The Butterfield Overland Mail 1857-1869. Its Organization and Operation Over the Southern Route to 1861; Subsequently Over The Central Route To 1866; and Under Wells, Fargo and Company In 1869
Glendale, CA: Arthur H. Clark, 1947.
First Edition. Hardcover. Very good. Three-volume set (2 text vols + atlas). American Trails Series III, IV, and V. Three volumes in original red cloth. A very good set with some uneven sunning to spines, a few bumped corners, previous owner's name on each front endpaper. The Butterfield Overland Mail Company operated from 1858 to 1861 under contract with the U.S. Postal Department, providing transportation of U.S. mail and stagecoach service from Memphis, Tennessee, and St. Louis, Missouri, to San Francisco. The routes from each eastern terminus met at Fort Smith, Arkansas, and then continued through Indian Territory (Oklahoma), Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Mexico, and California ending in San Francisco. Clark and Brunet 58: "The Conklings began their research in the 1920s and continued it up to the time of publication. What began as a history of the organization quickly evolved into the primary source of information on...the first great overland postal service from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Coast. [The authors] travelled over 65,000 miles and took 4000 photographs, as well as interviewing those with personal, first-hand knowledge to document its path."
Item #22766
Price: $600.00