Sale 125: The Westpex Sale, Vol. II

Lot 2104    

Southern Overland Mail & Express Co., Barlow & Sanderson Proprietors, Principle Office, Pueblo, Col. Ter., corner card on cover with illustrated design showing Six Horse Stage on Mountain Road, Stage with "Overland U.S. Mail, B.&S." imprint, to Auburn, N.Y. franked with 1¢ Banknote tied by blue cork handstamp, matching "Del Norte, Colo., Nov 13" postmarks; stamp corner nick and toned perfs, in the past we have described this as missing additional stamps, however upon re-examination, we feel this was in error and that this is a 1¢ circular usage, F.-V.F. appearance, still a rare illustrated stagecoach design from this Colorado Stage and Express company, ex-Perrson.
Estimate    $750 - 1,000.

Barlow and Sanderson operated Southern Overland Mail, a dominant express company started in Sedalia, Missouri in 1862, moving into Kansas and then into Colorado Territory in the late 1860s. They established offices in Pueblo and Canon City serving the Front Range and San Luis Valley. It eventually gave way to the advancing railroads.nn

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Lot 2105    

Wells Fargo & Co.'s Overland Express. From Denver, Col., black on blue "Forwarded by" label affixed to 1860's oversized linen lined cover addressed to Nevada City, C.T., with black on vermilion "Forwarded by, American Express Company, 8 Court St., Boston." origin express label, manuscript "Value 25.00" and "Paid thro" endorsements, docketing at left mentions mine documents for claims on the Columbia Lode, Nevada mining district; cover wear and light soiling, F.-V.F., a rare Wells, Fargo & Co. usage in Colorado Territory, illustrated in Jarrett's Colorado book (page 203).
Estimate    $2,000 - 3,000.



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Lot 2106    

Wells Fargo & Co./Denver City Col. (Colorado Territory) May 17, 1867, blue double oval handstamp (Leutzinger type 17-8) on 1864 3¢ pink entire with Holladay Overland Mail and Express Company printed frank (posthumous Wells Fargo use) to Saint Joseph, Missouri, entered the mails with "Salina, Kan., May 22" cds and duplexed target, thus carried from Denver by stage on the Smoky Hill Route to the Union Pacific Eastern Division (later Kansas Pacific) railroad terminus at Salina, edge tear at top, mended slit into the address at bottom, F.-V.F., a rare Wells Fargo usage, with photocopy of an 1867 Wells Fargo map showing the route.
Estimate    $1,000 - 1,500.

The Smoky Hill Route was pioneered in 1864 by Butterfield's Overland Despatch, a freighting and forwarding venture that ran between Denver and Leavenworth, Kansas. Butterfield's Despatch was acquired by the Holladay Overland Mail and Express Company in March of 1866. The United States Express Company also operated on the Smoky Hill Route.nnWells Fargo and Holladay along with the Overland Mail Company, which was controlled but not yet legally owned by Wells Fargo, were merged in a "Grand Consolidation" that was effective November 1, 1866. The new corporation retained the Wells Fargo name. The new Wells Fargo was a transportation enterprise as much as an express and banking business. As such, the new Wells Fargo was responsible for the entire Central Overland Route, which they began advertising as the "Great Overland Mail Route" with "Wells, Fargo & Co. Sole Proprietors." The United States Express Company, as allies of Wells Fargo, took charge of the Smoky Hill Route.nnAn odd thing about Wells Fargo's "Great Overland Mail Route" was that it was disappearing incrementally as a consequence of the construction of the first transcontinental railroad. On the eastern end, the Union Pacific Western Division reached Julesburgh, Colorado Territory, in June of 1867. Through service between Cheyenne City, Dakota Territory (soon to be Wyoming Territory), and Omaha, Nebraska, was initiated in November of 1867. In the interim, Indian attacks and railroad breakdowns east of Omaha led Wells Fargo to occasionally send express on the United States Express Company's Smoky Hill Route as an alternative to the easternmost portion of their own Central Overland Route.nn

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Realized: $1,000

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Lot 2107    

Denver Territorial Postal History Collection, 1863-76, of 31 covers on pages in binder; includes 1863 "Denver City, C.T." double circle date stamp and following double circle "Col" cds in black, 1865 "Denver City, Col" cds in blue, later cds with early strike in black and blue including double rate forwarding, the scarce rimless Rec'd date stamp with additional Advertised cds on reverse, study of the 1870's postmark types and fancy duplexes including star, negative "L", "M" & "NV" letters, negative Masonic, also a selection of ad corner cards including Rocky Mountain News, etc., generally F.-V.F. or better.
Estimate    $300 - 400.



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Realized: $325

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