Bauman Rare Books Early 2020 Online Catalogue

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Standard Oil Trust Stock Certificate Belonging To John Huntington, The Famous Cleveland Oil Magnate Whose Business Was Sold To John D. Rockefeller To Help Form Standard Oil, Signed By Standard Oil Co-Founders John D. Rockefeller, Henry M. Flagler, And Jabez A. Bostwick (ROCKEFELLER, John D.) STANDARD OIL TRUST. Stock Certificate of Standard Oil Trust signed. No. A57. New York, April 5, 1882. Single oblong folio leaf, measuring 15-1/2 by 8 inches, printed and completed in manuscript. $3900. View on Website

Original stock certificate for 100 shares in Standard Oil Trust, issued in 1882 to oil tycoon John Huntington, whose Cleveland oil refinery was purchased by Rockefeller to help in the formation of Standard Oil, signed by the president of Standard Oil, John D. Rockefeller, and his Standard Oil co-founders Henry Flagler and Jabez A. Bostwick. Rockefeller and Flagler organized the Standard Oil Co. in 1870 and—as one of the first and largest multinational corporations—gained a monopoly in the oil business. They organized the Standard Oil Trust in 1882; it was dissolved by court decree in 1892 following the passage of the Sherman Antitrust Act. This stock certificate is a scarce, recently discovered variety printed in brown, black and white instead of green, black and white. There is an engraved vignette of the U.S. Capitol building as on the green certificates, but the 100-share amount is elaborately engraved several times, rather than the share amount being entered in manuscript. The stub is still attached. This certificate was endorsed by John D. Rockefeller, H.M. Flagler, and Jabez A. Bostwick on April 5, 1882, the same day it was issued to John Huntington. It bears a cancellation stamp, an “X” through the Capitol engraving, and a transfer certificate on the verso evidently issued to the trustees of Huntington’s estate or J.D. Rockefeller in 1899 and is signed on the

verso by the representative of Huntington’s’ estate. The original owner of this certificate, John Huntington, was an oil magnate operating out of the Cleveland area. “With his business aptitude and inquisitive mind, John became interested in newly discovered oil reserves in Pennsylvania in 1859. He began searching for ways to refine crude oil, making furnaces and patent machines to manufacture oil barrels. John and his oil refining partners became the leading oil refining producer in the Cleveland area with 3,300 barrels a day… His success in oil refinery and related inventions soon drew the attention of John D. Rockefeller. Eventually, Rockefeller consolidated with Huntington and his partners Clark and Payne along with other oil firms to form Standard Oil Company. Eventually, Huntington sold his interest and received 500 shares in Standard Oil in 1870. His business capital eventually led John to purchase a fleet of Great Lakes vessels and also become the vice president of Cleveland Stone Company. In the years of John Huntington’s oil refinery ventures, he was elected to Cleveland City Council twice to serve two terms from 1862 to 1874” (Cleveland Metroparks). Huntington used his wealth to become a prominent philanthropist; one of his greatest contributions was 7/10 of the capital to build the Cleveland Museum of Art. About-fine condition.

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