Lot
915 
Todd & Co.s Express Stockton, perfect strike of tiny black company oval handstamp (TOC-106) with straight line italic "PAID" (TOC-200) on blue folded letter to San Francisco; money letter endorsed "with $76 50/100", business contents datelined "Stockton Jan 10th 1851", Extremely Fine and rare, ex-Jessup, illustrated in Letters of Gold.Estimate $1,000 - 1,500.
ONE OF ONLY ABOUT A HALF-DOZEN OF THESE MARKINGS ON COVER, THIS BEING CERTAINLY ONE OF THE FINEST KNOWN.
Alexander H. Todd and E. W. Colt formed Todd and Company's Express following Benjamin L. Bryan's departure from Todd & Bryan's Express on Jul 13, 1850. E. W. Colt operated out of Stockton and served the southern mines through merchant agents, while A. H. Todd anchored the operation in San Francisco. They connected in San Francisco with Adams & Company and in Sacramento with Hawley & Company. Later, they also connected with both Freeman and Reynolds & Company in Sacramento. They extended a line, by steamer, to Portland and Oregon City and brought L. W. Newell into the partnership to work out of Sonora. The partnership disbanded in Oct, 1851 with Colt and Newell taking the Oregon California express operation, as Newell & Company. Todd then combined the remaining California operation with Reynolds & Company to form Reynolds, Todd & Co.'s Express.
Realized: $2,200