Sender's "Pony Express" Directive. Mostly complete blue folded letter addressed to B. Eugene Auger in San Francisco with "13th Novb" (1860) date notation at lower left of address panel, from Cesar Auguste Robert with report on wine market in France, blue "Cesar Aug. Robert New-York" double-oval handstamp, no other markings

VERY FINE. A RARE EXAMPLE OF PONY EXPRESS MAIL ORIGINATING OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES.

Cesar Auguste Robert, whose blue oval handstamp is struck at lower left, was a New York importer/exporter specializing in California and French wines. The addressee, B. Eugene Auger, was a French immigrant who became a successful wine merchant and producer in California. Robert and Auger engaged in extensive business correspondence related to the wine business.

This letter originated with Robert in France on November 13, 1860. It was probably carried from Le Havre to New York on the November 14, 1860, sailing of the Havre Line's Arago, which arrived on November 28. The Havre Line's two ships, Arago and Fulton, were commissioned as transport ships during the Civil War and did not return to service until late in 1865.

Allowing time for Robert's New York office to process the mail received from the Arago, this could have been transported to St. Joseph for the Thursday, December 6, 1860, westbound Pony trip. The December 6 mail was received in San Francisco on December 20, a slightly longer trip due to winter weather. However, Auger's name does not appear in the Daily Alta California's published lists of addressees for the Pony Express arrivals in December 1860 or January 1861. Since this letter bears no markings, it is possible that it was bundled with other letters and sent to another addressee in San Francisco for distribution. This type of mail without Pony Express markings is not listed in the FKW census--only a few are known.

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