The Pioneer Miner and The Pack Mule Express


The 1976 edition, by Ernest A. Wiltsee, 112 pages, Hard Cover.

Wiltsee treats the reader to the life of the early gold miner,
and compares the relation of the express companies
to life in the mining camps.

An appendix lists the names of 446 Western express companies,
and their dates of operation. Another appendix lists the locations
of all (less than 60) "Postal Stations," and over forty express
postal "covers" are pictured.



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OREGON EXPRESS COMPANIES

This book is AVAILABLE FOR SALE !!!

1985, by Dale E. Forster, 231 pages, Hard Cover, Number 235 of 500.

Competition among the postal services, telegraph companies, and express companies.
The narrative is divided into three periods, the early years, Western Oregon companies,
and Eastern Oregon companies, all between 1845 and 1870.

Black-and-white photos of the postal covers are pictured on page after page throughout the book!



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"Wells, Fargo & Co.'s Express - Looking Back In Time "


Many books have been written about Wells, Fargo & Co.'s Express, the Pony Express,
and other express companies. Most of these books deal with the history and the romance
of the period.

They provide us with a great deal of factual (and often conflicting) information,
and certainly a full measure of nostalgia.

Some of the better reference books are listed and discussed here.

If you are a casual collector of Wells Fargo antiques, then consider this excellent e-Book,
"LOOKING BACK IN TIME."

To obtain a copy, Click Here.


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"Company Property of Wells, Fargo & Co.'s Express, 1852-1918"

This book is AVAILABLE FOR SALE !!!

The value of reading these reference books is that it gives us a reservoir of knowledge, a "baseline,"
by which we can appreciate the significance of a property item, and assess its relative importance
in running the company's business.

Without this basic knowledge, a letter, handwritten on the company's public letterhead and signed
by one Charles E. Bowles, might foolishly be traded away for a common rate cutter or office seal.

If you are a serious collector of Wells, Fargo & Co.'s Express artifacts and relics,
then YOU NEED "COMPANY PROPERTY ...!"



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"Wells Fargo, An Illustrated History"

Sadly, many fine reference books are out of print and are difficult to find.
      Fortunately, some of these books are available on the internet, and at used bookstores from time to time.
          
A good reference book for you to consider: This book by Noel M. Loomis
               
There is perhaps no finer reference for the sheer abundance of facts and figures documented on a year-to-year basis.
      Any serious research of the company's express business would include reading Loomis.







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"The Parker Lyon - Harrah's Pony Express Museum"

Perhaps there are those among us who style themselves to be "advanced" enthusiasts of Western artifacts.
      They should take a casual glance at Greg Martin's magnificent book.

Parker Lyon's awesome inventory, slowly revealed at each turn of a page, brings us to a profound appreciation and awe
      of the immensity of Lyon's achievements.

We close this book humbled, and we must grope with the sadness that the parade is indeed over.

Parker Lyon knew that it was over, and he also knew that he was merely picking up the trash in its wake.
      With what then, do we busy ourselves?





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"Old West Antiques and Collectibles"

This is one of the few books that was written strictly for collectors. The chapter on the express companies was written by the noted Western expert, Tom Martin.

For more about Tom, Click Here!

Here, we will quote an exerpt from our book that Tom edited, "Company Property of Wells, Fargo & Co.'s Express 1852 - 1918:"

"Enjoy then, this most excellent reading, and if we chance to meet, let us together lament the passing of the stagecoach, and the dust that passed with it. Not the dust stirred up by the horses' hooves and the coaches' wheels, but the grains, the flakes, and the nuggets of gold.

Because of this dust, a company was born and prospered, and the hopes and aspirations of thousands of miners were scattered and lost, like the worthless grains of sand in the streams, and the dreams of only a scant few were made manifest."




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