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EXPLORATION AND WAR continued...

HUDSON’S BAY COMPANY MAILS continued...
Lot Symbol CatNo. Lot Description CV or Estimate
221 c   [Tshimakain, Oregon Mission] eastbound folded letter with integral address leaf datelined Tshimakain Near Fort ColvileOregon Mission 9th Feby 1846 carried by Hudsons Bay Co. express up the Columbia River to Boat Encampment, then over the Rock[Tshimakain, Oregon Mission] eastbound folded letter with integral address leaf datelined "Tshimakain Near Fort Colvile/Oregon Mission 9th Feby 1846" carried by Hudson's Bay Co. express up the Columbia River to Boat Encampment, then over the Rocky Mountains by pack horse to Fort Edmonton, thence by H.B.C. annual canoe brigade express to Lachine, entered the regular mails with red "Lachine, L.C./27th Oct., 1846" datestamp, manuscript "Postage to the lines not paid" and matching "4 1/4"(d) rate, backstamped "Montreal, L.C./No 18, 1846" and red "Paid" handstamp crossed out, forwarded to the U.S. mails to Blandford, Mass., with "Returned for Postage" handstamp and "10" collect rate, very fine. Apparently not returned for postage when the post office figured out where the letter had actually come from. (Image) Est. $3,000-4,000

SOLD for $8,000.00
Will close during Public Auction
222 c   [Moose Factory, Charles Beardmore] June 21st, 1847 folded letter with integral address leaf datelined Moose Factory Ruperts Land Hudson Bay, Sunday June 21st 1847 and carried by Hudsons Bay Co. express to Lachine, entering the mails with red [Moose Factory, Charles Beardmore] June 21st, 1847 folded letter with integral address leaf datelined "Moose Factory Ruperts Land Hudson Bay, Sunday June 21st 1847" and carried by Hudson's Bay Co. express to Lachine, entering the mails with red "Lachine" datestamp with manuscript "10th August, 1847" date and rated "1/2", forwarded to Boston per directive "Via Boston pr Royal Mail Steamer" to England, arriving with red "28 Au, 1847" backstamp, file fold through postmark, otherwise very fine; the cover was 51 days to Lachine and only 18 from there to England.In the letter, Charles Beardmore describes his journey up the Ottawa River via Temiscamain and Abitibi Lake and Abitibi River to Moose Factory on James Bay. He gives a good description of the inhabitant and life at Moose Factory and of his journey via canoe. (Image) Est. $1,000-1,500

SOLD for $1,100.00
Will close during Public Auction
223 c   [Norway House, Donald Ross] August 27th, 1850 folded letter with integral address leaf datelined Norway House, 27th Aug. 1850 carried by Hudsons Bay Co. canoe brigade express and then by their ship to England, entered the British mails to Aber[Norway House, Donald Ross] August 27th, 1850 folded letter with integral address leaf datelined "Norway House, 27th Aug. 1850" carried by Hudson's Bay Co. canoe brigade express and then by their ship to England, entered the British mails to Aberdeen, Scotland with straightline "Ship Letter" handstamp, manuscript "8" collect and red London "9 Oc, 1850" backstamp, with Aberdeen arrival backstamp the next day, fresh and extremely fine.In the letter from Alexander (Donald) Ross he states: "I believe the former important District of New Caledonia has hardly produced $1500 apparent profit for this last outfit - we must now look to Gold and Coals instead of Beaver and Marlins, for profits. The Gold indeed seemed to be coming in at a tolerable good rate - but I strongly suspect that the Coals will never yield us anything else than smoke." (Image) Est. $500-750

SOLD for $450.00
Will close during Public Auction
224 c   [Fort Simpson, Alexander Murray] cover with original letter datelined Fort Simpson, McKenzie River District, March 23rd 1852 to Scotland, carried by Hudsons Bay Co. canoe brigade express, entering the mails with red Sault Ste MarieAug 1, 185[Fort Simpson, Alexander Murray] cover with original letter datelined "Fort Simpson, McKenzie River District, March 23rd 1852" to Scotland, carried by Hudson's Bay Co. canoe brigade express, entering the mails with red "Sault Ste Marie/Aug 1, 1852" datestamp, endorsed "Via Canada & New York," and "Paid 3d/I Anderson R. Dis." and forwarded to Scotland via Opillia, Toronto, New York and London, with manuscript "1/2" collect, very fine; ex-deVolpe.Alexander H. Murray writes his parents, with less news than usual, except that he believes Dr. Rae's letter must have arrived very late. Notably, he has a new daughter. He wishes news from his brother in Natal (now part of South Africa) and is unsure of his next assignment, though he will soon set out for "Portage La Loche," known also as the Methye Portage, in Saskatchewan from Lac La Loche to the Churchill River and "The Packet with the ship letters of last summer (via York Factory) has just reached this place...I have just learned, letters for England can now be sent via Canada and New York by the prepayment of the postage to New York..." (Image) Est. $750-1,000

SOLD for $1,000.00
Will close during Public Auction
NATHANIEL WYETH
Lot Symbol CatNo. Lot Description CV or Estimate
225   Oregon or, a Short History of a Long Journey. John B. Wyeth. Cambridge, John B. Wyeth, 1833. Apparent first edition. 8vo, original paper wraps. Soiled, with edge wear including some loss to front wrap, but interior is clean. Handsome modernOregon; or, a Short History of a Long Journey. John B. Wyeth. Cambridge, John B. Wyeth, 1833. Apparent first edition. 8vo, original paper wraps. Soiled, with edge wear including some loss to front wrap, but interior is clean. Handsome modern leather protective case. Wyeth was part of his brother Nathaniel's famous 1832 expedition, and this is the first account by a white man of crossing the Rockies. (imagea) (Image) Est. $4,000-5,000

SOLD for $6,250.00
Will close during Public Auction
226   Wyeth, Nathaniel, Autograph Letter Signed Nathl. Wyeth, 1 page, 4to, St. Louis, April 18, 1832. About to leave civilization on his famous 1832 overland journey to the Oregon Country, he writes his wife in Cambridge, Massachusetts: Here I amWyeth, Nathaniel, Autograph Letter Signed "Nathl. Wyeth," 1 page, 4to, St. Louis, April 18, 1832. About to leave civilization on his famous 1832 overland journey to the Oregon Country, he writes his wife in Cambridge, Massachusetts: "Here I am on the outskirts of Civil Socity (sic) having advanced so far without accident and without the desertion of a single man. I leave this in company with a party of traders of 40 persons (Campbell, Sublette, & Co; see Sublette's May 12 letter in the Fur Trade section above) who journey with me as far as the west side of the Rocky Mountains. In the first vessell that comes out to the Columbia (River) I wish seeds of all vegetables, grains and trees sent me for which purpose be collecting them this fall. I wish only a small quantity of each. ... I cannot receive on this side of the Mountains." Wyeth wanted the seeds to determine whether the same plants would grow in the Pacific Northwest that thrived in the Northeast. He had grand plans for the Oregon Country. His plan was to bring settlers by land and supplies by ship, and then to send back salmon on the boats so he could profit instead of wasting their return trip. However, his first ship was lost, putting an end to the venture.Wyeth, Nathaniel - American businessman, inventor, and pioneer (1802-56); an ice harvester in Massachusetts, he conceived a transcontinental journey to the Columbia River and the Williamette Valley on the West Coast; traveling with experienced mountain men, he proved his own mettle, accompanying them to their 1832 rendezvous and continuing on to Fort Vancouver; made another trip in 1834; though not financial successes, his expeditions opened the Oregon Country to American settlement and established the route of the Oregon Trail. (Image) Est. $2,000-3,000

SOLD for $6,500.00
Will close during Public Auction
227 c   Wyeth, Nathaniel, Fort Vancouver, Oregon Country, January 16th, 1833, eastbound folded letter with integral address leaf from Nathaniel Wyeth to his wife in Cambridge, Mass. datelined Fort Vancouver Jany 16th 1833 and endorsed Fav. of the Hon.Wyeth, Nathaniel, Fort Vancouver, Oregon Country, January 16th, 1833, eastbound folded letter with integral address leaf from Nathaniel Wyeth to his wife in Cambridge, Mass. datelined "Fort Vancouver Jany 16th 1833" and endorsed "Fav. of the Hon./Hudsons Bay Co." and carried by Hudson's Bay Company express up the Columbia River to Boat Encampment on the great bend of the river, then by pack horsed across the Rocky Mountains via Athabasca Pass to the North Saskatchewan River to Lake Winnipeg and the Great Lakes to Montreal on their annual eastbound canoe brigade trip, entered the mails with red Montreal datestamp, matching "Paid" handstamp and "6"(d) rate, also "18 3/4"(c) U.S. rate and manuscript "B" (steamboat), then over the line via Lake Champlain where it entered the U.S. mails to Boston, very fine.Wyeth writes his wife on how he travels and the probable date that he will get back home: "Fort Vancouver Jany 16th 1833...Dear Wife I am here and comfortable, and shall start from this place on my route homwards as soon as the river breaks up. My route will be the same as that by which I came, and the time of my arrival at home very uncertain - on this account I write you by this opportunity as this opportunity is unsuitable for the conveyance of many sentimates and matters which would otherwise pass between us, my letter will be short. If no accinent occures to, me I will be with you in october, but if I am a year later you need not be alarmed, in this country there is little danger, but much delay, more especially as I have now but two men, and I can only travel when & where I can get the company of friendly Indians or American parties, for this reason I may be a whole year later home than the time specified. My business has been very bad but in this country I can always be comfortable. I wish you to keep the trees which I set around the house growing and if any die replace them. I have not suffered for food since leaving you, for some time I have lived at one of the Hudsons Bay Cos. posts- they here have all the essentials of life except pretty wives. If I should prolong this it would be on subjects that would not interest you much, and hoping to see you soon close it."Fort Vancouver, Oregon Country On July 24,1832, following the battle of Pierre's Hole, Milton Sublette and party, along with Wyeth and company headed west, Milton to the Snake River country and Wyeth to Fort Vancouver, where he arrived on the 29th of October, 1832. Here, he was royally treated by Dr. John McLoughlin, chief factor in charge of the Hudson's Bay Company. He explored the surrounding country with the view of establishing a trading company on the west coast. On February 3rd he started back home with a H.B. Company fur brigade, stopping off at the annual summer rendezvous, held on the Green River in 1833. Here, he made a contract to supply Wm. Sublette with trade goods the following year of 1834. Wyeth arrived back in Cambridge the first week in November. In the course of the winter, Milton joined him in Boston to buy goods for the contract that he had made at the 1833 rendezvous. (Image) Est. $5,000-7,500

SOLD for $15,000.00
Will close during Public Auction
228 c   Wyeth, Nathaniel, January 16th, 1833] eastbound folded letter with integral address leaf from Nathaniel Wyeth to his friend James Brown in Cambridge, Mass. datelined Fort Vancouver Jany 16th 1833 and endorsed Fav. of the Hon.Hudsons Bay Co.Wyeth, Nathaniel, January 16th, 1833] eastbound folded letter with integral address leaf from Nathaniel Wyeth to his friend James Brown in Cambridge, Mass. datelined "Fort Vancouver Jany 16th 1833" and endorsed "Fav. of the Hon./Hudsons Bay Co." and carried by Hudson's Bay Company express up the Columbia River to Boat Encampment on the great bend of the river, then by pack horsed across the Rocky Mountains via Athabasca Pass to the North Saskatchewan River to Lake Winnipeg and the Great Lakes to Montreal on their annual eastbound canoe brigade trip, entered the mails with red Montreal datestamp, matching "Paid" handstamp and "6"(d) rate, also "18 3/4"(c) U.S. rate and manuscript "B" (steamboat), then over the line via Lake Champlain where it entered the U.S. mails to Boston, minor toning, very fine.Wyeth writes: "Fort Vancouver Jany 16 1833 Friend Brown. I am about commencing my return home, and if I am not very unfortunate I shall arrive in Oct. next, I have now but two men, and therefore can only travel when I can get company of whites or friendly Indians. I return by a different route from that by which this will reach you in order to raise some deposits of valuables which I have near the mountains. (most likely to cache beaver pelts) My men proved worse than none, they would starve amid the greatest plenty of game, and their leaving was rather a benefit than otherwise. … the plan of my route is to leave this in company with a party of the Hudsons Bay cos. people, with whom I get to the Flatheads or Ponderays, with them until I fall in with some Am. Trapping party, with these to their rendesvus, take their return convoy home. …. From the rocky mountains to within 200 miles of the sea the country is open, Barren, and in its summit level far from mountainous, …. their banks perpindicilar mostly without bottom lands, and their beds filled with great stones, rapids and falls, the days are intensely hot, and the nights equally cold, in August I have observed the ther(mometer) at 18 at night and the following day at 85 this circumstance alone without the barreness of the soil, or want of communications and impossibility of making them, would forever render this section of the country what it is now a den. The country within 200 miles of the coast is more mountainous covered with perhaps as heavy timber as the world produces chiefly of the pine, there is one kind of good oak, similar to the white oak of N.E. …. - there are almost no bottom lands on the Columbia that are not annually flooded, the only good country that I have seen is on the Multnomah or Wallammet (rivers) ....I have learned to take the reports of others with great caution. I can not by this conveyance speak of business therefore you must be satisfied with what you have now got me. ….." (Image) Est. $5,000-7,500

SOLD for $32,500.00
Will close during Public Auction
229 c   Wyeth, Jacob, Missouri Bell, manuscript directive on June 27th, 1834 folded letter with integral address leaf from Jacob Wyeth to his brother Charles datelined at Galena, Illinois, entered the mails to Baltimore with St. Louis, Mo.Jul 4 dateWyeth, Jacob, "Missouri Bell," manuscript directive on June 27th, 1834 folded letter with integral address leaf from Jacob Wyeth to his brother Charles datelined at Galena, Illinois, entered the mails to Baltimore with "St. Louis, Mo./Jul 4" datestamp and "25" rate, very fine.Jacob and Charles were brothers of Nathaniel J. Wyeth. Jacob and his cousin John B. Wyeth had gone west with Nat on his expedition to the Rocky Mountains in 1832. On reaching the rendezvous site in Pierre's Hole (now called Teton Valley, Idaho), about July 7th, Jacob and John and several others decided to go back home with Sublette when he returned to St. Louis. The folded letter above relates to the strained relations between Nat and Jacob because Jacob and John had deserted him at Pierre's Hole. The following quotes are from the letter: "Galena June 27th 1834. Jacob states that he has commenced married life on the 11th and that he will soon open an apothecaries store to supplement his practice as a physician - he was a doctor. He wants his brother to write a "congratultory" letter to show his wife Mary. I do not wish you to contradict any thing Nat has said, not even allued to it,…." He continues in the same vain and wants Charles to intercede in the matter and bring him and Nat together with the family. (Image) Est. $300-400

SOLD for $300.00
Will close during Public Auction
230 c   Wyeth, Nathaniel, Folded letter from the Oregon Country, with integral address leaf, from Nathaniel Wyeth to his wife in Cambridge, Mass. datelined Fort William Sept. 22nd 1835 and sent via Hawaii and Cape Horn, forwarded to Baltimore and placeWyeth, Nathaniel, Folded letter from the Oregon Country, with integral address leaf, from Nathaniel Wyeth to his wife in Cambridge, Mass. datelined "Fort William Sept. 22nd 1835" and sent via Hawaii and Cape Horn, forwarded to Baltimore and placed in the mails with red "Boston, Ms./Jun 10" datestamp and "18 3/4" rate, very fine.Wyeth writes: "I have been sick, but have got well, and shall be on my way to the mountains, to winter at fort Hall, in about six days, I expect to be at home about the 1st. Nov. 1836. Mr. Nuttall is here and well. I have sent you half a bbl of Salmon … The season has been sickly, we have lost by drowning decease and warfare 7 persons to this date, and 14 now sick. Keep up good spirit, my dear wife, for I expect when I come home to stop there, and altho I shall be poor … I think this will be the last until I see you .. yr - afte. Husband"After arriving at Fort Vancouver in September of 1834, Wyeth selected a site on Wappatoo Island, near the mouth of the Willamette River, on the Columbia. It was here that he built Fort William and set up, his business of shipping furs and Salmon, via Cape Horn, to Boston and the eastern market. In November he sent Captain Joseph Thing to relieve Robert Evans in charge of Fort Hall. From the beginning things were becoming unprofitable. The Salmon catch had been poor and he was only able to ship half a cargo in the May Dacre on its return to Boston. (Image) Est. $2,000-3,000

SOLD for $5,000.00
Will close during Public Auction
231   [Payette, John Babtiste (aided by Nathaniel Wyeth] Folded letter from Ft. Vancouver sent via Hawaii. Charming content autograph letter signed by young John Baptiste Payette, son of Hudson Bay Company trader Francois Payette and a Flathead woman,[Payette, John Babtiste (aided by Nathaniel Wyeth] Folded letter from Ft. Vancouver sent via Hawaii. Charming content autograph letter signed by young John Baptiste Payette, son of Hudson Bay Company trader Francois Payette and a Flathead woman, Fort Vancouver, January 18, 1838, to Mrs. Nathaniel Sublette in Cambridge, MA. With 1839 Boston postmark and rate of 6 cents, as it was originally addressed to Boston and was forwarded from there. This letter took nine months to reach its destination, traveling to Massachusetts by going west from the Oregon Country to Hawaii and Cape Horn. He writes "As I hear that there is a canoe going off with letters to the ship in which Capt. (Joseph) Thing left this, I...write you by him, and thank you for the care you took of me while I was in Boston. You told me to continue to improve myself when Mr. Wyeth took me from you. Since he left me I have been at Mr. McLoughlen's School under Mr. Robinson and am glad, to be able to write...I hear that my father will go out of the Columbia in spring and I hope that he will take me with you and I hope that I shall see you again." When Nathaniel Wyeth returned to Cambridge after his 1832 trip, he took with him John Baptiste Payette and a Nez Perce boy. Wyeth and his wife, among other things, taught them English, and it seems Baptiste (as he is usually called) had mastered it. Pembina is one of the historic points of entry between Canada and the United States. It was located at the mouth of the Pembina River on the west side of the Red River in what is now North Dakota. A trading post was built at this site as early as 1797 by the Northwest Co. In 1823 the exact position of the International Boundary was established and Pembina was found to be in the U.S. Territory. Previous to this the Canadians had claimed it as part of the Red River Colony and under the sphere of the Hudson's Bay Co. By 1840 the American Fur Co. was well established at Pembina and a great trade had developed between the Red River Settlement (now Winnipeg) and Fort Snelling and St. Paul.The first Post Office was established at Pembina May 18, 1850 in Minnesota Territory. Since there were no east-west trans-Canada mails, most letters were sent to eastern Canada and England via Pembina and St. Paul. (Image) Est. $1,000-1,500

SOLD for $1,450.00
Will close during Public Auction
PEMBINA AND THE RED RIVER MAILS
Lot Symbol CatNo. Lot Description CV or Estimate
232 c   Pembina M. T.April 2, 1852 blue manuscript postmark on Rowand, John, folded letter with integral address leaf datelined Fort Augustus by Edmonton, 29 Dec. 1851 and carried by an express of the Hudsons Bay Co. to the Red River Settlement, thenPembina M. T./April 2, 1852 blue manuscript postmark on Rowand, John, folded letter with integral address leaf datelined "Fort Augustus by Edmonton, 29 Dec. 1851" and carried by an express of the Hudson's Bay Co. to the Red River Settlement, then down the Red River Route entering the U.S. mails with blue manuscript Pembina postmark and matching "10" rate to Montreal via St. Paul, bold red "U. States" in arc and "6d" in circle exchange office postmarks, arrived with red "Montreal, L.C./My 13, 1852" datestamp and forwarded to Lachine with blue "3d" in circle handstamp, arriving there with red "Lachine, C.E./My 17, 1852" postmark and forwarded again to St. Polycart, very fine.The letter, by John Rowand, Chief Factor of the Hudson's Bay Co., reports on the weather, the Indians starving, no buffalo, half-breed hunters fighting with the Sioux Indians, and on the affairs of the Company and various officials of same. (Image) Est. $3,000-4,000

SOLD for $9,500.00
Will close during Public Auction
233   Murray, Alexander H, Choice pair of autograph letters signed by the chief factor at the Hudsons Bay Companys post at Pembina, December 16, 1852, and March 13, 1858. In contrast to his time in Russian Alaska, and on the Mackenzie River in northeMurray, Alexander H, Choice pair of autograph letters signed by the chief factor at the Hudson's Bay Company's post at Pembina, December 16, 1852, and March 13, 1858. In contrast to his time in Russian Alaska, and on the Mackenzie River in northern Canada, he can now enjoy regular correspondence, for "The American Government have established a Post Office here, and a regular mail between this place and St. Pauls (Minnesota) every two months." He sent a letter by the last HBC ship: "I was then on my way to Red River settlement. We encountered remarkably stormy weather on Lake Winnipeg......This place is just on the boundary line between the British territory and that of the United States. The Americans have a trading establishment and a custom house including a post office within two miles of us, with the American officers and their wives we are on friendly and visiting terms. There are a good few settlers around us and we are within two days journey of Red River Settlement... .. I was appointed to this place on account of my health...but I believe more especially to oppose the Americans who are now trading furs all along this frontier." In the later letter, his health has greatly improved, and Sir George has written a letter hinting that "I will likely have to take a more important charge next summer. Several of our old Factors and Traders are retiring, and I am almost certain where my destination is to be." Murray's next destination was Lower Fort Garry, (now Winnipeg). With a flour mill, saw mill, brewery, and forge, it supplied many of the factories in that part of Canada. (Image) Est. $1,500-2,000

SOLD for $1,600.00
Will close during Public Auction
234 c   Pembina, Dec 20, (1852) manuscript postmark on Alexander Murray folded letter with integral address leaf to Scotland with manuscript Pembina, Dec 20 Minnesota Territory postmark and matching Paid 24 rate, sent via St. Paul and endorsed Via NPembina, Dec 20, (1852) manuscript postmark on Alexander Murray folded letter with integral address leaf to Scotland with manuscript "Pembina, Dec 20" Minnesota Territory postmark and matching "Paid 24" rate, sent via St. Paul and endorsed "Via New York", red "19" cents credit and tombstone "Paid/America/Liverpool/Fe 5 53" entry postmark, backstamped in Greenock the next day, very fine; ex-De Volpe.In the letter from Chief Trader A.H. Murray to his brother in Scotland he writes: "...I am now here as far south as I can go in British Territory...my duty is to oppose the Americans who are trading all along this Frontier...among the many advantages of this place is a post office...The Americans...send a mail every two months between this and St. Paul...I send this letter by said mail..." (Image) Est. $2,000-3,000

SOLD for $2,300.00
Will close during Public Auction
235 c   Pembina M.T., June 3, 54, manuscript Minnesota Territory postmark on folded letter of Alexander Murray addressed to James Ross at Toronto, originating at Red River Settlement (Canada), entered the mails with manuscript postmark and matching 10Pembina M.T., June 3, 54, manuscript Minnesota Territory postmark on folded letter of Alexander Murray addressed to James Ross at Toronto, originating at Red River Settlement (Canada), entered the mails with manuscript postmark and matching "10" rate, black oval "United States/6d" exchange office handstamp, faint red Canadian transit postmark and "Toronto, C.W./Jy 11, 1854" backstamp, very fine. (Image) Est. $1,000-1,500

SOLD for $1,700.00
Will close during Public Auction
236 c   Swan River M.T. , Dec 7, (1854) manuscript Minnesota Territory postmark on folded Ross cover to Toronto originating at Red River Settlement, endorsed Via Pembina, Minnesota Territory, U.S. America and entered the mails with light manuscript SwSwan River M.T. , Dec 7, (1854) manuscript Minnesota Territory postmark on folded Ross cover to Toronto originating at Red River Settlement, endorsed "Via Pembina, Minnesota Territory, U.S. America" and entered the mails with light manuscript "Swan River M.T./Dec 7" postmark and matching "10" rate, red oval "United States/6d" exchange office handstamp and "Toronto/De 21, 1854" arrival backstamp, stain in lower right corner, otherwise very fine. (Image) Est. $500-750

SOLD for $550.00
Will close during Public Auction
237 c   Red RiverNov. 6th, 1855, fancy Canadian manuscript marking in circle on cover to Scotland with letter datelined Fort Alexander - Lac La Pluis District, October 27th, 1855 sent via the Red River Settlement and Pembina, Minnesota Territory and eRed River/Nov. 6th, 1855, fancy Canadian manuscript marking in circle on cover to Scotland with letter datelined "Fort Alexander - Lac La Pluis District, October 27th, 1855" sent via the Red River Settlement and Pembina, Minnesota Territory and endorsed "via Pembina/New York", with the Red River postmark and large woodcut handstamped "PAID/24" in large circle, red "19" cents credit handstamp and red tombstone "Paid/America/Liverpool/14 Ja 56" entry postmark, backstamped in Greenock the next day, cover with flap reattached and small edge tears, fine; the rarest of the Red River markings, being the only example of this classic Canadian postmark that does not contain the "B.N.A." designation and the only one to bear the handstamped rate of "Paid 24; ex-De Volpe. The Postmaster at the Red River Settlement (now Winnipeg) probably traced the circle with the use of a coin, or some other round object, and then wrote in the postmark. There are eight, or nine covers known between the dates of November 10, 1855 and March 10, 1856. This short period of time is explained by the sudden death of Postmaster William Ross in April or May of 1856. (Image) Est. $4,000-5,000

SOLD for $7,250.00
Will close during Public Auction
238 c   Red RiverNov. 10 1855B.N.A, fancy British North America manuscript marking on Ross correspondence cover to Toronto sent via the Red River Settlement and Pembina, Minnesota Territory and endorsed simply Pembina, with additional woodcut handstaRed River/Nov. 10 1855/B.N.A, fancy British North America manuscript marking on Ross correspondence cover to Toronto sent via the Red River Settlement and Pembina, Minnesota Territory and endorsed simply "Pembina," with additional woodcut handstamped "PAID/10", red oval "United States/6d" exchange office handstamp and "Toronto, C.W./Jan 22" backstamp, very fine; this and the following example are two of the fewer than ten recorded examples of this unusual manuscript Red River postmark, with additional woodcut handstamped "PAID/10", red oval "United States/6d."Up to the early 1880's there were no trans-Canada mail routes. Letters were routed through the United States or carried by Expresses of the Hudson's Bay Company. One of the routes used was the Red River Trail from the Red River Settlement (now Winnipeg) via Saint Paul, Minnesota. (Image) Est. $3,000-4,000

SOLD for $8,500.00
Will close during Public Auction
239 c   Red RiverNov. 10 1855B.N.A., fancy British North America manuscript marking on Ross correspondence cover to Toronto sent via the Red River Settlement and Pembina, Minnesota Territory and endorsed simply Pembina, with additional woodcut handstRed River/Nov. 10 1855/B.N.A., fancy British North America manuscript marking on Ross correspondence cover to Toronto sent via the Red River Settlement and Pembina, Minnesota Territory and endorsed simply "Pembina", with additional woodcut handstamped "PAID/10", red oval "United States/6d" exchange office handstamp and "Toronto, C.W./Jan 22" backstamp, very fine; this and previous example are two of the fewer than ten recorded examples of this unusual manuscript Red River postmark. (Image) Est. $3,000-4,000

SOLD for $7,000.00
Will close during Public Auction
240 c   [Pembina Postmarks, 18581862] two covers, first from the Ross correspondence with manuscript PembinaMay 1558 postmark and matching 10 rate from the intermittent period while under the State of Minnesota, addressed to Toronto with arced U.[Pembina Postmarks, 1858/1862] two covers, first from the Ross correspondence with manuscript "Pembina/May 15/58" postmark and matching "10" rate from the intermittent period while under the State of Minnesota, addressed to Toronto with arced "U. States/10" exchange office handstamp and "6"(d) due handstamp, second a late use of "Pembina, Min/May 10" (1862) datestamp on cover to Detroit with red straightline "PAID" handstamp applied at the Red River Settlement, former very fine, latter lightly toned and fine; latter ex-De Volpe.When the state of Minnesota was formed March 2, 1858, all of the territory between the Red and Missouri rivers reverted to an unorganized status until the formation of Dakota Territory on March 2, 1861. Sometime after Minnesota became a state the Pembina postmaster used a handstamp which read "Pembina, Min." This handstamp was used as late as 1862. (imagea) (Image) Est. $3,000-4,000

SOLD for $2,100.00
Will close during Public Auction

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