Dick Wrona was our speaker at the September 13 meeting of the New York Chapter USPCS on the topic “Western Expansion, Crossing the Pacific.” His detailed PowerPoint went into many aspects of the trends that accelerated the expansion of the U.S. into the Pacific. Along the way, Dick showed many different covers that illustrated this expansion.
Some of the highlights included: Pair of 1851 three cent issue going from Stockton, CA to Maine via the Isthmus of Panama; Three cent 1857 issue tied Camp Floyd, Utah Territory to Panama; Cover privately carried from Mauritius and mailed from NYC to Boston; and a cover mailed from the U.S. to Shanghai, China with 24 and 30 cent 1861 issues. Dick also discussed U.S. trade with Asia and the whaling industry, including the use of different types of whale products.
Other fascinating covers included: 57 cent rate use from Connecticut to Japan via Hong Kong; cover carried by Adams Express from New Orleans to Australia via San Francisco; 10 cent 1861 issue used from Hawaii to Maine; postcard sent from Midway Island to US. via Hawaii; and a cover sent from Juneau, Alaska to San Francisco via the Northern Pacific Express Company.