Cover Calendar For Month And Day -Pics

Nice postmark!
"a date which will live in infamy" and great address. Love the coincidence.

I first saw today's cover in Schuyler Rumsey's Dec 2002 sale 14 as auction lot #607 described as;
"Wells Fargo & CO/ Ophir, blue oval handstamp (Leutz.1-17) with matching "Free"in double line oval (Leutz.7-7) on cover with manuscript Bucksport, Cal postmark of origin & manuscript 5 rate to Gold Hill with masonic address, perhaps the reason Wells, Fargo & Co carried the cover free."
I picked this cover up a few years later from a dealer in California who had added a sticker on the sleeve the cover was in saying 1 recorded. The Williams listing shows an early and late date. The only clues as to year date of this cover is the 5 cent rate (if it isn't a 3) and the fact the Well's, Fargo & Co carried the cover from Ophir to Gold Hill. Possibly because there was no postal route from Ophir to Gold Hill?
Was there an inter California 5 cent rate?
Any help in establishing a year date for this cover will be greatly appreciated !

The Williams book gives the town name, opening and closing dates, the catalog number, earliest and latest uses and any notes on the postmark
Bucksport 1 Sep 52 - 15 Apr 63
Hum 1000 ms 10 May 52 Buck's Port
Hum 1010 ms 4 May 55 4 Aug 61 Bucksport

Here's an interesting Wells Fargo & Co postal Notice on a Jefferson Postal card. It has been canceled but without any town mark, just a hand carved cork in blue ink. A local cancelation?

Two covers from Humboldt county and 3 postcards from Mendocino county for yesterday and today.
Ugly as it is, this card from Point Arena is the closest I have found to the Jan 9, 1889 date that Punta Areanas ( Mendocino county's oldest PO still operating) became Point Arena. The earliest known use of this postmark (Men 3000) is Dec 26 1889, almost a year after the name change. This office has been open since Jun 2 1858. It is also addressed to Iversen, a town that was named for my Grandmother's great uncle.




During the early 1900's, the California State Library requested a report from all high schools on the schools library. Here is the Covelo reply card.






For today, from Arcata, a Columbian entire with a corner card, a scarce Camp Grant postmark that has been "enhanced" with a pencil, and a Hardy postmark used as a receiver.

I am glad that the Elgin/Boyd family kept their postcard correspondence, but do wish that they had been better at saving them. Of course Clyde could have carried this card around with him for a couple of days before he wrote and sent it. Beat up and creased but bearing a nice strike of Salsig's doane cancel.

A single Christmas post card from Bulwinke in Humboldt county.

A single cover from Albion to Gualala that used to have two nice receivers on the back until they were scorched by an iron or something. It's not a stain, the paper is very brittle there. A real shame, the Point Arena REC'D is recorded as Men 3030 in the Williams Postmark book, but the Gualala REC'D is not, can still measure its size (1c 31.5mm-11L) but couldn't clean up the scan of it.

Today's postcard was mailed from Gualala to Ornbaum, two of the southern most town in Mendocino county. Looking at my 1900 Mendocino count map Gualala in at the western end of Fishrock Road and Ornbaum at the eastern end. Positively the worst road in the county and it is still open!
I've also included a photo of Gualala's mill from an un used post card.

This letter is addressed to the Revd Thos Richards, Alcombe near Minehead Somerset, and was written by two people, first G. H. Goodman, and then by James Richards. It is written on black-edged paper, signifying a 'mourning' letter.

London receiving stamp morning duty EX 22 DE 22 1838.



Happy 178th birthday.

The full letter and information is on this link to our non commercial website.

-/letters/Victorian/richard.html

Regards
Ron and Eunice

oops, have fallen behind! "tis the season"
Dec 20









Yesterday;



This is quite a load of redwood logs on this train. An awful lot of lumber! I'd bet that there was some beautiful curly grain in that first log behind the engine, that "butt" has quite a twist in it.







And today;










And this last card has an early Red ross Christmas seal on it, tied.

Entire from Kelso dated inside 22nd December 1834. Kelso date stamp 23 DE 1834 and Edinburgh receiving stamp DEC H 23 A 1834. Addressed to Mr. John McKean, Scottish Widows' Fund and Life Assurance Society's Office 2 South St. David Street, Edinburgh. This was amended to read 5 St. Andrews Square.


CONFIDENTIAL.
Scottish Widows' Fund and Life Assurance Agency.
Kelso 22nd Decr 1834
Sir,
A proposal having been made for effecting an Insurance with the Scottish Widows' Fund and Life Assurance Society, on the Life of Margaret Lauder residenter in Kelso * and reference having been made to you to ascertain the general and present state of health of the party, I have to request the favour that you will make answers to the Queries annexed, and transmit the same to the Office in Edinburgh, according to the address on the back hereof.
You may depend upon whatever information you may communicate, being considered to be strictly confidential.
I am,
Sir,
Your most obedient Servant,
John Waldis? Agent.
* Sister to John Lauder Vintner in Kelso.

Eureka, HB Cal, an early cover from Eureka, Humboldt Bay. This was Eureka's second town mark, the first was manuscript. This CDS (Williams # Hum 1630) was in use from Apr 4 1856 until Nov 13 1858. If I could believe the penciled in 1858 in the lower left corner, I might have a new late date, but there are no contents nor docketing on the back to help fix a year to this cover.





I also have four postcard for the date, three of them from Casper, two to the same person. Season Greetings from Caspar Cal!















The last card is from Loomis, Cal to Hardy and Hardy used Their CDS as a receiver leaving a partial postmark,

Another busy day, four [post card and a cover with a Lumber Co corner card.
Elgin/Boyd; A quick note about these, have 48 card from this family, while they moved form Mendocino county to Humboldt following the logging work. M A Boyd in Albion is the mother, this card is to her grandson. One of those 48 card was Harold's first card to Grandma. This card isn't exactly seasons greetings!







This one is.







The next cards two may seem familiar, two cards yesterday were addresses to her!











And the Fortuna Lumber company cover, taking care of some banking business.

Entire letter from Glasgow, dated inside 24th December 1821 and addressed to James Dundas Esqr W.S. Edinburgh.

Glasgow 24 Dec 1820
Dear Sir,
I was favourd with your letter of the 21st on the morning of the day of Lady Stuart's ? funeral, it's contents I communicated to my Brother William and our friends present at the opening of her Ladyships Repositories. We agreed that Mr William Wilson should transmit fittings taken down at the opening of the repositories with the Entails of the Casilinelk & Melton Estates with some of the Documents. When you have had leisure to look into them I should be glad to hear from you. In the meantime it is my duty to pay every proper attention to Mrs R Crawfords interest.
I am Dear Sir
Yours very truly
Charles Stirling




Note the Dec 25th (Christmas Day) datestamp.

Yesterday the first postcard I showed was from grandmother M A Boyd in Albion, Mendocino Co to grandson Harold B Elgin in Scotia, Humboldt Co. Today Grandma as moved 4 miles north to Little River and is in more of a holiday mood.











This postcard should have been posted two days ago, postmarked in Northspur on Saturday Dec 23 1911 at 1 pm, picked up by the conductor of the Westbound afternoon California Western train. It was carried past Duffey (which was down a 2 mile spur) near Gracy and the 21 miles west through the Noyo River canyon into Fort Bragg where it was postmarked on Monday Dec 25 1911 at 7 AM and back into a mail bag and onto the Eastbound CWRR and out the 18 miles to Duffey. Two days to travel 39 miles to be delivered 3 miles from it's origin. CWRR wasn't a RPO and had no mail car.









This is the foot bridge across the Noyo River at Northspur. Unfortunately, not postmarked though it may have been sent under cover as it has a descriptive message on it. (would love to find that, covers are quite scare from the towns along the CWRR or the "Skunk Line" as it was called.)








More on the Skunk Line.

http://www.mendorailhistory.org/1_t...unk_line.htm