Lot
86 
(San Francisco) San Francisco, Cal, Feb 13, 1864. Double circle postmark with duplexed circled grid ties 1861 1¢ blue pair and single on folded letter to Overland Mail Company Agent Hiram S. Rumfield in Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, excellent letter from the Bremen Consul in San Francisco reads "I am obliged to Messrs. Wells Fargo + Co. here for your address. Mr. William Gildemeister, German by birth, about 30 years of age, left New York about the middle of September apparently in order to travel across the country to this place, and has never been heard of since. At first I thought he had taken company with one of the many [wagon] trains coming over, but have ascertained since that they always start during the months of April, May and June and therefore [I] have come to the conclusion that Mr. Gildemeister must have taken the Overland Mail Route…. Mr. Gildemeister is of a highly respectable family, which is very anxious to hear from him, as I received a telegraphic dispatch this morning from New York in regard to him…. [I] would feel much obliged to you if you would make some inquiries about the said Mr. Gildemeister in order to find out… where he is and what has become of him.", Very Fine. Estimate $200 - 300.
At the time this letter was written, the Overland Mail Company was the stage company responsible for carrying passengers and mail on the western half of the Central Overland Route. The Holladay Overland Mail and Express Company, as subcontractor to the Overland Mail Company, was responsible for the eastern half of the route. Salt Lake City was the division point. The Overland Mail Company was controlled by Wells Fargo.
Realized: $375