Lot
2021 
"Tucson NM, May 15.", manuscript postmark by Mark Aldrich on buff cover addressed to General James W. Denver as Commissioner of Indian Affairs (April-June 1857) in Washington, D.C., carried by military express to Santa Fe, instead of entering the regular mails there, it was carried in a military pouch to Washington, D.C., Very Fine, ex-Birkinbine. Estimate $1,500 - 2,000.
THIS IS THE EARLIEST RECORDED UNITED STATES POSTMARK FROM ARIZONA.
Mark Aldrich was a wealthy Arizona merchant who facilitated the mails even before he was officially appointed postmaster. Before Aldrich settled in the West, he lived in Illinois. He was one of five tried and acquitted in the murder of Mormon prophet Joseph Smith in 1844. After becoming very wealthy as a merchant, he became Tucson's unofficial first mayor and served as the postmaster (he was officially appointed November 11, 1857).
Realized: $1,700