Lot Details

Wells, Fargo & Co, Pony Express, $2.00 red, four good to large margins, on 10c Nesbitt entire (U18)  to Lucien Birdseye in New York, with two red Wells, Fargo & Co. printed franks overtop green "Freeman & Co's" ribbon frank, adhesive tied by blue oval "Wells, Fargo, & Co Nevada / Jun 24", blue "Pony Express / Sacramento / Jun 27" datestamp alongside, clear "St. Joseph Mo / Jul 8" c.d.s. in green, the stamp with horizontal crease, cover with pressed crease, a most attractive and rare Pony Express cover; ex Dale-Lichtenstein, with 2021 Philatelic Foundation certificate. FWK Census E106.
 
In 1859, Wells Fargo purchased the Freeman Express Company, and put their envelopes to good use by overprinting the green Freeman frank with the red Wells Fargo frank. Such examples are scarce, with only eight examples recorded, and only four of which bear a $2.00 red franking.  This cover was carried via the eastbound Pony Express trip departing San Francisco on Wednesday, June 26, arriving in St. Joseph twelve days later; it is one of only two covers recorded in the Frajola-Walske-Kramer census from this journey.  Lucien Birdseye, the recipient of this correspondence, was a prominent New York attorney, who served as a Justice of the New York Supreme Court.