1911, Canada. Stock certificate for 10 shares. Green/Black. Vignette at top center of large agricultural fields. Orange two shilling seal at upper right. Uncancelled. Very fine.

19--, California. Unissued stock certificate. Blue / White. Vignette of a dam and the Californian countryside at top. Ornate blue border and seal. Punch cancelled.

1898, San Francisco, California. Stock certificate for 10,000 shares. Black. Vignette at left of miners working a hydralic mine. Mine located in Calaveras County, California. Uncancelled and very fine.

1895, California. Stock certificate for 10 shares in the San Francisco & San Joaquin Valley Railway Co. Green/Black. Litho. Issued to and signed on verso by Joseph Britton. Signed on the front stub indicating receipt of the certificate by Jacques-Joseph Rey. Attached adhesive revenue stamps on front. Considered by many to be California’s foremost early printers, Britton & Rey was one of the largest producers of lithographs, stocks, and all manner of printed items. The printing firm of Britton & Rey was undoubtedly the largest producer of lithographs in California, the seller's description continues. The two men were the Currier & Ives of the West, resembling that famous combination not only in the volume of their production but in their personal relationship as well. Joseph Britton was an Englishman, born in Yorkshire in 1825. At ten years of age he came to America and lived in New York until he was twenty-four. As a young man he apparently worked there as a lithographer, for in 1847 there was issued a music sheet, "The Shepard's Cottage," from J. Britton at 559 Hudson Street. In 1849 the lure of the California Gold Rush struck him and he joined the George Gordon party, the first gold seekers to make the journey by way of Lake Nicaragua. He went directly to the gold fields and prospected until he became discouraged by his lack of success and returned to San Francisco. There, in 1852, he formed a partnership with C.J. Pollard. The association was short-lived, however, for in the same year he set up business as a lithographer with J.J. Rey. Jacques-Joseph Rey was born in Bouxviller, Alsace, in 1820. As a young man he studied art and lithography. About 1850 he went by way of Panama to California, where, contrary to the custom of those days, he did not seek his fortune in the mines. Just what he did at first is not definitely known, but 1852 finds him entering into partnership with Joseph Britton. Three years later he married Britton's sister, thus cementing a friendship and partnership which accounts for some of the most notable lithography done in California. Joseph Britton remained a bachelor all his life. He lived always with the Rey family, a sign of the closeness of the two gentlemen's friendship. In their lithographic business, Rey was undoubtedly the artist of the firm while Britton remained the businessman.

1896, California. Stock certificate for 50 shares. Green/Black. Three revenue stamps affixed. Issued to the Arctic Oil Works and signed on verso by the company’s president George Clement Perkins (1839 – 1923). U.S. Republican politician who served as California’s 14th governor. In addition to his term as governor, Perkins remains as the third longest serving senator in California’s history. Outside of politics, Perkins served as the president of the Arctic Oil Works, a large producer of refined seal and whale oil,. He also was involved in the Pacfic Steam West Coast Land Company and the Pacific Whaling Company, the latter which virtually monopolized the coasting steamer trade between Alaska and Mexico. The San Francisco and San Joaquin Valley Railway Company, referred to by some as “The People’s Railroad” due to the company’s practice of selling stocks to local people for as little as one dollar a share, was funded by Claus Spreckels and others as a way of introducing competition into an area of California serviced only by the Southern Pacific. Upon its completion, the SF&SJV Railway, which operated from Bakersfield to Point Richmond, served its purpose admirably, lowering freight and passenger prices throughout the area quickly. Not long after the completion of the railway, Spreckels and his fellow managers, none of whom viewed the railway as a long term business venture, chose to sell the line to the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe. Stamp cancellation not affecting Perkin’s signature. Extremely Fine.

1895, California. Stock certificate for 50 shares in the San Francisco & San Joaquin Valley Railway Co. Green/Black. Litho. Issued to and signed on the stub and again on verso by James B. Stetson. Attached adhesive revenue stamps on front. James B. Stetson (1832 – 1909). Originally answering the call of the early California gold rush, Stetson achieved success as a Merchant and operator and president of the California Street Cable Railroad Company in San Francisco. He wrote a narrative of his experiences during the San Francisco fire and earthquake titled San Francisco During the Eventful Days of April, 1906. The San Francisco and San Joaquin Railway was constructed by in order to circumvent the transportation monopoly of the Southern Pacific RR, thereby ensuring a low rate for the transportation of his sugar cane. Stamp cancellation not affecting either of Stetson’s signature. Extremely Fine.

1886, New Jersey. $500 bond bearing 6% interest. Vignette of small eagle at top center. Stamp cancelled. Very fine.

1908, California. Bond for $100 bearing 6% interest. Green/Black with green overlay. Vignette at top center of locomotive. Uncancelled. Very fine.

1913, Montreal, Canada. Stock certificate for 10 shares. Green/Black. Multi-vignettes of miners at work at bottom left and right corners. Mine scene at top center. Coupons below. Stamp cancelled and very fine.