Jun 12 at 12:00 PM - Sale 2708 -
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Sale 2708 - Lot 203

Estimate: $ 600 - $ 900
(WEST--DAKOTA TERRITORY.) Card for a Custer City hotel and ticket office for the "Sidney Short Route" stagecoach to Deadwood. Double-sided printed card, 2¾ x 4½ inches; minimal wear. Custer City, Dakota Territory, circa 1876
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Additional Details

Clarke's Centennial Express stagecoach and express service operated on the Sidney Short Route between Sidney, Nebraska and the Black Hills, launching in early 1876 during the Black Hills gold rush. The route went due north from Sidney, crossed a newly constructed bridge across the North Platte River, and then looped through the corner of Dakota Territory, hitting Custer, Deadwood, Rapid City and Buffalo Gap before returning. Outgoing mail was able to enter the postal system and reach the outside world through Sidney.

This card is for Booth's Hotel in Custer City, serving as "Sidney Stage Office, one door west of the Cheyenne State and Telegraph offices." On verso is a table of distances out of Custer City along its two stage routes: west to Cheyenne; south to Sidney; and further north to Deadwood. Stops along the way included "Chug Springs," "Water Hole Ranche," and Red Cloud Agency. We trace one in OCLC (Yale University). The only other known example of this card, owned by postal dealer Richard Frajola, is dated in manuscript July 1876.

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