The Alyeska Collection of Pony Express

VERY FINE. ONE OF TWO INTACT PONY EXPRESS COVERS WITH THE 10-CENT 1857 ISSUE AND ST. JOSEPH RUNNING PONY OVAL STRUCK ON THE FRONT OF THE COVER. THIS WAY-MAIL COVER -- CARRIED ON THE THIRD EASTBOUND TRIP, WHICH STARTED FROM SAN FRANCISCO ON APRIL 20, 1860 -- IS THE EARLIEST RECORDED PONY EXPRESS COVER WITH AN ADHESIVE STAMP. AN IMPORTANT EARLY PONY EXPRESS COVER.

This cover was placed in the way-mail pocket of the rider’s mochilla (see page 13 for a description of the mochilla) somewhere along the route from California to Missouri. The trip originated in San Francisco on Friday, April 20, 1860, and arrived at St. Joseph on Monday, April 30. It was reported in contemporary newspapers as the third Pony Express departure bound for the East (newspaper articles shown opposite), despite the fact that the Frajola- Kramer-Walske book and other references list this as the fourth eastbound trip, with three earlier expresses departing San Francisco on April 3 (Tuesday), April 10 (Tuesday) and April 13 (Friday). The newspapers do not contain any mention of an April 13 departure from San Francisco, nor do they report the arrival in St. Joseph of an express that left April 13. Outbound Pony Express departures were moved from Tuesday to Friday after April 10, and the April 20 express was the first Friday departure.

The St. Joseph Running Pony oval was normally applied in black to the address side of westbound covers. These westbound strikes are usually dated on the departure day, and all of the recorded westbound examples are either stampless covers or embossed stamped envelopes. No westbound covers are known with an adhesive stamp and the St. Joseph Running Pony oval. This marking was also struck in Carmine ink on eastbound and westbound covers (10 recorded), but all of the Carmine Pony eastbound covers have the marking on back.

Of the eastbound Pony Express covers, only four have the St. Joseph Running Pony datestamp struck on front on arrival. This cover is the earliest of the four, and it is the only way-mail cover. The other three were carried together on the trip that departed San Francisco on May 18 and arrived at St. Joseph on June 1, the last to make it through before the Paiute Indian War interrupted Pony Express service. One is a 10c Nesbitt stamped envelope. The other two are franked with 10c 1857 Type V stamps, but one has most of the address panel cut out, leaving only two intact 10c 1857 covers (the one offered here and FKW Census E7).

FKW Census E4. Trip ET-3 (corrected). Ex Baker and Alexander.

Click here for an introduction to the Pony Express Mail: http://www.siegelauctions.com/2013/1038/1038_Intro.pdf (Image)

EXTREMELY FINE. THIS IS THE ONLY EXTANT COVER FROM THE ONE PONY EXPRESS TRIP THAT WAS INTERRUPTED AND DELAYED DURING THE 1860 PAIUTE INDIAN WAR.

As more fully explained in the preceding introduction (pages 30-39), this cover is important because it is the only recorded example of mail carried on the one Pony Express trip that was forced to turn back in response to attacks on express stations by Indians in western Nevada (then part of Utah Territory). These attacks occurred during the Paiute Indian War, which started with the May 7 raid on Williams Station by a party of Paiute and Bannock warriors. On May 20 and 21, Indians attacked stations at Cold Springs, Smith’s Creek and Simpson’s Park. In the weeks that followed, other stations were burned, horses were run off and station keepers were killed.

From start to finish, the May 25 (Friday) express took 31 days, the longest of all eastbound Pony Express runs (the May 20 westbound mail was held at St. Joseph and did not reach California until June 25). After leaving San Francisco on May 25, the express passed through Carson City on May 26 at 9 p.m., but sometime before May 28 the trip was terminated, and the mail bag was returned to Carson City. On May 31, eleven days after Indians started attacking stations, Superintendent William W. Finney announced that the express would be temporarily suspended. He also expressed his belief ” that the May 25 mail had gone through safely.”

There was no express from San Francisco on June 8 or 9, contrary to a rumor reported in the newspapers on June 7, but retracted the next day. However, telegraph messages dated through June 8 were transmitted to Carson City and added to the May 25 mail. From there, at 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 9, a group of 20 soldiers escorted the eastbound riders through hostile territory. The Deseret News reported the arrival of the eastbound express at Salt Lake City at 10:15 a.m. on Tuesday, June 19, and the reports received from St. Joseph confirm that the May 25 mail finally reached there on June 25, carrying Carson City telegraph dispatches dated through June 8.

Eastbound service from California and along the war-torn route was suspended from June 1 through July 6. The California mail dated May 18 at San Francisco arrived at St. Joseph on June 1. Express riders continued to carry mail between St. Joseph and points as far west as Diamond Springs when it was possible. Service from California resumed on Saturday, July 7.

The westbound mails from trips scheduled to leave St. Joseph on May 20, May 27, June 3 and June 10 were held there until the army could ensure safe passage. The combined mail from these four delayed departures arrived in San Francisco on June 25 (five covers are recorded).

FKW Census E8. Trip ET-9. Ex Baughman and Haas.

Click here for an introduction to The Paiute Indian War of 1860: http://www.siegelauctions.com/2013/1038/Paiute.pdf (Image)

THIS WAY” COVER WAS ADDED TO THE EASTBOUND PONY EXPRESS MOCHILLA ABOUT SIX DAYS BEFORE THE RIDER WAS THROWN FROM HIS HORSE WHILE CROSSING THE PLATTE RIVER BRIDGE IN WYOMING IN JULY 1860. THE MAIL FROM SAN FRANCISCO AND THIS WAY” COVER WERE IN THE MOCHILLA STOLEN BY INDIANS AND RECOVERED IN 1862. THE TWO KNOWN STOLEN PONY” COVERS WERE MAILED AT NEW YORK CITY, DELIVERED TO THE ADDRESSEES, AND TODAY SURVIVE AS THE ONLY TANGIBLE EVIDENCE OF THIS REMARKABLE WILD WEST” DRAMA.

FKW Census E11. Trip ET-15.

Click here for an introduction to The Paiute Indian War of 1860: http://www.siegelauctions.com/2013/1038/Paiute.pdf

Click here for an introduction to The Incident at Platte Bridge Station: http://www.siegelauctions.com/2013/1038/Platte.pdf (Image)

A VERY FINE APPEARING AND REMARKABLE PONY EXPRESS LETTER ADDRESSED TO CATESBY Ap ROGER JONES, A UNITED STATES NAVAL OFFICER FROM VIRGINIA WHO RESIGNED IN APRIL 1861 TO BECOME A LIEUTENANT IN THE CONFEDERATE STATES NAVY, AND WHO EARNED FAME FOR HIS ROLE IN THE BATTLE OF THE MONITOR AND THE MERRIMACK. THIS IS ONE OF ONLY THREE RECORDED PONY EXPRESS COVERS WITH MORE THAN ONE DENOMINATION OF THE 1857 ISSUE. IT IS ALSO THE ONLY FORWARDED COVER WITH A COMBINATION OF THE 10-CENT AND 3-CENT 1857 ISSUES.

FKW Census E33. Trip ET-43.

Illustrated in Nathan-Boggs book (p. 23). Ex Haas.

Click here for an introduction to Lieutenant Catesby ap Roger Jones:http://www.siegelauctions.com/2013/1038/Jones.pdf (Image)

VERY FINE. ONE OF NINE RECORDED EXAMPLES OF THE CENTRAL OVERLAND PONY EXPRESS COMPANY” FRANK, OF WHICH SIX ARE 10-CENT ENTIRES. PONY EXPRESS COVERS WITH ORIGINAL LETTERS ARE ALSO VERY RARE AND DESIRABLE.

The updated FKW census lists nine entires with the two-line frank, which identifies the company as the Central Overland Pony Express Company. In fact, there was no such company, but rather The Central Overland California & Pike’s Peak Express Company owned and operated the Pony Express. Of the nine entires, six are 10c values. The presence of manuscript station markings on several of these COPEC franks, including the cover offered here, supports the theory that they were mainly used by telegraph operators and by relay station agents for way mail received along the Pony Express route.

This cover was sent from Placerville on October 25 and placed in the way-mail pocket of the mochilla that contained the October 24 mail from San Francisco. It passed through Fort Kearney on November 3 (see news report below) and arrived at St. Joseph on November 5. The sender, F. W. Bye, might be connected with Henry & Bye, commission and forwarding agents based in Placerville in 1860.

FKW Census E31. Trip ET-42.

Click here for an illustration of the contents: http://www.siegelauctions.com/2013/1038/5_encl.jpg (Image)

EXTREMELY FINE. ONE OF THE FINEST PONY EXPRESS COVERS IN EXISTENCE AND AN UNUSUAL USE. THE UNDATED SAN FRANCISCO OFFICE OVAL IS BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN APPLIED AS A PREPAYMENT MARKING, AND THE ABSENCE OF A ST. JOSEPH POSTMARK IS EXTRAORDINARY. THE ADDRESSEE--DAVID W. CHEESMAN--WAS A CALIFORNIA DELEGATE TO THE 1860 REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION AND WAS APPOINTED BY PRESIDENT LINCOLN AS SUB-TREASURER OF THE UNITED STATES MINT AT SAN FRANCISCO IN APRIL 1861.

This cover was part of the Pony Express mail that left San Francisco on Saturday, March 2, 1861, and arrived at St. Joseph on March 17. Fort Kearney reported that the express arrived there on March 15 at 4 p.m. (New York Herald-Tribune, March 16, at http://www.siegelauctions.com/2013/1038/6_NYHT.jpg ). The cover is addressed to David William Cheesman (1824-1884), an Indiana lawyer who went to California in 1851 and later ran for lieutenant-governor. In 1860 he was one of eight California delegates to the Republican National Convention held on May 16-18 in Chicago. This March 2, 1861, cover is addressed to him in Washington D.C., presumably where he travelled after attending the convention. One month later, on April 4, 1861, Cheesman received his presidential appointment as Treasurer of the Branch of the Mint of the United States, at San Francisco, California” (the document is shown opposite). Cheesman’s personal records and correspondence are located at the National Archives.

Dateless strikes of the San Francisco oval handstamps (with or without the running pony) appear on a few covers in this period. According to The Pony Express: A Postal History (p. 33):

It is believed that the undated markings... were applied when the Pony Express fee was paid, and then stamped again with the dated handstamp when the Pony Express mail was being made up for dispatch. The usage of undated handstamp to indicate prepayment is supported by evidence that the Central Overland California & Pikes Peak Express used this practice in their Colorado operations and sold undated "franks" at way stations.

Another cover from the March 2, 1861, trip is recorded (FKW Census E58). It has a manuscript 1/4” (quarter ounce) express rate notation and a St. Joseph March 18 double-circle datestamp. The absence of a rate marking and post office datestamp on the cover offered here could mean that it was sent in a government mail package carried by Pony Express (see lot 9).

FKW Census E59. Trip ET-79. (Image)

VERY FINE APPEARANCE. AN ATTRACTIVE PONY EXPRESS COVER WITH TWO CLEAR STRIKES OF THE SAN FRANCISCO RUNNING PONY HANDSTAMP. SENT FROM CALIFORNIA ON THE EVE OF LINCOLN’S ELECTION.

This cover was carried on the Saturday, November 3, 1860, trip from San Francisco, which passed Fort Kearney on November 13. The news it carried was immediately telegraphed to the East. It arrived at St. Joseph on November 15 and was put into the mails the next day.

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 E36. Trip ET-45. Ex Lichtenstein, Knapp and Barkhausen. (Image)

EXTREMELY FINE. A RARE PONY EXPRESS WAY” COVER GIVEN TO THE RIDER AT ONE POINT DURING THE TRIP FROM CALIFORNIA TO ST. JOSEPH.

The Pony Express rider’s mochilla had four pockets, one of which was used to carry way mail and mail for delivery along the route. This cover was placed in the way-mail pocket somewhere along the route during the 12-day express trip that departed San Francisco on Saturday, October 13, 1860, and arrived at St. Joseph on October 25.

The sender, Edward L. Field, was born in North Carolina about 1828. He is listed in the 1860 census as residing in Utica with the Plant family as household members. Another cover with the same written address has the rare Paid. Central Overland Pony Express Company” frank and was also sent as way mail, arriving at St. Joseph on September 26, 1860 (FKW Census E20, illustrated on p. 72).

FKW Census E25. Trip ET-39. Illustrated in Ashbrook One-Cent book, Volume II. (Image)

EXTREMELY FINE. A RARE EXAMPLE OF THE SACRAMENTO PONY EXPRESS OVAL ON AN UNUSUAL UNPAID COVER TO THE FUTURE TREASURER OF THE SAN FRANCISCO BRANCH OF THE UNITED STATES MINT.

This cover was sent from Sacramento on February 3, 1861, and carried with the mail that left San Francisco on Saturday, February 2. It passed through Fort Kearney on February 18 at 6:30 p.m., and the St. Joseph arrival date is reported to be February 21 (FKW). The 19-day trip was typical of slow winter travel times.

The cover is addressed to David William Cheesman (1824-1884), an Indiana lawyer who went to California in 1851 and later ran for lieutenant-governor. In 1860 he was one of eight California delegates to the Republican National Convention held on May 16-18 in Chicago. This February 3, 1861, cover is addressed to him in Washington D.C., presumably where he travelled after attending the convention. The receipt docketing indicates it was sent by his wife, Urania, to whom he was married in 1849. Two months after this cover was sent by Pony Express, on April 4, 1861, Cheesman received his presidential appointment as Treasurer of the Branch of the Mint of the United States, at San Francisco, California” (the document is shown on page 62). Cheesman’s personal records and correspondence are located at the National Archives.

The unpaid U.S. postage and Due 3” are unusual for Pony Express mail. This cover might have been included in a government mail package, as we think might have occurred with the other cover to Cheesman in this sale (lot 6). The MC” notation-- applied in error since Cheesman was never a congressman--supports this possibility.

FKW Census E56. Trip ET-71. Ex Knapp (with his notes on back B. E. Poole May '44” and The Sacramento Pony Very Rare”, pictured in Knapp booklet) and ex Hawley.

With 1976 P.F. certificate. (Image)

A REMARKABLE PONY EXPRESS COVER DEMONSTRATING CONJUNCTIVE EXPRESS SERVICE WITH WELLS, FARGO & COMPANY.

This cover was placed in the way-mail pocket of the mochilla on the trip leaving San Francisco on Wednesday, September 12, 1860, and arriving at St. Joseph on September 23. The use of the Wells, Fargo & Company datestamp is very unusual on Pony Express mail, and in this case it indicates conjunctive express use.

The September 13 large double circle pre-dates the period when Wells, Fargo & Co. acted as agents for the Overland Mail Company and The Central Overland California & Pike’s Peak Express Company in operating the Pony Express (starting April 1, 1861). Only one other cover is recorded with the large Sacramento double circle, and it is dated May 12, 1861, after Wells, Fargo & Co. assumed its new role. Therefore, this cover represents conjunctive service between two separate, unrelated express companies.

Sacramento was the original western terminus for the actual Pony ride, but as the Sacramento Valley Railroad line was extended eastward, the terminus was moved to Folsom (starting at the end of June 1860). From April 1860 to March 1861 the Pony Express office in Sacramento was located in the Hastings Building at J and Second Streets. The local agent was Jonathan W. Coleman, secretary of the Alta Telegraph Company.

The oval Pony Express Sacramento” datestamp was used on Pony Express mail originating at the Sacramento office, both before and after Wells, Fargo & Co. took over (earliest use is January 7, 1861). The large Wells, Fargo & Co. double-circle datestamp was usually applied to letters carried over their own regular express routes. In this case, it was applied to way mail on the Pony Express. The express from San Francisco usually arrived at Sacramento on a boat before midnight of the departure day, and was then carried by railroad to Folsom. In this case, the mail arrived in Sacramento on the next day, September 13.

The addressee, L. M. Foulke, served as a California state senator in 1863-1864 and later as supervisor of Internal Revenue for the Pacific Coast. This cover to Iowa was entitled to the 3c under-3,000 miles rate. The original stamp fell off the cover, but has been replaced with the appropriate 3c stamp of the 1857 Issue.

FKW Census E19. Trip ET-30. With 1976 P.F. certificate. (Image)

VERY FINE APPEARANCE. ONE OF TEN RECORDED EXAMPLES OF THE RUNNING PONY HANDSTAMP STRUCK IN CARMINE, OF WHICH FOUR ARE WESTBOUND.

The St. Joseph Running Pony handstamp was normally struck in black. The FKW census records ten covers with this marking struck in the distinctive Carmine color. They are dated from August 12 to September 13, 1860, and all but two are struck on the backs of the covers. Four are westbound trips: August 12 and September 13 with the marking on front, and two September 6 covers with the marking on back.

This cover was carried on the westbound trip from St. Joseph, departing Thursday, September 6, and arriving at San Francisco on September 18 (Sacramento Daily Union, September 19, at http://www.siegelauctions.com/2013/1038/11_SDU.jpg ). 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.

FKW Census W11. Trip WT-33. Ex Dr. Polland. (Image)