William H. Russell. One of the three co-founders of the Pony Express, "Free W. H. Russell" free frank (for Pony Express fee) on 3¢ Red on Buff Star Die entire (U27) addressed in his hand to Judge William A. Carter, the station agent at Fort Bridger, Utah Territory (later in Wyoming Territory), "The Central Overland California & Pikes Peak Express Company, St. Joseph, Mo. Sep. 30" (1860) oval datestamp applied at origin, receipt docketing on back "Recd. Oct. 6th /60" which confirms a six-day Pony Express trip starting at St. Joseph on Sunday, September 30, 1860, reduced and opening faults at right

FINE AND ATTRACTIVE WESTBOUND PONY EXPRESS COVER FROM WILLIAM H. RUSSELL, ONE OF THE THREE FOUNDERS, TO JUDGE WILLIAM A. CARTER, KNOWN AS "MR. FORT BRIDGER." ONLY THREE PONY COVERS ARE RECORDED WITH WILLIAM H. RUSSELL FRANKING SIGNATURE.

Only three of the 16 recorded Pony Express covers with any form of free frank are signed by William H. Russell (FKW W2, W15A and W24). All were carried on westbound trips. The earliest (FKW W2) is the Stebbins Line Telegraph imprint cover with a St. Joseph Running Pony oval dated May 6 (1860), which our firm sold in the William H. Gross United States Stamp Treasures sale in October 2018 (Sale 1188, lot 51). The cover listed as FKW W24 is a plain envelope addressed to J. E. Bromley, the division superintendent at South Pass, with a November 22 (1860) St. Joseph Running Pony oval, which was sold in our 2009 sale of the Thurston Twigg-Smith collection (Sale 979, lot 8). The cover offered here was recently listed as W15A in the online FKW census on the basis of the receipt docketing dated October 6, 1860. It traveled over the 1,041-mile route from St. Joseph to Fort Bridger in six days, a speed attainable only by the Pony Express.

The addressee, William A. Carter (1818-1881), was born in Virginia and served as a soldier and sutler in Florida during the Seminole wars. He came to Fort Bridger in 1857 with the Utah Expedition and remained there until his death, with active interests in provisioning, mining, lumbering, and ranching. He served as postmaster and probate judge. In 1860 and 1861 he was COC&PP's Fort Bridger station agent on the Central Route. Carter's ledger of Pony Express arrivals and departures is in private hands.

FKW Census W15A. Illustrated in Coburn, Letters of Gold (page 254). Ex Haas.

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