the FKW census show this marking/color combination.

FKW Census W31 (illustrated in the book in its original unrestored condition). Ex Stach (Image)

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A FINE APPEARING AND EXTREMELY RARE WESTBOUND PONY EXPRESS COVER CARRIED ON THE LAST TRIP OF THE $2.00 RATE PERIOD, JUST ONE DAY BEFORE THE NEW GOVERNMENT CONTRACT AND $1.00 RATE TOOK EFFECT.

This cover was carried on the westbound trip from St. Joseph, departing Sunday, June 30, and arriving at San Francisco on July 11, 1861. This was the last Pony Express trip during the $2.00 rate period. Effective July 1, the new government contract for Pony Express service over the Central Route specified a $1.00 rate (the first trips were July 3 eastbound and July 4 westbound). As the FKW census shows, double-rate Pony Express covers are extremely rare, and westbound covers with 10c adhesive stamps (as opposed to entires) are also very rare.

Ex H. R. Harmer sale, Feb. 21, 1973 (lot 18, photograph in original unrestored condition) and ex Stach (Image)

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EXTREMELY FINE. THE ONLY REPORTED PONY EXPRESS COMMISSION ENVELOPE FOR PAYMENT BETWEEN EXPRESS COMPANIES.

Beekman's Express was based in Jacksonville, Oregon, and operated in conjunction with Wells, Fargo & Co. This envelope was used to convey payment received at Jacksonville to the Pony Express office at Sacramento. (Image)

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VERY FINE. AN OUTSTANDING AND VERY RARE EXAMPLE OF THE SHORT-LIVED WELLS, FARGO & COMPANY $2.00 HORSE & RIDER FIRST ISSUE TIED BY THE SAN FRANCISCO RUNNING PONY OVAL ON COVER.

This cover was carried on the Wednesday, May 22, 1861, trip from San Francisco, which arrived at St. Joseph on June 3. When Phase II (Interim Phase) started on April 1, 1861, the rate for a Pony Express letter was substantially reduced to $2 per half-ounce, down from the $5 per half-ounce or $2.50 per quarter-ounce rates in effect during the previous year. At the same time, the new agents--Wells, Fargo & Company--had special stamps and envelopes printed for use on Pony Express letters. The $2 rate was in effect for a brief period, from April 1 to June 30, 1861. The FKW census records 37 $2.00 Red covers.

The $2 and $4 were printed in sheets of 20 (5 wide by 4 high). Rather than build up the printing stone from intermediate transfer groups or from a primary matrix containing the denomination, the printers used a blank matrix to enter each subject on the stone for each value. This required a total of 40 transfers (20 for each value). The denomination (shaded numerals "2" and "4") then had to be individually transferred to each subject on both stones, thus requiring another 40 separate transfers. It seems incredible that experienced lithographers such as Britton & Rey did not simplify the process by using intermediate transfers. Based on the fact that the $2 and $4 of the July 1861 issue (in Green and Black) were printed from the same stones as the April 1861 issue, it is certain that the printers had retained the two original stones. Lithographic stones were usually re-used by erasing the image and repolishing the surface, but in the case of the Pony Express stones, they were evidently preserved for future printings.

The "Paid" in oval handstamp was a standard marking used by Wells, Fargo & Company, but its function on Pony Express covers is not completely understood. The "Paid" oval is recorded on nine Pony Express covers carried during Phase II (Interim Phase) from April 1 to June 30, 1861 (FKW census). An additional five covers carried during Phase III (July-October 1861) have the same "Paid" oval. The fact that certain covers have the adhesive Pony Express stamp affixed over the "Paid" indicates that it was applied to those envelopes prior to being stamped for the Pony service. Three of the four recorded covers from this May 22 trip have the "Paid."

FKW Census E81. Ex Dale-Lichtenstein and Stach (Image)

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