Lot 271
1789 (Mar. 26) Montreal, Canada to Grand Portage (now Minnesota, U.S.A.), folded cover, no postal markings, addressed simply "Au Monsieur James McKay au Grand Portage", docketed on reverse "James McKay, Donald McKay & Angus Shaw, 26 March 1789"; reinforced folds and minor splits, Fine.
Estimate 5,000 - 7,500
AN EARLY, CROSS-BORDER FUR TRADE COVER CARRIED VIRTUALLY THE ENTIRE LENGTH OF THE GREAT LAKES AND ST. LAWRENCE RIVER SYSTEM.
Provenance: Steinhart
The letter was carried outside the mails by canoe express across the Great Lakes. Grand Portage was the main North West Company post at the east end of the Grand Portage Route from Lake Superior to Red River at the western end of Lake Superior. The letter is addressed to Donald "Mad" McKay, who was employed in 1779 by John Ross, a minor North West Company trader on Assiniboine River. Being in American territory, Grand Portage was later abandoned in 1800-1801 and replaced by a new post further north at Fort William.
|
| |
| Realized $6,750 |
