Jay T. Last Collection of Transportation: Railroad Stock and Bond Certificates

The railroad stock and bond certificates in the Jay T. Last Collection of Transportation consist of more than 1,100 railroad stock and bond certificates primarily issued by American railroad companies to individuals in the 19th and 20th centuries. Among the earliest certificates in the collection was issued by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad on July 4, 1835, and one of the most recent items is a 1976 bond issued by the Canadian National Railway Company.

The decorative details of specific documents vary across the collection, though many items contain engraved and lithographed designs and images. Visual decorations include ornate patterned borders, embossed corporate and gold seals, logos, and vignettes primarily depicting railroad locomotives and trains, as well as landscapes and views of the American frontier, eagles, Columbia, Native Americans, farmers, miners, political surveyors, wheat bundles, and portraits of political figures and railroad company executives. The certificates range in size from approximately 6 x 7 inches to 28 x 17 inches and some of the bonds still have coupons attached. Most of the printed certificates have been filled in by hand with the shareholder or bondholder's name, shares or bond information, and authorizing signatures of company executives, though some are unissued and blank.