Sale 37: The Westpex Sale

Lot 31    

(Santa Clara) Santa Clara, Cal./Nov. 27th. Manuscript postmark with matching "Paid 40" rate on cover to Philadelphia, trivial corner mends, Very Fine.
Estimate    $200 - 300.

Realized: $180

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Lot 32    

(Santa Cruz) Santa Cruz Cal, Feb 25. Manuscript postmark and "12½" manuscript rate marking on stampless folded letter address leaf (no letter) to California Secretary of State William Van Voorhies in San Jose, some surface wear affecting the address area, F.-V.F.
Estimate    $200 - 300.

This folded letter is the basis for the February 25, 1850, listing in Williams of the earliest known Santa Cruz manuscript postmark in the Branciforte County period. Branciforte County was renamed Santa Cruz County on April 5, 1850. An 1850 year date for this folded letter was inferred from the rate and the addressee and destination. However, on those bases, this February 25 postmark may well date from either 1850 or 1851. The 12½¢ Pacific Coast rate remained in effect until July 1, 1851. San Jose was California's pre-statehood and first state capital, but both the 1850 and 1851 sessions of the California legislature met there. The capital was not moved officially to Vallejo until January 5, 1852 (and thence to Benicia in 1853 and finally to Sacramento in 1854).

William Van Voorhies, prior to becoming California's first Secretary of State, was the Postmaster General's first Special Postal Agent in California. He established the first official Post Offices in California at Monterey and San Francisco in February of 1849.

Docketed on reverse "Guadalupe Castro in relation to Laws." Castro was the son of José Joaquín Castro (1768?1838), who after serving as a soldier for the Mexican Army for 13 years, came to settle the new community of Villa de Branciforte in 1798. In 1833, José Castro received a 2 square league (8,911 acres) land grant from Governor José Figueroa.

Realized: $130

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Lot 33 ()   

(Solano) Benicia, Cal./Jul. 29. Blue cds, straight line "Paid" & fancy "40" rate handstamp on rebacked cover front to Massachusetts, handsome Very Fine appearance.
Estimate    $100 - 150.

Realized: $85

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Lot 34    

(Sutter) Vernon, Cal. Manuscript postmark with matching "Paid 40" rate on buff cover to Massachusetts, expert corner repair at top left & small mend in address panel, still Very Fine, a rare early town postmark.
Estimate    $100 - 150.

Realized: $260

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Lot 35    

(Sutter) Vernon Cal, Nov 24/49. Manuscript postmark and "40" manuscript rate marking on stampless cover to Reynoldsburg, Ohio, cover with some wear, Fine.
Estimate    $200 - 300.

The Vernon Post Office at the original town site operated from 1849 to 1853 only. The Vernon Post Office was one of seven offices established by the Postmaster General's second Special Postal Agent in California, R. T. P. Allen, beginning in June of 1849. California had only nine Post Offices at the end of 1849.

Illustrated in Coburn's "Letters of Gold" (page 49), with original six-page letter from a recently-arrived miner who, under the influence of gold fever, describes the diggings such as "I arrived at the gold diggins on the 26 of last month at a place called deep or steep hollow on bear river, 100 miles above Sacramento City which is one mile and a half below Sutter's fort on the Sacramento river.", "…five of us took out one hundred + twelve dollars yesterday", "One hundred yards above our diggins, eleven men have taken out ten pounds in a day. No gold story you have ever heard can give you any account of the amount of gold in this country. Pieces weighing a pound have been taken out since I have been here, but the largest piece we have found was worth only $187."

Letter quotes prices current, recalls the journey across the plains with the best anecdote being "I had both pairs of my boots stolen before I got 300 miles from Missouri at new Ft. Kearny.", recommends to his "friends in the states who have any notion of coming to this country" to "leave your families at home + do not come across the plains but rather come by the Isthmus which can now be done in 30 or 40 days" versus "4 to 6 months by land", and concludes by opining that "No man pretends to work here for less than $10 per day + a man may come and make a fortune before the others get here.".

Realized: $725

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Lot 36    

(Trinity) Trinidad, Cal./April 24th, 1851. Manuscript postmark with matching "Paid 40" rate on folded cover to New York, letter datelined "Port of Trinidad" with interesting contents,I have followed mining with ill success, I am now trying packing Provisions to the mines… I may have better or worse luck. I have not done near as well in California as I did in Chile. I have some thousands of dollars invested in a Mill in Chile and it give me good interest., letter talks of starving miners, There is a great scarcity of provisions on the Salmon River. Reports say that there is many starving, before that I left I saw a great number of men that had eaten nothing but dried apples…they tell me that the Miners are living on Mule meat, several edge splits, F.-V.F., this is the only recorded example of this postmark of this short lived Post Office which was in Trinity County for less than a year and used on the last day of the Post Office prior to it being transferred into Klamath County on April 24, 1851.
Estimate    $200 - 300.

Realized: $550

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Lot 37    

(Tuolumne) Oak Springs, Cal./June 8 (1851). Manuscript postmark with matching "12½" rate on folded cover to Monterey, letter datelined "Montezuma", contents include, There is a great deal of shooting and stealing done about here, a peaceable traveller is not harmed., Very Fine.
Estimate    $150 - 200.

Realized: $375

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Lot 38    

(Tuolumne) Sonora, Cal. Manuscript postmark with matching "Paid 40" over unusual "52" rate on buff cover to Ohio, some minor edge restoration, still Very Fine.
Estimate    $100 - 150.

Realized: $120

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Lot 39    

(Tuolumne) Wood's Diggings, Cal./Feby. 27, /51. Manuscript postmark with matching "40" rate on buff cover to Massachusetts, small tear at top left, part of flap torn away, Very Fine, a scarce early California town.
Estimate    $150 - 200.

Realized: $135

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Lot 40    

(Yuba) Marysville, Cal./Oct. 29/40. Clear strike of integral rate postmark with straight line "Paid" handstamp in italics on buff cover to Ohio, pencil notation at top right "40 pd" & "per Steamer of 1st Nov." at bottom left, Very Fine and choice, a lovely 40¢ rate cover.
Estimate    $150 - 200.

Realized: $170

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