Wells, Fargo & Co. Eastern Transcontinental Pony Express Frank, Type I (WFE-097), "Free" Company Use to Official N. H. Stockwell

An attractive usage of the Wells, Fargo & Co. 1/2 OUNCE PAID FROM St. JOSEPH TO PLACERVILLE PER PONY EXPRESS, Type I, printed frank. The Type I printed frank was used to prepay the $2.00 per half ounce express fee for only two months, approximately April to June 1861.
The design differs from the more common Type II design (WFE-098) by having a comma at the end of the word "Placerville." Thomas notes that besides being printed on U40 envelopes, these printed franks were printed on white non-government envelopes, like this example.

The addressee, N.H. Stockwell, was on the Board of Directors for Wells Fargo from 1858-1867.

The manuscript "1/4 oz free" indicates that this was carried free as company use to an official, making this the only known free usage of the Type I design. There are only three other used examples of this design.