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Adams Express Company Original Printing Plate -ONE OF A KIND! #108054

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Wells Fargo & Express Co's Memorabilia Start Price:500.00 USD Estimated At:1,000.00 - 3,000.00 USD
Adams Express Company Original Printing Plate  -ONE OF A KIND!  #108054
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Original Printing Plate for Adams Express Company of California Gold Rush fame. The house of Adams & Co. originated as an express company out of Boston, Massachusetts, the head of which was Alvin Adams, who started the business as a small package carrier after he was ruined financially by the crash of 1839. His business expanded quickly to New York, into the south and westward by rail. In 1849 he sent Daniel H. Haskell as a resident partner to establish a branch house in San Francisco. In a relatively short period of time Adams & Co as an express company, was making more and larger shipments of gold dust to New York than any other express house in California. In the course of a year or two, Adams bought out both Freeman & Co. and Newell & Co. and extended his routes throughout the state having an office and agent in every town and mining camp of importance in the country. [Ref: History of California by Theodore Henry Hittel, 1885] By 1855 Adam's business in California collapsed under scandal and lawsuits but the East Coast operations continued to flourish. This original, one of a kind printing plate comes with the proof specimen Letter Sheet from Adams Express Company with a New York dateline 186_ and pictorial of a shipping port with workers and cargo and original Adams Express cargo coach. Both are in excellent condition. The Plate is engraved by J. Garcide of Newark, N.J. Printed by National Bank Note Co. of New York. Incredible, unique Gold Rush, Express Company, Adams & Co. New York Collector's specimen! State: New York City: New York Date: 1860