1849 California Gold Rush Letter St Louis Forty-Niner Overland St Joseph Framed For Sale

Original autographed letter dated, April 18 1849, written from St Louis, Missouri by a forty-niner outfitting for the overland trail to California. Addressed to his wife, Mrs Mary Brown, Knox County, (Knoxville) Illinois. Written at the exact peak of the 1849 Gold Rush. The writer reports that he has raised $60, that Robert Wm. Is going with him, that they leave the 19th and expect to reach St Joseph by the 28th. He relays a report of about 1500 men already at St Joseph, ready to start for California, and notes 100 to 150 more leaving St Louis on every steamboat. He asks that James and John be put in school and writes that “times are very flattering to entice us to gold region.”Housed in an 18x12 inches frame by Williams Speciality Co, Ridgeway VA. Framer’s notes on the verso state the face is protected with a 100% rag neutral pH barrier. The stampless address panel is matted separately above the letter.Condition: heavy damp staining and toning, splits along the mail folds, and paper loss at the lower right affecting some text. The address panel is separated from the letter and shows significant foxing/mold speckling. Verso not visible in the frame. Sold as-is, exactly as pictured.