John D. Rockefeller and Henry Morrison Flagler Signed Standard Oil Stock Certificate.

FLAGLER, Henry M..

Item Number: 95131

New York:, 1884.

Engraved Standard Oil Stock Certificate signed by both John D. Rockefeller and Henry Morrison Flagler. One page, printed on both sides, dated December 16, 1884, featuring a vignette of the United States Capitol, for one hundred shares of the Standard Oil Trust, issued to Charles Pratt, signed by J. D. Rockefeller as president of Standard Oil, Henry Morrison Flagler as secretary, and Jabez A. Bostwick as treasurer. The transfer stub remains affixed at the left. The recipient, Charles Pratt was a philanthropist, businessman and the founder of Astral Oil, which was eventually absorbed into Standard Oil. Pratt also notably founded and endowed the Pratt Institute in New York. The certificate measures 7.75 inches by 15.75 inches. An exceptional association. Certificates signed by both Rockefeller and Flagler are rare.

John D. Rockefeller entered the oil industry at the age of twenty-four and worked tirelessly to unify it into the most powerful petroleum refiner in the world, Standard Oil Trust. He joined forces with fellow industrialist Henry Morrison Flagler in 1867 to form Rockefeller, Andrews & Flagler. The predecessor of Standard Oil, the firm gained success by marketing all of the by-products of the refining process, and gaining market and pricing control through shipping rates. Flagler was also a key figure in the development of the Atlantic coast of Florida and founder of what became the Florida East Coast Railway. He is known as the father of Miami and Palm Beach, Florida.