WESTERN EXPANSION continued...
BANNACK CITY EXPRESSES AND 1864 IDAHO MINES ROUTES continued...
| Lot |
Symbol |
CatNo. |
Lot Description |
CV or Estimate |
| 681 |
 |
|
Bannack City Express, bold semi-circular handstamp on cover to Miss Ann M. Woodruff at Newton, Iowa, cover with light stains and stamp cut out and replaced, very
fine strike; lot also includes four other faulty covers to the same recipient, one with manuscript "Bannack City Exp" endorsement with 3c Rose (#65) that entered the mails with "Salt Lake City, U.T./Apr 16" datestamp, another one with manuscript
"Bannack City Express/Feby 9, 1863" endorsement that entered the mails with manuscript "Brigham/July 24" postmark, plus seven letters to his sister, two 1862 from Great Salt lake City, three 1863 from Bannack City, one 1866 from Fort Kearny and one
1870's from Leavenworth.The February 11th, 1863 letter by Mr. Woodruff from Bannack City reads in part: "...I have heard the Ex (Express) by which the last one (letter) was sent was killed by the Indians...Our first work was to build a
cabin...Since then I have been engaged in mining...prospects so far are flattering...The next claim below us will probably yield Ten Thousand dollars...Those owning claims who are washing with rockers are making from 5 to 50 dollars per day...I have
seen as high as 21 dollars panned out of one pan of dirt and from 4 to 10 dollars is not uncommon..." (imagea)
(Image) |
Est. $1,000-1,500
SOLD for $1,150.00
Will close during Public Auction |
| 682 |
 |
|
Bannack City Express, bold semi-circular handstamp on orange cover to Durand, Illinois with 3c Rose (#65, rubbed) cancelled by manuscript "X", accompanied by the
original four page letter datelined "Bannack City Idaho Territory May 23/63", cover reduced at left, an extremely fine strike of this rare express company handstamp.Bannack City was established shortly after gold was discovered on Grasshopper Creek
in August, 1862. At this time it was located in the Dakota Territory, until the formation of Idaho Territory on 3 March, 1863, thence to Montana Territory on 26 May, 1854. Prior to the establishment of the Post Office on 21 November, 1863 Bannack
City Express carried most of the mail via Salt Lake City. (Image) |
Est. $3,000-4,000
SOLD for $3,500.00
Will close during Public Auction |
| 683 |
 |
|
A.J. Oliver & Co's Bannock and Salt Lake City Express, well struck oval handstamp on cover inbound to Bannack City, Idaho with 3c Rose (#65, crease) tied by double
circle "St. Louis, Mo/Oct 31" datestamp, with original letter datelined at "Washington City, D.C., Sept 23, 1863," portion of flap missing, very fine.This cover originated at St. Louis on Oct. 31, 1863 and was carried to Salt Lake City in the U.S.
Mails, where it was turned over to The Bannock City Express. However, the letter it contained originated at Washington, D.C. Thomas Adams who was one of the early pioneers and had prospected for gold wrote it. In May of 1858 he was with James and
Granville Stuart, when they made the effective discovery that started the gold rush in Montana. In the letter, Adams wants Granville to write and give the news about their friends and the "prosperity of the country....I shall defer my trip [to
Montana] until spring when I shall come up the [Missouri] river in a boat, the Sioux [Indians] to the contrary not withstanding .... When, you write turn the letters over to Tom Pitt and he will pay the Express fees....I would be glad to pay the
highest rates for the sake of a letter....". He says he will enclose this letter "to St. Louis so that Seaman who is to leave on Monday next may take it to Bannock". Apparently M. Seaman did not go, but placed the letter in the envelope
above and dropped it in the Post Office as per postmark. Seaman spelled Granville's last name Stewart instead of Stuart. This express was organized by A.J. Oliver, E.A. Conover and Ed House in 1863-64 and operated under the name of A.J. Oliver &
Company. They ran a line of stages carrying the U.S. Mail and passengers between Salt Lake City and Bannack City, into the mining camps of southwestern Montana. The line was sold to Holladay Overland Mail & Express Company in 1866. (Image) |
Est. $2,000-3,000
SOLD for $9,000.00
Will close during Public Auction |
| 684 |
 |
|
The Holladay Company Overland Mail and Express, Paid, printed frank on 3c Pink entire (#U34) to San Francisco cancelled by two strikes of blue oval "Wells, Fargo &
Co./Idaho City, I.T./Dec 27" datestamp, very fine conjunctive use during Holladay ownership. (Image) |
Est. $400-500
SOLD for $900.00
Will close during Public Auction |
INLAND WATERWAY ROUTES
| Lot |
Symbol |
CatNo. |
Lot Description |
CV or Estimate |
| 685 |
|
|
[Bellvue] Aquatint Engraving "Bellvue / Mr. Dougherty's Agency on the Missouri" C. Bodmer, painter, Bougeard, publisher, Salathe, engraver. Holscher in Koblenz,
Ackermann in London, Bertrand in Paris, [1839-40]. Embossed "C. Bodmer" at bottom. Vignette XXXI from Maximilian of Wied's Travels in the Interior of North America. 11.5" x 15.75". One corner of margin damaged. Matted. Bellvue was a fur
trading post that grew as the westward migration picked up momentum, and is now the town of that name in Nebraska. (Image) |
Est. $400-500
SOLD for $350.00
Will close during Public Auction |
| 686 |
|
|
[Upper Missouri] Major aquatint Engraving "The Elkhorn Pyramid on the upper Missouri" C. Bodmer, painter, Bougeard, publisher, Fournier, engraver. Holscher in Koblenz,
Ackermann in London, Bertrand in Paris, [1839-42]. Embossed "C. Bodmer" at bottom. Vignette XXI from Maximilian of Wied's Travels in the Interior of North America. 11.5" x 15.75". Some bumping of blank margins, matting traces at top. (Image) |
Est. $400-500
SOLD for $800.00
Will close during Public Auction |
| 687 |
 |
|
[First Steamboats on the Missouri] Pair of autograph letters signed by Lt. Isaac Clark, St. Louis, June 11, 1819, and Belle Fontaine (at the confluence of the
Mississippi and Missouri Rivers), February 16, 1821. Both are to his father in Castleton, Vermont. The first has a June 13 straight-line St. Louis postmark, and the second a circular February 17 "St. Louis Mo. T." postmark; both are rated at 25
cents. In the first, he complains of government agents, for "not a particle of provisions or stores...were to be found in this place on my arrival destined for that [Missouri] expedition...I have succeeded so far in procuring stores as to
be able to start the Rifle Regiment, in two days more. The 2nd Regt will follow in about fifteen days. The Missouri is a grand & noble stream but the difficulty in navigating is almost insurmounable...The 2nd Regt will go in steamboats if it is
possible. Their calculation is to go to Council bluffs this season 250 miles from this & about 400 miles above any settlements. I am now trying to contract for one hundred head of cattle." He also gives an account of the bustling and overpriced
young town of St. Louis.In the second letter, he has not received or sent mail because "the country has been almost inundated between this & Vincennes one hundred & Eighty miles...I view this climate as very unfavorable to persons subject to
Billous habits and in fact to any person bred in the frozen regions of the North...I shall never enjoy good health again...General [Henry] Atkinson...has placed me in command of this post...It gives me double rations and I also draw the
additional pay of asst Commissary. I have been entitled to promotion from March last...Should the Army not be reduced I shall leave this post in March for the Council bluffs...We shall ascend the river in Boats...against the strongest current in the
World." The expedition in question, under the overall command of Gen. Atkinson, attempted to ascend the Missouri River to the Yellowstone. The current defeated their efforts and they had to turn back at Cow Island, near present-day Atchison,
Kansas. It would not be until 1831 that a steamboat was able to ascend beyond Council Bluffs to the Yellowstone. (imagea)
(Image) |
Est. $500-750
SOLD for $800.00
Will close during Public Auction |
| 688 |
|
|
[Yellow Stone] Aquatint Engraving "The Steamer Yellow-Stone on the 19th April 1833" C. Bodmer, painter, Bougeard, publisher, Lucas Weber, engraver. Holscher in Koblenz,
Ackermann in London, Bertrand in Paris, 1840. Bodmer blindstamp is presumed, but below mat. Tableau 4. Matted under glass in a handsome modern frame, overall size 21.5" x 22.75". (Image) |
Est. $1,000-1,500
SOLD for $2,600.00
Will close during Public Auction |
| 689 |
 |
|
[By Steamboat Yellowstone] August 5th, 1832 folded letter with integral address leaf written while on board the Yellowstone and datelined "Steam boat Yellowstone, 8
August 1832" to St. Louis, Missouri, with manuscript "By S. Boat Yellowstone" directive, some minor aging, very fine; the earliest upper Missouri River steamboat cover known.The letter was written on board the steam boat by R.P. Beauchamp, a
sub-agent under John Dougherty at the Upper Missouri Indian Agency at Bellevue (Nebraska), who was on his way up river. He writes: "On the evening of the 2nd Ist. the boat which I am now on reached Fort Leavenworth...I went on board the same night
& slept in the boat...Left in the morning of the 3rd Inst. and this is now the 8th day...we shall get to the end of our trip in two days more...11th August, we got up yesterday morning." Beauchamp's destination is not mentioned, but it was most
probably the Indian Agency at Bellevue. Here the boat probably turned back to St. Louis with this letter. Beauchamp died from cholera at Belleview in August of 1833.The steamboat Yellowstone was built for the American Fur Company at
Louisville, Kentucky in 1831. She was 130 by 19 feet with a 6 foot hold and a register of 144 tons. The Yellowstone was the first steamboat to ascend the Missouri River above Council Bluffs to Fort Union at the mouth of the Yellowstone River
in Montana. On 23 March, 1832 she left St. Louis, arrived at Fort Union about 17 June and was back in St. Louis 7 July. This voyage has been called a landmark in the history of the west because it proved that steamboats could navigate the Missouri
all the way up to the mouth of the Yellowstone. She was lost in 1837. (Image) |
Est. $4,000-5,000
SOLD for $10,000.00
Will close during Public Auction |
| 690 |
 |
|
[Ft Clark/ 11th March, By Express], Mandan Village (Dakota), March 11th, 1832 dated folded letter with integral address leaf to Fort Tecumseh (close to Fort
Pierre on the present day site of Pierre, South Dakota), with manuscript "Ft. Clark/11th March" and "Express" directive, carried to Fort Tecumseh by an express of the American Fur Co., extremely fine; the earliest recorded letter to bear a manuscript
transit marking from the Upper Missouri Country, long before the establishment of the Dakota Territory in 1861.Letter written by David Dawson Mitchell, the agent in charge, to his counterpart, William Laidlaw. Mitchell writes: ”...the arrival of
an Express from Fort Union enables me to put you in possession of what little news we have at this place ...The hunting season is now over...trade will be much better ...I will send down my men as you request to bring up the Louisville (steamboat) on
the breaking up of the ice. Mr. Cerre (Gabriel Pascal) writes me word that it will be impossible for him to make cannoes to decend for want of skins. So I have requested him to send Lachapelle (Dominique) to this place - when I would Endeavour to
furnish skins for at least one cannoe - for Lachapelle to go down as far as the Rees (Indians) - Suposing it would be necessary for him to be there as early as possible to commence his trade for fear of oposition - his presence will encourage the
Indians to dress their Robes ...from what Lachapelle tells me the Yanctona (Indians) returns will be very poor...” (Image) |
Est. $5,000-7,500
SOLD for $20,000.00
Will close during Public Auction |
| 691 |
 |
|
Upper Missouri River steamboat collection of fourteen covers augmented with steamboat illustrated Bills of Lading, letterhead, advertisements, picture post cards and
even a ticket, mostly mounted on exhibition pages, includes Benton corner card cover with "Fort Yates,/Dakota/Nov 11 1879" datestamp and gorgeous all-over steamboat illustrated advertisement on reverse and another with Bismark postmark, plus
their 1881 annual pass and an advertising pamphlet, Far West steamboat illustrated corner card cover, Key West corner card cover, Red Cloud corner card cover, Nellie Peck all-over steamboat illustrated advertising cover in
pink, Iron City all-over steamboat illustrated cover in green, White Swan steamboat illustrated corner card cover and much more, some typical faults, much is fine-very fine. (imagea)
(Image) |
Est. $2,000-3,000
SOLD for $17,000.00
Will close during Public Auction |
STEAMBOATS
| Lot |
Symbol |
CatNo. |
Lot Description |
CV or Estimate |
| 692 |
 |
|
Lloyd's Steamboat Directory and Disasters on the Western Waters, Lloyd, James T. Cincinnati, Lloyd & Co., 1856. First edition. 8vo, original cloth with gilt illustration, spine., rebacked., light
foxing. (Image) |
Est. $300-400
SOLD for $2,000.00
Will close during Public Auction |
| 693 |
 |
|
[Steamer Illustrated Postmark], Windsor Locks/Ct., beautiful highly detailed strike in red of this steamboat illustrated town postmark with manuscript "Apr 8" date on
1844 folded letter with integral address leaf to North Granby, Ct. with manuscript "6" rate, extremely fine and choice; ex-Haas. (Image) |
Est. $1,000-1,500
SOLD for $3,500.00
Will close during Public Auction |
| 694 |
 |
|
Steamboat illustrated cameo corner card in blue for Wilcus, Noble & Co., House, Sign, Steamboat & Ornamental Painters, etc. in St. Louis, Mo. on yellow cover to Newark
Valley, N.Y. franked by 3c Dull red (#26) tied by "Saint Louis, Mo./Jan 7 1858" datestamp, very fine and handsome. (Image) |
Est. $500-750
SOLD for $1,250.00
Will close during Public Auction |
| 695 |
 |
|
[St. Louis & Keokuk Route Agent] "J. Deans" manuscript endorsement on 1856 prices current to Maconet, Ill. franked by 1c Blue, Ty. V (#9), ample to mostly large
margins all around, tied by mostly clear strike of scarce blue "St. Ls. & Kk Steamers/May 2" St. Louis & Keokuk route agent's datestamp, very fine.The Jeannie Deans was a side-wheeler of 485 tons, built at McKeesport, Pa. in 1852, she burned
at Carondelet, Missouri in 1866. (Image) |
Est. $500-750
SOLD for $1,400.00
Will close during Public Auction |
| 696 |
 |
|
Inland waterway Route Agent's postmarks, group of eleven covers bearing Route Agent postmarks, mostly from Mississippi River routes, comprised of: "Dub. & St. Paul/R. Mail"
(1869), large "Louisville & Cincinnati/Mail Line/5" (1852), blue "Paducah & Waterloo/Tenn River" (1882) with "A/AAA/A" killer, "St Louis & Keokuk/Steam." (1856), manuscript "K & D S B Rt" (1862) for Keokuk & Davenport Steam Boat Route, manuscript
"St. Louis & Memphis Mail Route" (1864), blue "Vicksburg & N.O. M. Line/R.R." (1873), "W & P River Mail" (1850's) for Wheeling and Park River Mail, "Wheeling & Park River Mail" (1850's), "U.S. Mail/Packet/Natchez" (1850's) and ending with
"Route/7309", some faults, mostly fine-very fine with strong readable strikes. (Image) |
Est. $1,000-1,500
SOLD for $1,600.00
Will close during Public Auction |
| 697 |
 |
|
From Steamer/Aline, bold red double oval handstamp on 10 May 1859 folded letter with integral address leaf to New Orleans, originated in Havre, France with
vertical strip of four France 1854 20c Blue on bluish (#15, top stamp crease), ample to mostly huge margins all around, tied by "1495" in diamond of dots cancel and matching double circle "Le Havre/10 Mai 59" datestamp, directed "Par Vanderbilt," red
New York exchange office postmark also ties the stamps, upon arrival in New Orleans it was forwarded outside the mails, to Washington, Louisiana via the steamboat Aline, very fine.The Aline was a sternwheeler of 175 tons built in 1858
at Jeffersonville, Indiana for the Mississippi trade. It was taken over by the Confederates during the Civil war in 1861. (Image) |
Est. $1,500-2,000
SOLD for $4,250.00
Will close during Public Auction |
| 698 |
 |
|
Steamboat/Andrew/Jackson, bold boxed handstamp on February 29, 1848 folded letter with integral address leaf to Cincinnati, endorsed "pr Andrew Jackson" at lower
left, red "Cincinnati O./Mar 11/10" integral rate datestamp and matching straightline "STEAM" applied on arrival; fewer than three reported examples; very fine.The Andrew Jackson was a side-wheeler of 229 tons built at Cincinnati in 1845 for
the Ohio river trade, she was lost in 1850. (Image) |
Est. $750-1,000
SOLD for $2,200.00
Will close during Public Auction |
| 699 |
 |
|
Saint Louis and Keokuk/Packet Company./Steamer Andy Johnson/H.W. Brolaski, Master Ben W. Clark, Clerk., green steamboat illustrated corner card on cover franked by 3c
Rose (#65) cancelled by multiple colored pencil strokes, to Iowa City, with original letter written on their illustrated letterhead while on board the Andy Johnson at Keokuk landing on August 5, 1866, entered the mails as a way letter with
pencil "Way/Aug 6/66" notation, forwarded to Iowa City via the Mississippi & Missouri Railroad as per pencil "M + M R.R., Iowa/Aug 7, 1866" route agents notation, very fine; a particularly interesting and unusual usage.The Andy Johnson was a
side-wheeler of 844 tons built in 1866 at Madison, Indiana for the Keokuk Packet Company. She was crushed in the ice gorge at St. Louis on December 13, 1876. (imagea)
(Image) |
Est. $500-750
SOLD for $3,250.00
Will close during Public Auction |
| 700 |
 |
|
St. Louis, Cairo and New Orleans/Railroad Line Steamer/CHAMPION/E.B. Moore, Capt Duval W. Young, Clerk/Leaves New Orleans for/Cairo and St. Louis/ Mar 25, large
octagonal steamer illustrated handstamp on 3c Red on buff entire (#U10) from the Carroll, Hoy correspondence to New Orleans, indicia cancelled by straightline "STEAM" handstamp and with matching "New Orleans, La/Mar 22, 1859" datestamp, extremely
fine and choice strike; ex-Kapiloff, Haas and Jarrett. (Image) |
Est. $2,000-3,000
SOLD for $9,500.00
Will close during Public Auction |
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