Swann Live Bidding App
257 of 383 lots
257
(RAILROAD.) Pair of transcontinental railroad passes from the year of the Golden Spike, signed by C.P. Huntington and Oliver Ames.
Estimate:
$2,000 - $3,000
Sold
$12,000
Live Auction
Printed & Manuscript Americana
Description
(RAILROAD.) Pair of transcontinental railroad passes from the year of the Golden Spike, signed by C.P. Huntington and Oliver Ames. Each about 2 x 3½ inches, made out to Thomas Boles; mount remnants on verso and minimal wear.

No place, 1869

These two annual passes were issued in the same year that the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads connected in the "Golden Spike" ceremony in Utah on 10 May 1869. They were issued to Thomas Boles (1837-1905), a Union Civil War veteran who at that time was a freshman Congressman representing a district in Arkansas. In the 1880s, he became a United States Marshal for the western district of Arkansas under the famous "Hanging Judge," Isaac C. Parker of Fort Smith. Includes:

Central Pacific Railroad of California pass, 2 x 3½ inches, in red and green; issued to Boles, and signed by railroad president Collis Potter Huntington, valid through 31 December 1869, but "not good for Excursion Train on opening of the Road."

Union Pacific Railroad pass, 2¼ x 3½ inches, in green and black; issued to Boles and signed by railroad president Oliver Ames, valid through 31 December 1869.

Envelope hand-addressed to Boles, the appropriate size for a railroad pass, with no postal markings.