Sale 74: The Westpex Auction

Lot 924    

Sacramento Cal. '40' 8 June (Sacramento), cds on blue folded letter datelined "Bear River, California, May 26, 1850", long 4½ page letter with interesting miner content…Wee are the only ones here that has good clames so for once wee have been fortunate. We are averaging from 10 to 50 dollars each per day & I think will for six weeks now mak an average of 40$ dollars and it has all the appearance to hold out all summer say 3 or 4 months. if it does I think wee will leave here with worth considerable - I think wee will bee able to leave this digins worth 15 hundred and I think wih what I have will bee 4 to 4 thousand but don't think such a place is easy found not so, some men here right allong sides of this cant make more than 5 dollars. And some left here today he cause they could not make wages; cover staining, Fine, excellent gold rush content about the riches or bust of the miners.
Estimate    $300 - 400.

Realized: $450

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Lot 925    

San Francisco, C./Apr. 9 (1849) (San Francisco), bold manuscript postmark on folded cover to Connecticut with manuscript "40" rate, letter datelined "South Saleda Bay" (Sausalito), contents include: "At last we are at the entrance of the golden gates, full of sanguine hopes, and glorious anticipations. The many marvelous stories we heard in N.Y. are here more than confirmed and labor has at last found a place where it can assert its superiority to capital.", letter goes on to say "You may wonder at not seeing this letter headed San Francisco, we are 5 miles from town directly across the bay on a spot where it is intended to locate a navy yard and where five Am(erican) men of war are anchored, in fact it is the chief naval station on the Pacific.", Extremely Fine.
Estimate    $2,000 - 3,000.

THIS IS THE FINEST KNOWN EXAMPLE OF THE VERY RARE SAN FRANCISCO MANUSCRIPT.

Realized: $3,750

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Lot 926    

San Francisco. June 20 (Cal.) (San Francisco), perfectly struck straight line with manuscript magenta date & matching "80" double rate on immaculate 1849 cover to New York, manuscript endorsement "Per Steamer Panama", Extremely Fine and choice, ex-Knapp, Nathan .
Estimate    $1,000 - 1,500.

POSSIBLY THE FINEST KNOWN EXAMPLE OF THIS FIRST DAY OF USAGE OF THE SAN FRANCISCO STRAIGHT LINE.

Realized: $1,050

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Lot 927    

San Francisco, Cal. (San Francisco), small lot of early San Francisco folded covers with 40¢ Transcontinental rates, 7 items which include integral rates, one manuscript $1.20 rate (triple rate) and an 8th cover with the local 12½¢ rate for use in California, some with good letters, F.-V.F.
Estimate    $300 - 400.

Realized: $260

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Lot 928    

(San Francisco) Easton Md. Feb 19 to San Francisco, sharp cds on light gray cover address to Dr. J.L. Adkins, U.S. Army, San Francisco Cal. with "Paid" handstamp and manuscript "40" rating for transcontinental rate, forwarded to Sonoma with both "Paid" and rating crossed out and additional manuscript "Ford 12½" due rating, fresh and Very Fine, a scarce combination of forwarding rates.
Estimate    $200 - 300.

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Lot 929    

San Francisco - Sonoma Steamboat Mail, three 1850-51 stampless folded letters from Adler correspondence sent by Sacramento riverboat steamers, each endorsed with one per "Georgina" and other by "Panther", Very Fine, ex-Walske.
Estimate    $150 - 200.

Realized: $90

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Lot 930 ()   

San Francisco, Cal., 80, Jun 1 (San Francisco), red integral rate cds (SAF-300) on cover front to Boston, Mass., matching straight line "Paid" handstamp and "40" rate handstamp applied over "80" integral rate, with original enclosure from San Francisco postmaster J.B. Moore regarding helping women coming California to teach school, Very Fine, postmark one month earlier than the earliest listed in Williams.
Estimate    $150 - 200.

Realized: $180

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Lot 931    

San Francisco '40' 1 Aug, red integral cds for 40¢ transcontinental rate, "40" overstruck with bold "Free" handstamp as folded cover is addressed to A.O. Clayton, Fourth Auditor, Navy Department, Washington D.C., fresh and Very Fine, an unusual rerating use.
Estimate    $150 - 200.

Realized: $150

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Lot 932    

San Francisco, Cal. to Manchester, England, 1853 folded letter with blue "Hermann Ernst, San Francisco, Upper California" oval handstamp on front and reverse, endorsed "pr Liverpool steamer" and "Postage prepaid in New York", carried privately to N.Y. and entered the mails with red "New York, 19, Dec 14" exchange cds, Liverpool transit and receiving backstamp, Very Fine, ex-Jessup.
Estimate    $150 - 200.

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Lot 933    

San Francisco, Cal., 7 May (San Francisco), cds (SAF-420) with matching clamshell "Ship 6" rate handstamp on blue incoming Mar. 17th 1855 folded letter from Valparaiso, Chile, endorsed "p. 'Minna' ", Very Fine.
Estimate    $150 - 200.

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