(Incoming) 1849 Stampless Folded Letter To San Francisco From Valparaiso, Chile. Endorsed "per Steamer via Panama" with "1.20" red manuscript rate marking applied by the San Francisco Post Office for the quadruple 30¢ Panama rate, letter with business content, carried from Valparaiso to Panama by the Pacific Steam Navigation Company or privately, Smith & Lewis Panama forwarding agents manuscript notation on the back reads "Received + forwarded by Your Obed. Servants / Panama 24 Augt 1849 Smith Lewis", carried from Panama to San Francisco by contract steamer with internal docket noting "Recd per Str "Oregon" 19th Sept 1849", Very Fine. Estimate  $150 - 200. This folded letter is one of the few letters brought to San Francisco by the S.S. Oregon upon its arrival there on August 18, 1849. The ship brought no mail from the eastern United States on that date because the Panamanian firms that were supposed to be transporting the mail bags across the Isthmus were, for all practical purposes, on strike. The nominal compensation paid to the firms did not anticipate the huge quantities of mail that were appearing in Panama as a result of the California gold rush. New agreements were hastily negotiated and the mail bags began moving again before the end of the year. $0 (Image)