(San Joaquin) Stockton, Cal, May 4, '51. Manuscript postmark and "40 Pd" manuscript rate marking on 1851 folded letter to Guilford, Connecticut, letter is datelined "California May 1, 1851" and is a four-verse poem from a man to his wife that begins "There was quite a rush, To the Post Office last night, And I among the rest, Was happily blest, With a letter, which gave real delight" and goes on to tell of plans to leave "this golden land" at the end of the year, Very Fine. Estimate  $200 - 300. The Stockton Post Office was one of seven offices established by the Postmaster General's second Special Postal Agent in California, R. T. P. Allen, beginning in June of 1849. $0 (Image)