2023-03 HCA Auctions
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 4/8/2023
1883, New York. Certificate for 2000 shares "in the equity to the property held by the trustees of the Standard Oil Trust..." Green/Black/White. Lovely engraved vignette of the capital building. Issued to and signed three times by Jabez A. Bostwick. Signed by JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER (1839-1937) as President, HENRY FLAGLER (1830-1913) as Secretary and JABEZ A. BOSTWICK (died 1892) as Treasurer. Noted historian Allan Nevins said of the trust; "The birth of this unprecedented entity was an epochal event in business organization." The successful organization of the Standard Oil Trust was the culmination of oil interest acquisitions from 1870 to 1882 and brought the vast oil empire (today known as Exxon) under one central management. Prior to 1889, general statutes prohibited inter-corporation stockholding, thus creating the need to circumvent these laws in order to acquire other oil related properties. The Standard Oil Company, as an organization chartered in Ohio, was restricted from holding stock or any interest in another company. To circumvent this problem, the concept of issuing shares to individuals as trustees was developed and utilized. The effect of the method was to allow Standard Oil to acquire properties and conceal their corporate ownership under the guise of individual possession by the principals. Although effective, as the organization grew, it became apparent that this complex system of ownership carried with it many logistical difficulties. Thus, the Standard Oil Trust was born, and so was the first great monopoly in American business history. Bostwick's signature as treasure is affected by cut and pen cancellation.
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