2005 Rarities of the World, Part Two continued...

EXTREMELY FINE AND PRISTINE COVER WITH A PERFECT STRIKE OF THE ST. JOSEPH RUNNING PONY OVAL. ONE OF SIX RECORDED PONY EXPRESS COVERS SIGNED BY SENATOR LATHAM.

The Pony Express was launched in 1860 by the overland freight express firm operated by William H. Russell, Alexander Majors and William B. Waddell. In an attempt to secure the lucrative government mail contract, the Central Overland California & Pikes Peak Express Company announced that it would carry letters between California and the railroad terminus at St. Joseph, Missouri, in less than ten days. The earliest advertisements appeared in January 1860, and the first pony rider left the Alta Telegraph office in San Francisco at 4:00 p.m. on April 3, 1860.

The cover offered here is franked by Senator Milton S. Latham, who went to California in 1850 and was elected to Congress on the 1852 Democratic ticket. After his term expired, he declined to run for reelection and served as collector for the port of San Francisco. In 1859 he was elected governor, but he resigned almost immediately to become a U.S. senator. Latham served until 1863, during which time he was a strong supportor of Russell, Majors and Waddell and their effort to secure the contract for the central route.

This autograph letter signed "Latham" is datelined Washington, May 22, 1860, and addressed to George Wallace, secretary to California's Governor Downey. The content reveals Senator Latham's political views and, in typical fashion, his cronyism and partisan maneuvering on Capitol Hill.

He writes: "I called in person to see Secy. Toucey of the Navy, about Coghlan, & urged him to make the order O'Farrell wanted, and I then wrote T. a strong letter to the same effect. I recd. last night the enclosed answer, which I send you. You will see that he says the services of a Boatswain are not required' at Mare Island & of course I can do no more. I am sorry for this, for I should have been much pleased to favor O'Farrell. Better luck next time. I have recd. all your letters & cannot tell you how gratified I am at their contents. They keep me posted as to all Cala. matters and are very refreshing. You need not fear my Clerk, George, for he does not see your letters, and if he did, it would make no difference, for he is very reliable. You know I generally know my confidential friends, your own experience should satisfy you of this. Gordon has no connection with Cala. & although his brother, George, is with Tom Williams, he is too honorable & too much attached to me to betray my friendship... The great Democratic party is split forever, I fear. Douglas has made the greatest speech of his life last week, but it has only embittered his enemies the more. I think the Richmond Convention will nominate Lane, and the Baltimore will nominate Douglas & Stephens. We will then have a Northern & Southern Democratic Party & who then can say where it will end. What a pity inasmuch as it all comes from an abstraction about the `almighty nigger...'"

The envelope is addressed and endorsed "Per Pony Express" in Latham's hand. The St. Joseph Running Pony handstamp is perfectly struck with the famous running pony design showing remarkable detail. The blue "Free" indicates that the $5.00 Pony Express fee was waived in favor of Senator Latham, whose political efforts on behalf of the company were enthusiastic. This Pony Express trip left from St. Joseph on May 27, 1860. A total of ten free-franked Pony Express covers are recorded in Nathan, six of which were signed by Senator Latham (on the first he paid the $5.00 fee, the subsequent ones were carried free). A mate to this cover, dated at St. Joseph on May 13, is illustrated in the Nathan book (p.10) and was sold in our sale of the Hall collection for $95,000 hammer (Sale 830, lot 798). Another similar cover, dated June 3, is listed in the Nathan census.

Ex Knapp, Hale, Hertz, Grunin and Robertson, and featured on the cover of our catalogue for the Hale collection (Sale 171, April 29, 1954). (Image)

VERY FINE. ONE OF EIGHT RECORDED EXAMPLES OF THE "CENTRAL OVERLAND PONY EXPRESS COMPANY" FRANK, OF WHICH ONLY TWO ARE PRINTED ON 3-CENT ENTIRES. THIS IS ALSO THE EARLIEST RECORDED USE OF THE SACRAMENTO PONY EXPRESS MARKING (AND THE ONLY STRIKE IN BLACK). A REMARKABLE AND EXTREMELY RARE COVER FROM SEVERAL PERSPECTIVES.

According to the census in The Pony Express, recently published by The Philatelic Foundation, there are eight recorded 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 & Pikes Peak Express Company owned and operated the Pony Express. Of the eight entires, all but two are 10c values of the Nesbitt issue. Only this entire (Census No. E52) and one other (Census No. E28) are 3c entires. A valid question is why the Pony Express frank would be applied to 3c entires when the 10c over-3,000 miles rate usually applied to eastbound Pony Express mail. The logical answer is that mail to and from intermediate points along the Pony trail or mail from California to Salt Lake City would only require a 3c rate. The presence of manuscript station markings on several of these COPEC franks supports the contention that they were mainly used by telegraph operators and way stations along the Pony route. In the case of the cover offered here, it was evidently accepted at Sacramento and St. Joseph with only 3c postage.

This cover was datestamped January 7 at Sacramento, which corresponds to the Pony trip departing San Francisco on January 5, 1861, and reported to have arrived in St. Joseph 22 days later on January 27, a rather long transit time, even during the winter months. The St. Joseph postmark on this cover has always been described as January "28", but we believe it is a blurry "22", which would point to a 16-day Pony trip arriving on January 21, more in line with typical winter journey times.

Illustrated in Letters of Gold (p. 256). Ex Parker and Kramer. With 1998 P.S.E. certificate. (Image)

A VERY FINE AND COLORFUL PONY EXPRESS COVER BEARING THE $1.00 RED STAMP ISSUED BY WELLS, FARGO & COMPANY FOR THE OFFICIAL GOVERNMENT CONTRACT PERIOD BEGINNING IN JULY 1861.

Commencing July 1, 1861, the Pony Express was authorized by Congress to carry mail at the rate of $1.00 per half ounce. An additional fee was charged by Wells, Fargo & Co. to carry mail from San Francisco to the western terminus at Placerville, which is represented by the printed frank on this entire. The contract also stipulated the mandatory U.S. postage charge of 10c per half ounce. This cover beautifully combines all three postage elements. Although the Scott Catalogue lists the July 1861 issue Pony Express stamps (143L3-143L6) with other private post issues, we wish to emphasize that these stamps were issued under the terms of a government mail contract, therefore, they have semi-official status.

Ex Concord. With 1994 P.F. certificate which states that it is "a genuine usage". (Image)

THIS IS THE UNIQUE "SAMPLE ENVELOPE" SUBMITTED ON JUNE 21, 1861, BY THE OVERLAND MAIL COMPANY TO POSTMASTER GENERAL MONTGOMERY BLAIR FOR APPROVAL PRIOR TO THE INAUGURATION OF THE JULY 1, 1861, PONY EXPRESS GOVERNMENT MAIL CONTRACT. AN HISTORIC ARTIFACT OF THE PONY EXPRESS.

The $1.00 franked entire and $1.00 "Garter" adhesive were needed by Wells, Fargo & Co.'s eastern offices when the Pony Express entered its official U.S. government mail contract period on July 1, 1861. The 1861 10c "Pumpkin" entire with the Type II printed frank was ordered from George F. Nesbitt & Co. (New York) by the Overland Mail Company after they obtained approval for the design and imprint from the Postmaster General's office. The earliest recorded usage, according to The Pony Express, is August 14, 1861.

The essay offered here, a 10c Nesbitt entire with the Type I East-to-West red frank ($2.00 rate period), was submitted to Postmaster General Montgomery Blair along with a transmittal letter dated June 21, 1861 (Christie's sale, Mar. 14, 1990). The letter, which is not with this lot, reads in full: "We beg to enclose a sample envelope which we wish to use for Pony Express. You will see it has a Govt. 10c Stamp, and also the stamp of our agents Wells F & Co. upon it, and is directed To Agent of Pony Express, St. Joseph Mo. For John Doe, San Francisco, California. Now, the object of the present is to ask of the Department that such envelope may be mailed here, delivered to Pony Express Agent at St.Joseph, and by Pony Express mailed again at Placerville, for its destination, without an additional stamp. If this is consistent with your reading of the law, will thank you to issue the proper order to aid us in carrying out such rule. As the service is to commence on 1st July, we would beg for an early reply to this. [Signed Frederick Cook, Treasurer, Overland Mail Company]." Postmaster General Blair's office docketed the letter "F. Cook Treasurer, Overland Mail CO., June 21, 1861, Answered June 22 '61".

The Cook letter is in the same hand as the address on the essay entire offered here. There is no doubt that this is the "sample envelope" submitted to the Postmaster General for approval and to help in clarifying the procedure for East-to-West Pony Express mail during the new contract period. The actual Type II $1.00 frank was modified slightly with the deletion of the comma after "Placerville", and it was printed on envelopes with the new 10c "Pumpkin" design. Nesbitt was specifically asked to produce envelopes on a thinner, tougher paper than that used for regular stamped envelopes, presumably to reduce weight for the Pony riders. Comparing the Type II franked entires with others, it does appear to be a thinner, less opaque paper, although the Scott Catalogue does not list the 10c entires on more than one kind of white paper.

The period commencing July 1, 1861, was an important one for the Pony Express. Under new management and connected with Wells, Fargo & Co.'s vast network of offices and routes, the Pony Express was authorized by Congress to carry mail under government contract at the rate of $1.00 per half ounce. Although collectors generally perceive all Pony Express stamps and franked entires to be unofficial non-government forms of postage, effective July 1, 1861, the new stamps and entires are semi-official issues intended to prepay goverment contract rates. Therefore, this "sample envelope" is effectively an essay for a government-authorized issue, not simply a model for a non-contract mail route frank.

This offering may be the first time that this entire has been correctly described and correlated to the transmittal letter described above. (Image)

VERY FINE APPEARANCE. ONE OF FIVE RECORDED USED EXAMPLES OF THE $4.00 BLACK PONY EXPRESS STAMP.

Only two covers with the $4.00 Black (Second Issue) are recorded, each worth in the mid six figures. Ex Caspary. (Image)