Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries, Inc. Sale

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

**Western Express Franks**
Lot	Sym.	Lot Description	Est/Cat	Realized
625		Adams & Co. Express, 16 Wall St., New York. Red shield corner card on brown cover to Melbourne, Australia, addressed to "Mr. Robert R. Carrington, Purser Steamer 'New Orleans', Care Geo. Mowton Esqr., Adams & Co. Melbourne, Australia.", Very Fine and extremely rare usage, Adams & Company's Australia operation was short-lived, beginning in May 1853 and folding in June 1855 (see Levy and Hahn articles in Collectors Club Philatelist, May-June 1982 and May-June 1990) (Image)	E. 1,000-1,500	700.00
626		Adams & Co. Express Melbourne N.S.W. Red framed handstamp on buff cover to Canaan Me., "Adams & Co. American & European Express Melbourne N.S.W." blue cameo return card on backflap, Liverpool transit backstamp (Aug. 19, 1853), Edward Sanford forwarder's oval with ship vignette, red "Boston Br. Pkt. Paid 24c Aug. 31" credit datestamp, red "5 Cents" applied in England, routed "per Europa" from England, Very Fine, an extremely rare example of Adams Melbourne express from Australia, the Adams & Co. Australia operation last briefly, from May 1853 to June 1855 (see Levy and Hahn articles in Collectors Club Philatelist, May-June 1982 and May-June 1990) (Image)	E. 1,500-2,000	0.00
627		Adams & Co. Printed frank (missing "f" of "California") at upper left of brown cover to Uniontown Ala. with vertical pair of 3c Dull Red (11), large margins to slightly in at right, corner crease, tied by bold "Sacramento City Cal. 30 Nov." circular datestamp, couple faint stains VERY FINE. ONE OF SEVEN RECORDED EXAMPLES OF ADAMS & COMPANY'S PRINTED FRANK, OF WHICH ONLY TWO HAVE ADHESIVE STAMPS. THIS IS THE FIRST PRINTED FRANK USED BY ANY OF THE WESTERN EXPRESS COMPANIES. A COVER OF GREAT HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE AND ESPECIALLY DESIRABLE WITH THE 3-CENT 1851 ISSUE. Adams & Company set up its California and Oregon business in December 1849 under the direction of William B. Dinsmore of New York and Daniel H. Haskell of Boston, with Alvin Adams as a third partner. Dinsmore left shortly thereafter. In 1852 I. C. Woods joined the firm and two years later became a partner. Its business in the shipment of gold, merchandise, parcels and letters flourished, and its related banking operations established Adams & Co. as a major force in the economic development of the West. All of this figuratively turned to dust in February 1855 with the failure of Page, Bacon & Company, a prominent banking firm. Two days later Adams Express collapsed as depositors rushed to withdraw their gold from a concern that was already weakened by competition (source: Wiltsee, The Pioneer Mule and The Pack Mule Express). The significance of Adams & Company's printed franks is two-fold: first, they were produced in 1853, making them the earliest franks actually printed on envelopes or stamped entires, and, second, their function "was to facilitate the deposit of mail in letter boxes after the normal business hours of the express. Much like a printed adhesive stamp, these could be used to prepare letters for mailing so that they could be deposited in a box and without having to wait in line if the express office was still open." (Frajola). With the Dale-Lichtenstein dispersal, the number of recorded examples of the Adams & Co. frank rises to seven, including three slightly different formats on plain envelopes, both stamped and stampless, and the 3c Nesbitt entire. Only two covers have adhesive stamps (pairs of the 3c 1851 in both cases). Ex Parker, Jessup and Haas. (Image)	E. 4,000-5,000	8,000.00
628		Adams & Co.'s Express, Cal., 50c Black on Buff Entire (1LU4). Unused 3c Red Nesbitt entire (U10), faint horizontal crease thru stamps not noted on certificate VERY FINE APPEARANCE. FEWER THAN A HALF-DOZEN EXAMPLES OF THIS SURPRINTED FRANK ARE REPORTED TO EXIST ON ANY OF THE NESBITT ENTIRES. If contemporary, the Adams & Company stamped envelopes -- 25c and 50c values on 3c and 6c Nesbitt entires or cut-outs used as adhesives -- must come from the period from 1854 to the collapse of the firm in March 1855. Their rarity could be attributed to the sudden failure of the Adams firm. However, at least one student of the subject has recently argued that these stamped envelopes and cut-outs were created in the 1890's by the notorious forger Wuesthoff. The controversy has not been resolved. With 2002 P.S.E. certificate. Scott Retail for No. 1LU4 is shown in the used column. (Image)	15,000.00	0.00
629		Angiers' North San Juan and Humbug Express. Printed frank (Haller FA7) on 3c Pink entire (U58) to Marysville Cal., conjunctive usage with "Wells Fargo & Co. North San Juan Aug. 14" blue oval datestamp, blue oval "Wells, Fargo & Co. Marysville Aug. 18" receiving datestamp, couple small opening nicks at bottom, Very Fine, Angiers ran its express in the Yuba River mining region, between Humbug and North San Juan (where it connected with Wells, Fargo & Co., as stated in the frank), an especially fine example of this scarce frank, ex Dale-Lichtenstein, with 2004 P.F. certificate (Image)	E. 1,000-1,500	1,500.00
630		Arizona & New Mexico Express Co. Printed frank (Haller FA8) and "A. & N.M. Ex. Co. Prescott A.T. May 29" blue oval datestamp on 3c Green entire (U163) to San Francisco, Very Fine and extremely rare, this express was launched by Henry Wells in 1874, providing stagecoach service to and from points in Arizona and the eastern terminus of the Southern Pacific Railroad, by 1876 the express folded, having lost its usefulness as the railroad pushed further east, ex Dale-Lichtenstein (Image)	E. 1,500-2,000	3,750.00
631		Pacific Express Co. Haller FP1 Ty. Ia printed frank on 10c Pale Green Nesbitt entire (U17a) to Boston, blue "Pacific Express Co. San Francisco Nov. 20" (ca. 1855) double-circle datestamp, conjunctive usage with "Berford & Cos. Atlantic & Pacific Express" blue oval perfectly struck at center, sender's routing "Via Nicaragua", no government markings, carried from New York City to Boston outside the mails, some slight scuffs at left where a label may have been removed EXTREMELY FINE. ONE OF TWO RECORDED COVERS WITH THIS COMBINATION OF PACIFIC EXPRESS COMPANY AND BERFORD & COMPANY MARKINGS. A SPECTACULAR TRANS-CONTINENTAL EXPRESS USAGE. The Pacific Express Company was formed on March 2, 1855, by former employees of Adams & Company, the huge express and banking concern that went bankrupt in February 1855. Pacific Express operated until sometime in 1857, carrying mail between points in California and also through connections to the East Coast. The original Berford & Company was started in 1849 and is reported to have sold out to Wells, Fargo & Co. in 1854. The "Berford & Cos. Atlantic & Pacific Express" represented in this handstamp (of which one other is known) must have been a short-lived operation under that name, formed after the earlier Berford's concern sold out. Although no year date is present, this cover and its mate must have been mailed in 1855 or 1856. Illustrated in Letters of Gold. Ex Hawley. With 1975 P.F. certificate. (Image)	E. 7,500-10,000	10,000.00
632		Berford & Co.'s Express, New York N.Y., 10c Violet, Horizontal Tete-Beche Pair (11L3a). Large margins, used with 10c vertical pair, also large margins, uncancelled, the vertical pair tied by two letters of address "For Lieut. Madison Rush, U.S. Ship 'St. Lawrence' Valparaiso", receipt docketing on back "Recd. at Valparaiso, March 21st, 1852", the stamps and cover are in pristine condition EXTREMELY FINE. ONLY TWO COVERS BEARING THE BERFORD'S 10-CENT TETE-BECHE VARIETY ARE RECORDED, BOTH ADDRESSED TO LIEUTENANT RUSH AT VALPARAISO. ONE OF THE MOST SPECTACULAR OF ALL COVERS CARRIED BY A PRIVATE MAIL FIRM, COMBINING PHILATELIC RARITY AND POSTAL HISTORY SIGNIFICANCE INTO ONE EXTRAORDINARY USAGE. Richard G. Berford and Loring L. Lombard operated the Berford & Co. letter-carrying business beginning in 1851. Berford & Co.'s Express primarily served the West Coast of North, Central and South America, but also advertised rates to Hawaii, Hong Kong and China. Although their letter and package express business was fairly large, the adhesive stamps for letter mail are rare. During the course of their operation, there were several bitter clashes with the government over their mail route. The company is reported to have been sold in June 1854. Our records contain a total of seventeen 10c Berford & Co. stamps (11L3), but about half of these are represented by one normal pair and three tete-beche pairs (11L3a). There are actually just eight 11L3/11L3a items, including five covers and three off-cover stamps. These are as follows: 1) uncancelled on piece (or possibly a cover), Sloane records, 2) uncancelled off cover, faint stains, ex Middendorf, 3) uncancelled on cover to Gloucester Mass. with Loring Bros. Valparaiso forwarding oval, PFC declined opinion as to usage, Siegel Sep. 27-28, 1994 (Sale 761, lot 114), 4) uncancelled on cover from Bangor Me. to Chagres, described as 1853 usage in Sloane records, not verified, 5) four cut-to-shape singles on Jul.-Aug. 1852 cover to Paita, ex Golden, "D.K." (Siegel Sale 862, realized $11,000), offered in lot 59, 6) one normal pair and one tete-beche pair on cover to Valparaiso, ex Golden, "D.K." (Siegel Sale 862, realized $62,500), the cover offered here, 7) two tete-beche pairs on cover to Valparaiso, ex Mason, Hall, "D.K." (Siegel Sale 862, realized $70,000), and 8) single with original gum, 1961 R.P.S. certificate, ex Hall. Four covers are recorded with Berford & Co. stamps paying the 40c rate, each addressed to the West Coast of South America, apparently originating in New York. This 40c prepaid rate was listed in the "Table of Postage" in Berford's June 17, 1851, New York Herald advertisement announcing the "New Postage Law". In the advertisement, the stamps (3c, 10c and 25c) are described and various rates are given, effective July 1, 1851. Obviously, Berford's was acting in response to the U.S. government postage reforms of the same date. Ex Worthington, Caspary, Lilly, Golden and "D.K." (Siegel Sale 862, realized $62,500). With 1999 P.F. certificate. (Image)	E. 50,000-75,000	57,500.00
633		Brown's Express. Perfect strike of blue "Forwarded by Browns Express" oval handstamp and matching "$1" rate handstamp, bold "Boston 10 Cts 10 Oct." unpaid rate datestamp on brown cover to San Francisco, forwarded to Stockton by regular mail with "For 5 [plus 10] /15" due notation using integral rate in datestamp, evidently given to Brown's Express at Stockton for delivery to one of the mining camps served by this express, Very Fine, Brown's Express between Stockton and the Southern Mines was started in 1850 by William A. Brown, who in 1853 was shot and killed by an assailant who committed suicide after being apprehended, ex Knapp (Image)	E. 1,000-1,500	900.00
634		Buchanan & Co.'s Canon City Express. Ornate printed frank (Haller FB11, Ty. 1) on 3c Pink entire (U59) to Dalles Ore., tiny edge nick at right, Very Fine, this short-lived and small express operated between The Dalles and Canyon City in 1866-67, two types of franks were used, both are rare, ex Barkhausen, Clifford and Edwards (Image)	E. 1,000-1,500	1,000.00
635		The Central Overland California & Pikes Peak Express Company, St. Joseph, Mo. Jan. 24. Green oval datestamp applied at terminus of stagecoach express on 3c Red Star Die entire (U26) to "Central City, Rocky Mountains, Care of the Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express, St. Joseph Mo.", clearly struck "Superior Wis. Jan. 12, 1861" circular datestamp and target, from the R. M. Pease correspondence (his wife writing from Wisconsin), about one-third inch of left edge invisibly restored, Very Fine appearance, rare westbound express usage to Colorado, ex Moody, Gibson and Haas (Image)	E. 1,000-1,500	1,900.00

Western Express Franks

Lot

Sym.

Lot Description

Est/Cat

Realized

625

Adams & Co. Express, 16 Wall St., New York. Red shield corner card on brown cover to Melbourne, Australia, addressed to "Mr. Robert R. Carrington, Purser Steamer 'New Orleans', Care Geo. Mowton Esqr., Adams & Co. Melbourne, Australia.", Very Fine and extremely rare usage, Adams & Company's Australia operation was short-lived, beginning in May 1853 and folding in June 1855 (see Levy and Hahn articles in Collectors Club Philatelist, May-June 1982 and May-June 1990) (Image)

E. 1,000-1,500

700.00

626

Adams & Co. Express Melbourne N.S.W. Red framed handstamp on buff cover to Canaan Me., "Adams & Co. American & European Express Melbourne N.S.W." blue cameo return card on backflap, Liverpool transit backstamp (Aug. 19, 1853), Edward Sanford forwarder's oval with ship vignette, red "Boston Br. Pkt. Paid 24c Aug. 31" credit datestamp, red "5 Cents" applied in England, routed "per Europa" from England, Very Fine, an extremely rare example of Adams Melbourne express from Australia, the Adams & Co. Australia operation last briefly, from May 1853 to June 1855 (see Levy and Hahn articles in Collectors Club Philatelist, May-June 1982 and May-June 1990) (Image)

E. 1,500-2,000

0.00

627

Adams & Co. Printed frank (missing "f" of "California") at upper left of brown cover to Uniontown Ala. with vertical pair of 3c Dull Red (11), large margins to slightly in at right, corner crease, tied by bold "Sacramento City Cal. 30 Nov." circular datestamp, couple faint stains

VERY FINE. ONE OF SEVEN RECORDED EXAMPLES OF ADAMS & COMPANY'S PRINTED FRANK, OF WHICH ONLY TWO HAVE ADHESIVE STAMPS. THIS IS THE FIRST PRINTED FRANK USED BY ANY OF THE WESTERN EXPRESS COMPANIES. A COVER OF GREAT HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE AND ESPECIALLY DESIRABLE WITH THE 3-CENT 1851 ISSUE.

Adams & Company set up its California and Oregon business in December 1849 under the direction of William B. Dinsmore of New York and Daniel H. Haskell of Boston, with Alvin Adams as a third partner. Dinsmore left shortly thereafter. In 1852 I. C. Woods joined the firm and two years later became a partner. Its business in the shipment of gold, merchandise, parcels and letters flourished, and its related banking operations established Adams & Co. as a major force in the economic development of the West. All of this figuratively turned to dust in February 1855 with the failure of Page, Bacon & Company, a prominent banking firm. Two days later Adams Express collapsed as depositors rushed to withdraw their gold from a concern that was already weakened by competition (source: Wiltsee, The Pioneer Mule and The Pack Mule Express).

The significance of Adams & Company's printed franks is two-fold: first, they were produced in 1853, making them the earliest franks actually printed on envelopes or stamped entires, and, second, their function "was to facilitate the deposit of mail in letter boxes after the normal business hours of the express. Much like a printed adhesive stamp, these could be used to prepare letters for mailing so that they could be deposited in a box and without having to wait in line if the express office was still open." (Frajola).

With the Dale-Lichtenstein dispersal, the number of recorded examples of the Adams & Co. frank rises to seven, including three slightly different formats on plain envelopes, both stamped and stampless, and the 3c Nesbitt entire. Only two covers have adhesive stamps (pairs of the 3c 1851 in both cases).

Ex Parker, Jessup and Haas. (Image)

E. 4,000-5,000

8,000.00

628

Adams & Co.'s Express, Cal., 50c Black on Buff Entire (1LU4). Unused 3c Red Nesbitt entire (U10), faint horizontal crease thru stamps not noted on certificate

VERY FINE APPEARANCE. FEWER THAN A HALF-DOZEN EXAMPLES OF THIS SURPRINTED FRANK ARE REPORTED TO EXIST ON ANY OF THE NESBITT ENTIRES.

If contemporary, the Adams & Company stamped envelopes -- 25c and 50c values on 3c and 6c Nesbitt entires or cut-outs used as adhesives -- must come from the period from 1854 to the collapse of the firm in March 1855. Their rarity could be attributed to the sudden failure of the Adams firm. However, at least one student of the subject has recently argued that these stamped envelopes and cut-outs were created in the 1890's by the notorious forger Wuesthoff. The controversy has not been resolved.

With 2002 P.S.E. certificate. Scott Retail for No. 1LU4 is shown in the used column. (Image)

15,000.00

0.00

629

Angiers' North San Juan and Humbug Express. Printed frank (Haller FA7) on 3c Pink entire (U58) to Marysville Cal., conjunctive usage with "Wells Fargo & Co. North San Juan Aug. 14" blue oval datestamp, blue oval "Wells, Fargo & Co. Marysville Aug. 18" receiving datestamp, couple small opening nicks at bottom, Very Fine, Angiers ran its express in the Yuba River mining region, between Humbug and North San Juan (where it connected with Wells, Fargo & Co., as stated in the frank), an especially fine example of this scarce frank, ex Dale-Lichtenstein, with 2004 P.F. certificate (Image)

E. 1,000-1,500

1,500.00

630

Arizona & New Mexico Express Co. Printed frank (Haller FA8) and "A. & N.M. Ex. Co. Prescott A.T. May 29" blue oval datestamp on 3c Green entire (U163) to San Francisco, Very Fine and extremely rare, this express was launched by Henry Wells in 1874, providing stagecoach service to and from points in Arizona and the eastern terminus of the Southern Pacific Railroad, by 1876 the express folded, having lost its usefulness as the railroad pushed further east, ex Dale-Lichtenstein (Image)

E. 1,500-2,000

3,750.00

631

Pacific Express Co. Haller FP1 Ty. Ia printed frank on 10c Pale Green Nesbitt entire (U17a) to Boston, blue "Pacific Express Co. San Francisco Nov. 20" (ca. 1855) double-circle datestamp, conjunctive usage with "Berford & Cos. Atlantic & Pacific Express" blue oval perfectly struck at center, sender's routing "Via Nicaragua", no government markings, carried from New York City to Boston outside the mails, some slight scuffs at left where a label may have been removed

EXTREMELY FINE. ONE OF TWO RECORDED COVERS WITH THIS COMBINATION OF PACIFIC EXPRESS COMPANY AND BERFORD & COMPANY MARKINGS. A SPECTACULAR TRANS-CONTINENTAL EXPRESS USAGE.

The Pacific Express Company was formed on March 2, 1855, by former employees of Adams & Company, the huge express and banking concern that went bankrupt in February 1855. Pacific Express operated until sometime in 1857, carrying mail between points in California and also through connections to the East Coast. The original Berford & Company was started in 1849 and is reported to have sold out to Wells, Fargo & Co. in 1854. The "Berford & Cos. Atlantic & Pacific Express" represented in this handstamp (of which one other is known) must have been a short-lived operation under that name, formed after the earlier Berford's concern sold out. Although no year date is present, this cover and its mate must have been mailed in 1855 or 1856.

Illustrated in Letters of Gold. Ex Hawley. With 1975 P.F. certificate. (Image)

E. 7,500-10,000

10,000.00

632

Berford & Co.'s Express, New York N.Y., 10c Violet, Horizontal Tete-Beche Pair (11L3a). Large margins, used with 10c vertical pair, also large margins, uncancelled, the vertical pair tied by two letters of address "For Lieut. Madison Rush, U.S. Ship 'St. Lawrence' Valparaiso", receipt docketing on back "Recd. at Valparaiso, March 21st, 1852", the stamps and cover are in pristine condition

EXTREMELY FINE. ONLY TWO COVERS BEARING THE BERFORD'S 10-CENT TETE-BECHE VARIETY ARE RECORDED, BOTH ADDRESSED TO LIEUTENANT RUSH AT VALPARAISO. ONE OF THE MOST SPECTACULAR OF ALL COVERS CARRIED BY A PRIVATE MAIL FIRM, COMBINING PHILATELIC RARITY AND POSTAL HISTORY SIGNIFICANCE INTO ONE EXTRAORDINARY USAGE.

Richard G. Berford and Loring L. Lombard operated the Berford & Co. letter-carrying business beginning in 1851. Berford & Co.'s Express primarily served the West Coast of North, Central and South America, but also advertised rates to Hawaii, Hong Kong and China. Although their letter and package express business was fairly large, the adhesive stamps for letter mail are rare. During the course of their operation, there were several bitter clashes with the government over their mail route. The company is reported to have been sold in June 1854.

Our records contain a total of seventeen 10c Berford & Co. stamps (11L3), but about half of these are represented by one normal pair and three tete-beche pairs (11L3a). There are actually just eight 11L3/11L3a items, including five covers and three off-cover stamps. These are as follows: 1) uncancelled on piece (or possibly a cover), Sloane records, 2) uncancelled off cover, faint stains, ex Middendorf, 3) uncancelled on cover to Gloucester Mass. with Loring Bros. Valparaiso forwarding oval, PFC declined opinion as to usage, Siegel Sep. 27-28, 1994 (Sale 761, lot 114), 4) uncancelled on cover from Bangor Me. to Chagres, described as 1853 usage in Sloane records, not verified, 5) four cut-to-shape singles on Jul.-Aug. 1852 cover to Paita, ex Golden, "D.K." (Siegel Sale 862, realized $11,000), offered in lot 59, 6) one normal pair and one tete-beche pair on cover to Valparaiso, ex Golden, "D.K." (Siegel Sale 862, realized $62,500), the cover offered here, 7) two tete-beche pairs on cover to Valparaiso, ex Mason, Hall, "D.K." (Siegel Sale 862, realized $70,000), and 8) single with original gum, 1961 R.P.S. certificate, ex Hall.

Four covers are recorded with Berford & Co. stamps paying the 40c rate, each addressed to the West Coast of South America, apparently originating in New York. This 40c prepaid rate was listed in the "Table of Postage" in Berford's June 17, 1851, New York Herald advertisement announcing the "New Postage Law". In the advertisement, the stamps (3c, 10c and 25c) are described and various rates are given, effective July 1, 1851. Obviously, Berford's was acting in response to the U.S. government postage reforms of the same date.

Ex Worthington, Caspary, Lilly, Golden and "D.K." (Siegel Sale 862, realized $62,500). With 1999 P.F. certificate. (Image)

E. 50,000-75,000

57,500.00

633

Brown's Express. Perfect strike of blue "Forwarded by Browns Express" oval handstamp and matching "$1" rate handstamp, bold "Boston 10 Cts 10 Oct." unpaid rate datestamp on brown cover to San Francisco, forwarded to Stockton by regular mail with "For 5 [plus 10] /15" due notation using integral rate in datestamp, evidently given to Brown's Express at Stockton for delivery to one of the mining camps served by this express, Very Fine, Brown's Express between Stockton and the Southern Mines was started in 1850 by William A. Brown, who in 1853 was shot and killed by an assailant who committed suicide after being apprehended, ex Knapp (Image)

E. 1,000-1,500

900.00

634

Buchanan & Co.'s Canon City Express. Ornate printed frank (Haller FB11, Ty. 1) on 3c Pink entire (U59) to Dalles Ore., tiny edge nick at right, Very Fine, this short-lived and small express operated between The Dalles and Canyon City in 1866-67, two types of franks were used, both are rare, ex Barkhausen, Clifford and Edwards (Image)

E. 1,000-1,500

1,000.00

635

The Central Overland California & Pikes Peak Express Company, St. Joseph, Mo. Jan. 24. Green oval datestamp applied at terminus of stagecoach express on 3c Red Star Die entire (U26) to "Central City, Rocky Mountains, Care of the Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express, St. Joseph Mo.", clearly struck "Superior Wis. Jan. 12, 1861" circular datestamp and target, from the R. M. Pease correspondence (his wife writing from Wisconsin), about one-third inch of left edge invisibly restored, Very Fine appearance, rare westbound express usage to Colorado, ex Moody, Gibson and Haas (Image)

E. 1,000-1,500

1,900.00