Western Americana -- Kansas
Rare 1859 Photograph of Stages of the Leavenworth and Pikes Peak Express Company.

Anonymous, 3 7/8 x 5 1/4 in. salted paper photograph on 7 x 8 3/8 in. cardstock mount. Verso pencil inscription reads, "Arrival of the first Choaches [sic] from Denver April 1859. Presented to Mrs. Eviline [sic] Lowry by her grandmother Mrs. S.S. Jones."

A rare, and probably unique photograph of stagecoaches posed before a four story brick building, tentatively identified as the Planter's Hotel in Leavenworth, Kansas, a partially visible sign of the "[Unite]d States Express Company" and "...Office Kansas".

In 1858, William H. Russell conceived of a daily stagecoach route between Leavenworth, Kansas and Denver, Colorado, connecting the Missouri River with the recently opened Rocky Mountain goldfields. Initially called the "Leavenworth and Pikes Peak Express Company" the company was incorporated in February 1859, and the first stage arrived in Denver on May 17, 1859. This photograph, supposedly dating to April, 1859, may represent the departure of a coach that would arrive in Denver a month later.

Beset with financial and Indian problems, the Pikes Peak Express Company lasted a mere three months before it was reorganized as the Central Overland and California Express Company, the parent company of the Pony Express.

Evaline Lowry Benjamin (1869-1954) was the granddaughter of John Stykes Jones (1811-1876), one of Russell's original investors in the Pikes Peak Express Company.

An exceptionally rare photograph.

This lot is located in Cincinnati.

Some discoloration and spotting to print. Print mounted at an angle. Mount with significant soiling, spotting, and wear/loss to edges and corners.

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Please email [email protected] for any additional information or questions you may have regarding this lot.

Katie Horstman

VP, Head of Department, American Historical Ephemera and Early Photography

[email protected]513.666.4958

Ms. Horstman has spent over a decade specializing in historic photography and Americana at auction. During her tenure, she has overseen several notable single owner auctions, including property from the inventory of celebrated Americana and antique arms expert Norm Flayderman. During her time with the firm, she has maintained an active membership in the Daguerreian Society. Ms. Horstman holds an MA in Art History from the University of Cincinnati and a BA in Art History from The Ohio State University.

Visions of America: The Stephen White Collection

Western Americana -- Kansas
Rare 1859 Photograph of Stages of the Leavenworth and Pikes Peak Express Company.

Visions of America: The Stephen White Collection

Western Americana -- KansasRare 1859 Photograph of Stages of the Leavenworth and Pikes Peak Express Company.

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Western Americana -- Kansas
Rare 1859 Photograph of Stages of the Leavenworth and Pikes Peak Express Company.