Featured in this lot is this framed envelope from the Pony Express from 1860-1861. The Pony Express was a short-lived but iconic mail service that operated in the American West from April 3, 1860 to October 24, 1861. It was built to offer quick letter delivery across the almost 2,000-mile distance between St. Joseph, Missouri, and Sacramento, California, at a time when communication across the continent could take weeks or even months. The Pony Express, founded by Russell, Majors & Waddell, a freight and logistics corporation, was an audacious attempt to increase communication with the quickly expanding western states, particularly California. The path passed through the enormous and often perilous terrain of the Great Plains, Rocky Mountains, and Sierra Nevada. Along the way, relay stations were established every 10–15 miles, where riders would switch to fresh horses. Every 75–100 miles, a new rider would take over, ensuring that the mail could travel nearly 250 miles per day, an astonishing speed at the time. Though the Pony Express became famous for its daring speed and bravery in delivering mail in as few as 10 days, it was a financial failure. The company faced enormous operational costs, continual dangers from weather, geography, and Native American resistance, and it never received the government postal contract it had hoped for. Its demise occurred quickly, with the completion of the transcontinental telegraph on October 24, 1861, rendering rapid long-distance communication by horse obsolete. This letter is marked on the top reading, "Paid For Pony Express" and is stamped with a "Central Overland California & Pike Peak Express Company" stamp in the top left corner. It was being sent to a San Francisco, California address to a C.H. Burlon. Th envelope is set in a wood frame and sits behind glass to preserve its condition. It shows burn marks on the right hand side but no other signs of damage noted. The envelope measures 3 1/4" L x 4 1/4" W, while the entire piece measures 7 7/8" L x 9 1/2" W x 1 5/8" D. It weighs 1 pound. Provenance: From the Tombstone Western Heritage Museum in Tombstone, Arizona. EX23