Lot Archive

Lot

№ 263

.

10 October 1995

Hammer Price:
£410

United States of America, Wells Fargo & Company, gallantry award in silver-gilt, the standard company 50th Anniversary medal, 1852-1902, but with special inscription engraved on the reverse (M. S. Harris - Sept. 27, 1905, presented for intrepid action - Wells Fargo & Co) in original presentation case, nearly extremely fine and rare

The following obituary appeared in a San Francisco newspaper, 14 June, 1950: ‘Manly S. Harris, 80, dean of the San Francisco waterfront’s cargo lashers, died of a heart attack yesterday in a hotel room at Long Beach where he had gone on a business trip. Mr Harris was a native of Nevada and a onetime shotgun messenger for the Wells Fargo Company. He was the son of the late Supreme Court Justice Charles N. Harris of Nevada. Mr Harris was known throughout the country for his methods of fastening cargoes and deck loads to prevent shifting. During World War II he supervised the shipment of 2300 locomotives to Russia from Pacific ports.’