The Pony Express Collection formed by Thurston Twigg-Smith continued...

EXTREMELY FINE AND PRISTINE CONDITION. A REMARKABLE PONY EXPRESS WAY COVER, PICKED UP AT FORT BRIDGER BY A PONY RIDER ALONG THE ROUTE FROM CALIFORNIA. BELIEVED TO BE A UNIQUE FRANKING AND USAGE.

Based on another Pony Express cover postmarked at St. Joseph on June 27, 1861, this Pony Express trip originated in San Francisco on June 15. Fort Bridger was a regular stop along the Pony route, and this cover was handed to the rider on June 20. The $2.00 express fee was paid in cash.

Fort Bridger was established in 1843 by famed mountain man Jim Bridger and a partner, Louis Vasquez, on Black’s Fork of the Green River in the southwest corner of what is now Wyoming. It was for many years an important emigrant supply stop and Indian trading post along the Oregon Trail. In 1853 the Mormons took control of the fort after trying to arrest Bridger for selling gunpowder to the Indians--this event led to a dispute over ownership that lasted many years. In 1857, with the outbreak of the Mormon War, the fort was abandoned and burned by the Mormons. In the summer of 1858, Fort Bridger was occupied by United States troops under the command of Albert Sydney Johnston, 2nd U.S. Cavalry. Fort Bridger postal markings from this early period carry the U.T.” Utah Territory designation. In 1861 most of the troops headed east to participate in the Civil War.

Mason Weare Tappan (1817-86) was a New Hampshire state representative, a U.S. congressman from 1855 to 1861, a colonel during the Civil War and the state attorney general. Tappan was elected as an American Party candidate to the 34th Congress and re-elected as a Republican to the 35th and 36th Congresses (March 4, 1855, to March 3, 1861). During the Civil War, he served as colonel of the 1st New Hampshire Volunteers, a three-months regiment raised in 1861 in response to President Abraham Lincoln’s call to arms. He mustered out in August 1861.

FKW Census E98. Trip ET-109. Ex Emerson and Gruys. (Image)

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EXTREMELY FINE APPEARANCE. FEWER THAN SIX USED EXAMPLES OF THE $4.00 GREEN HORSE & RIDER FIRST ISSUE HAVE BEEN REPORTED. THIS IS QUITE POSSIBLY THE FINEST USED COPY EXTANT.

The $4.00 Green was used briefly during Rate Period 3 to pay the double $2.00 per half-ounce rate. Only one cover is recorded (FKW Census No. E105), and we have seen four genuinely cancelled stamps off cover. (Image)

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FINE-VERY FINE OVERALL APPEARANCE. THIS IS THE ONLY RECORDED BLOCK OF THE $4.00 GREEN HORSE & RIDER STAMP. AN IMPORTANT PHILATELIC ARTIFACT FROM THE HISTORIC PONY EXPRESS.

A letter from Elliott Perry to Eugene Costales (in our files) describes this block as the only one known.” We have never encountered another multiple of the $4.00 Green.

Ex Hall. (Image)

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VERY FINE AND PRISTINE CONDITION. A VERY RARE PONY EXPRESS COVER WITH THE $2.00 HORSE & RIDER FIRST ISSUE.

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.

The FKW census recorded 37 covers with the $2.00 Red First Issue. This cover left San Francisco on June 1, the day that the Confederate postal system commenced operations in the South.

The addressee, Mrs. Mary S. Turrill, was at this time the widow of Joel Turrill, a prominent attorney and congressman from Oswego, New York. He had served as U.S. Consul to the Hawaiian Islands (1845-50). In the financial crisis of 1857 he lost all of his property, and he died in December 1859.

FKW Census E90. Trip ET-105. Ex Hall. (Image)

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VERY FINE AND CHOICE. A SUPERB STRIKE OF THE SAN FRANCISCO BLUE RUNNING PONY OVAL TYING THE $2.00 HORSE & RIDER FIRST ISSUE.

The FKW census recorded 37 covers with the $2.00 Red First Issue. FKW Census E102. Trip ET-111. Ex Knapp, Moody, Haas and Gruys. With 1980 P.F. certificate. (Image)

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VERY FINE APPEARANCE. THIS IS THE ONLY RECORDED EXAMPLE OF THE WELLS FARGO & CO. SACRAMENTO OFFICE’S LARGE DOUBLE-CIRCLE DATESTAMP USED TO CANCEL A PONY EXPRESS.

Sacramento was the original western terminus for the actual Pony ride. The mail was usually carried between Sacramento and San Francisco by river steamer. As the Sacramento Valley Railroad line was extended further east, the terminus was moved to Folsom (starting July 7, 1860). On July 1, 1861, it was moved to Placerville. Nonetheless, Sacramento remained an important gathering point for Pony Express mail.

Beginning with the Phase III period (April 1 to June 30, 1861), Wells Fargo & Co. served as agents for the Overland Mail Company and The Central Overland California & Pike’s Peak Express Company in operating the Pony Express. It was during this period that Wells Fargo & Co. introduced stamps and envelopes for prepayment of Pony Express fees.

A special oval Pony Express Sacramento” datestamp was typically used by Wells Fargo & Co. on Pony Express mail originating at their Sacramento office. However, in this case, the large double-circle datestamp that was usually applied to letters carried over Wells Fargo & Co.’s regular express routes was used on a Pony Express letter. This is the only recorded example of the double-circle datestamp on Pony Express mail.

FKW Census E78. Trip ET-99. With 1963 P.F. certificate (prior to restoration). (Image)

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