13TH & 15TH STREETS PASSENGER RAILWAY CO., PHILADELPHIA STOCK CERTIFICATE 1934

Description: 13TH & 15TH STREETS PASSENGER RAILWAY COMPANY, PHILADELPHIA STOCK CERTIFICATE, 1934. PLEASE NOTE: We love acquiring decades-old bank drafts, billheads, correspondence, stock certificates, vintage ephemera and other paper memorabilia - - as these documents afford us an opportunity to look back in time and experience some of what was occurring long ago. You might enjoy acquiring this item for your own collection! TYPE OF SCRIPOPHILY, EXONUMIA, NOTAPHILY꞉ Stock Certificate for 13 shares of stock at $50 per share. PLEASE NOTE: The actual stock holder is almost as interesting as the railway itself. COMPANY NAME꞉ 13th & 15th Streets Passenger Railway Company of Philadelphia. ADDRESS꞉ 2501 North 15th Street. CITY, COUNTY & STATE꞉ Philadelphia (Philadelphia) Pennsylvania. INCORPORATED: April 8, 1859. FORM PRINTED BY꞉ The American Bank Note Company. DATE ISSUED & YEARS OLD꞉ May 31, 1934 (90-years old). STOCKHOLDER'S NAME꞉ George B. Harris. ADDRESS꞉ 3819 Oak Road. CITY, COUNTY & STATE꞉ Philadelphia (Philadelphia) Pennsylvania. SHARES PURCHASED꞉ 13. VALUE PER SHARE꞉ $50. TYPE OF DOCUMENT꞉ Stock certificate. CERTIFICATE NUMBER: 7769 (this was a high number in the series). SIGNED BY: William R. Warner, Jr., President. GENERAL COLOR(S)꞉ Beige paper with light blue, dark blue, red and black inks. MEASUREMENTS꞉ 10⅛” x 6⅞”. EMBOSSING꞉ Yes. Sealed with the company's seal. TAXATION/REVENUE/OTHER STAMPS꞉ None. WATERMARKS ON PAPER꞉ None noticed. FOLDS꞉ Appears to be two vertical (up and down) and two horizontal (left to right) and two diagonal (upper and lower right corners). CORNERS꞉ Very good condition. HOLES, TEARS, DAMAGE꞉ Browning / soiling as one would expect with a document 90-years old. The upper left corner of the stock certificate has eight small pin holes. Prior to the widespread use of office staplers, documents were actually “pinned” to one another with sewing pins to keep them together. ADDITIONAL NOTES꞉ Much to our surprise, the same stock certificates [image, type, color, imprinting, etc.] that were issued in February 1893 (No. 4058), in September 1899 (No. 4593) and December 1923 (No. 6682) were the same stock certificates that were still being issued in May 1934 (No. 7769). ADDITIONAL INFO: Chartered April 8, 1859. Leased to the Philadelphia Traction Company on January 1, 1892. Annual rental, including fixed charges, $1,200 per annum, and annual payments increasing from $180,000 in 1892 to $240,000 in 1900 and thereafter. The lease was assigned to the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company. Capital stock authorized and issued, $1,000,000 paid in $334,529; par value $50 per share. Dividends $12 per share per annum since January 1900. ABOUT THE 13TH AND 15TH STREET RAILWAY꞉ The development of both North and South Philadelphia as dense residential neighborhoods in the late nineteenth century and the first years of the twentieth is a direct result of the establishment of mass public transportation. The passenger railway cars that operated in the public streets and were originally horse-drawn conveyances, providing localized transportation that allowed Philadelphians to commute to work nearby or in other parts of the city. As a result, street railways were perhaps the single-most important element in the development and growth of both North and South Philadelphia. The Thirteenth & Fifteenth SPRC, which eventually became the PTC’s Fifteenth & Cumberland Division, was among the earliest and most important companies established during this period. The company’s role in providing passenger service between both North and South Philadelphia through Center City constituted an important driver of development in both North and South Philadelphia. Passenger railway companies like the Thirteenth & Fifteenth SPRC required substantial transportation facilities with adequate space for car storage, a depot, stables, and other support structures. The Thirteenth & Fifteenth SPRC maintained a large transportation facility and hub that occupied the entire block bound by Cumberland Street at the south; North Fifteenth Street at the west; Huntingdon Street at the north; and Carlisle Street at the east. The Thirteenth & Fifteenth Street City Passenger Railway Company Car Houses and Stables occupied an entire city block bordered by North Fifteenth Street, West Cumberland Street, North Carlisle Street and West Huntingdon Street. The original building was erected in 1876 and then enlarged in 1890 and again in 1893. Today, remarkably the original buildings are still standing; the northeast corner of the property is located within 500 feet of the city's main rail lines. In September 2019, the site was nominated by The Keeping Society of Philadelphia for Nomination of Historical Building, Structure, Site or Object Philadelphia Register of Historic Places, Philadelphia Historical Commission. Google Street Views from April 2023 show the building undergoing renovation and the sidewalks bordering the buildings along North Fifteenth Street, West Cumberland Street, North Carlisle Street and West Huntington Street all torn out. Google Street Views from June 2023 show new concrete sidewalks had been poured adjacent to the buildings. ABOUT GEORGE B. HARRIS: Using the 1940 United States Census data, we located a George B. Harris (retired, who would have been 64 when the stock certificate was issued) and a George B. Harris, Jr., (an appraisal clerk for fire insurance, who would have been 23 when the stock certificate was issued) both residing at 3819 The Oak Road, Philadelphia (a magnificent estate built in 1848). The 1934 edition of the Philadelphia telephone directory lists only one George B. Harris, residing at 3819 Oak Road with a phone number of GER mtn-1883. In 1940, the Harris family was wealthy enough to employ a full-time servant named Helen Smith who lived at the residence. We strongly believe that this stock certificate was issued to the older George. After consulting the Annual Report of the Bureau of Railways Department of Internal Affairs Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for the Year Ending June 30, 1906, additional research leads us to believe that the same George B. Harris of Philadelphia was also the Vice President of the Allentown Terminal Railroad Company -and- the Vice President of the Nesquehoning Valley Railroad Company -and- the Vice President of the Tresckow Railroad Company -and- the Vice President of the Wilkes-Barre and Scranton Railway Company -and- a Director of the Tamaqua and Lansford Street Railway Company -and- the Vice President of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company. This further leads us to believe that the above George B. Harris was the person named on this stock certificate. SHIPPING COST꞉ Your shipping cost is calculated when checking out. To keep your shipping cost as low as possible, it's based on “DIM” (i.e. weight, package size and final destination). This item ships by United States Mail or eBay International Delivery. Orders typically ship within one business day of your payment being received. This item will be mailed in a large envelope, box, cardboard tube or cardboard “sandwich” to minimize folding in transit. 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Price: 26.99 USD

Location: Dayton, Ohio

End Time: 2025-01-22T04:49:51.000Z

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