LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2007 Collection of Western History #680  / 

74087

“PONY EXPRESS BIBLE”, RUSSELL, MAJORS & WADDELL

Currency:USD Category:Books / Antiquarian & Collectible Start Price:15,000.00 USD Estimated At:24,000.00 - 36,000.00 USD
“PONY EXPRESS BIBLE”, RUSSELL, MAJORS & WADDELL
<B>THE FAMOUS “PONY EXPRESS BIBLE”, RUSSELL, MAJORS & WADDELL ST. JOSEPH, MISSOURI; DENVER, COLORADO 1858</B></I><BR><BR>The <B>Pony Express</B></I> was a fast mail service crossing the North American continent from the Missouri River to the Pacific coast, operating from April 1860 to October 1861. Messages were carried on a horseback relay across the prairies, plains, deserts, and mountains of the western United States. It briefly reduced the time for mail to travel between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts to around ten days. By traveling a slightly shorter route and using mounted riders rather than stagecoaches, the founders of the Pony Express hoped to establish their service as a faster and more reliable conduit for the mail and win away the exclusive government mail contract.<BR><BR>Founded By William H. Russell, William B. Waddell, and Alexander Majors, it officially opened on April 3, 1860. The first trip, westbound, was made in 9 days and 23 hrs. The eastbound trip was made in 11 days and 12 hrs. Every 24 hrs they covered 250 mi. The Pony Express, established a year before the beginning of the American Civil War, reflected the need to provide fast and reliable communication with the West.<BR><BR>By 1860, the fastest route was the Butterfield Stage line from St. Louis, Missouri, through El Paso, Texas, which took 25 days. It was almost 600 miles (950 km) shorter to deliver the mail over a central or northern route. There were concerns, however, whether these alternatives were viable during the winter snows.<BR><BR>In 1854, Benjamin Franklin Ficklin, an employee of the firm of Russel, Major and Waddell is said to have first proposed a faster northern route to California Senator William M. Gwin. Russell, Majors and Waddell was one of the biggest outfitters for travelers on the Santa Fe and Oregon trails, operating out of a vast complex in the West Bottoms of Kansas City, Missouri. The firm also outfitted the army from its main western base at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.<BR><BR>In October 1857, Russell, Majors and Waddell faced financial ruin when Lot Smith and his Nauvoo Mormon Legion destroyed 54 of their wagons during the Utah War. The Army did not reimburse the firm, and the company began looking for other avenues for funds. In 1859, they bought from Ben Holladay the contract to deliver mail between Leavenworth and Salt Lake City, Utah.<BR><BR>On January 27, 1860, William Hepburn Russell wired the firm from Leavenworth that Gwin was supporting a contract for California service on the central route provided that it be delivered in 10 days and be ready to debut by April. They renamed their Leavenworth & Pike's Peak Express to the Central Overland California and Pike's Peak Express Company to attempt the feat.<BR><BR>The Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad had just opened in 1859 and was the first railroad to cross Missouri. It was 30 miles (48 km) up the Missouri River from Leavenworth in St. Joseph. It was determined that this would be the starting point for a rapid central mail route to California.<BR><BR>Alexander Majors and Ficklin assembled 190 relay stations over 1,966 miles from St. Joseph to Sacramento, along with 50 riders and 500 horses. They completed the task in time for the April 3, 1860, opening. Ficklin later clashed with Russell and quit the business in July 1860. He became one of the incorporators of the Pacific Telegraph Company.<BR><BR>Early in his freighting business, Alexander Majors adopted the unheard of practice of observing the Sabbath as a day of rest, and presented each of the riders with a small Bible. Later when establishing the Pony Express, Majors insisted that his hiring practices continue. Each employee was required to take an oath and each rider was presented with his own copy of a bible using up a stock of specially bound copies Majors had ordered for his company's wagon-train crews. Each Bible was imprinted in gold letters: "Presented by Russell, Majors & Waddell - 1858".<BR><BR>Forty-Fifth Annual Report of the AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY, presented May 9, 1861. Miscellaneous grants, To Messers. Major and Russell, 300 Bibles for distribution among their Pony Express Riders.<BR><BR>List of the known (1960) location of twelve copies of these Bibles:<BR> · Pony Express History and Art Gallery (2), San Rafael, California<BR> · Bancroft Library, Berkeley, California<BR> · The Society of California Pioneers, San Francisco, California<BR> · The California Historical Society, San Francisco, California<BR> · Mormon Station State Historical Monument, Genoa, Nevada (Currently it is in safe keeping in the state vaults.)<BR> · Sons of Utah Pioneers, Salt Lake City, Utah<BR> · Daughters of Utah Pioneers (2), Salt Lake City, Utah<BR> · State Historical Society of Colorado, Denver, Colorado<BR> · Denver City Library (Main), Denver, Colorado<BR> · Nebraska State Historical Society, Lincoln, Nebraska<BR> Heritage Auction, Dallas, Texas VERY RARE PONY EXPRESS BIBLE, for the serious collector.<BR><BR><B>Condition:</B></I> This copy is one of only twelve known Pony Express Bibles, it is very lightly signed in ink by the Pony Express Rider on the title page. It was published by the America Bible Society, New York, 1858. And is gold stamped on the leather cover "Presented by Russell, Majors & Waddell 1858" Certainly this Pony Express Rider would have been comforted by having this Bible in his saddle bag as he rode the line from St. Joseph to Denver to San Francisco. It is in very good condition, normal wear, some slight separation cover, leaf on inter page missing small paper, light foxing & sweat/water stains through out bible.<BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Books & Catalogs (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
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