Adams Ex. Co. * Louisville, Ky. * Aug. 23, 1861, bold strike on blue folded letter datelined "New Orleans, 31st July 1861" to New York N.Y. bearing 3¢ dull red (26) horizontal pair tied by blue "Louisville Ky. Aug 6 1861" duplex, manuscript "6/-" (six bits or 75¢) express fee; small edge tear, vertical fold affects right stamp, F.-V.F. and rare use, Special Routes Census No. N-AD-49; with 1976 P.F. certificate. Estimate  $750 - 1,000. With the discontinuance of North-South post office mail services on May 27, 1861, services were replaced with special private express across-the-lines mail services. The Adams Express Company held a virtual monopoly of the express business in the mid-Atlantic and South before the Civil War, and had been carrying letters in the South starting in February 1861 as an alternative to the unreliable USA post offices operating in the CSA. With the suspension, they stepped in to carry across-the-lines mail. $0 (Image)