Lot
3327 
F. W. Blake & Cos., Express, Weaverville, blue double-line oval handstamp cancels 3¢ red (U10) Nesbitt buff entire with Wells, Fargo & Co. printed frank, to Yreka Cal., pencil "1857"; minor edge wear; accompanied by a newspaper ad from the Trinity Journal Jul. 25, 1857 that shows Blake was still operating his Shasta-Weaverville express connecting with Wells Fargo after 1855, Very Fine, ex-Haas. Thomas No. BAK-100 Estimate $750 - 1,000.
Francis Wheeler Blake arrived in California in 1852 and in the fall of that year found employment at Rhodes & Lusk as their agent in Weaverville. By September of 1855, Rhodes & Lusk had become Rhodes & Co. About this time, Blake resigned and formed F.W. Blake & Co's Banking and Express. He initially ran from a base at Shasta City to Weaverville, but in October switched to a Weaverville base with a terminus at Shasta. While advertising that he connected with both Wells Fargo and Pacific Express at Shasta, he was closely aligned with Wells Fargo.
Realized: $750