Business Leaders
LIVE AND INTERNET SALE - PART
I
BEGINS AT 1 PM EASTERN, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER
16, 2002
The papers of a railroad financier
417. LEVI PARSONS RAILROAD ARCHIVE A superb and detailed archive
of LEVI PARSONS (1822 - 1887), Jurist and railroad magnate who emigrated
from New York to San Francisco in 1849, where after an unsuccessful attempt
at finding gold, he became judge for the San Francisco district. Led unsuccessful
efforts to find oil in California in the 1860s. Parsons appears to have begun
railroad speculation and promotion with partner J.P. Robinson and by 1865, the
two men had interest in the Sacramento Valley Railroad, the San Francisco &
San Jose Railroad, and ties to the construction of the Central Pacific Railroad.
According to a document in the archive, the pair also had substantial holdings
in the Atlantic & Pacific Railroad Company along with John C. Fremont. Sometime
during the early 1860s, Parsons returned to New York to form the Land Grant
Railway Company. The company purchased the bankrupt Union Pacific Southern Branch
railroad and later named it the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad. It was
the first railroad to enter Texas from the north and created a vital link to
northern markets. Foreseeing the Panic of 1873, Parsons sold off much of his
stock in the railroad prior to the crash, but remained an active railroad speculator
until his death in 1887. This fine archive consists of hundreds of letters,
documents, notes, and related ephemera documenting a good part of the personal
and professional life of Parsons and his involvement in the Missouri, Kansas
and Texas Railroad. The centerpiece of the collection is a pair of highly detailed
duplicate ledgers, approx. 64 leaves each, oblong 8vo., for the Missouri, Kansas
and Texas Railroad. The first ledger begins by noting the dates of construction
of the railroad, the date of the opening of each section along with mileage
from 1869 to 1873. Also included are operating expenses from 1874 to 1876, earnings
from 1872 to 1875, earnings per mile for 1872 to 1874-75, an analysis of freight
movement for 1872 and 1873 including total tonnage per month, ratio per ton
per mile and miles operated, a "Summary of Passenger Business" for 1873 to part
of 1876, locomotive performance including average cost per mile, monthly statements
of receipts and expenses and the earnings to profit ratio for 1870 through 1876.
More detailed tables include quantities of different cargo carried on the railroad,
including wheat, corn, livestock, stone, coal, lumber, sand, salt, hay, flour,
agricultural instruments, machinery, household goods, wagons, iron and railroad
ties from 1873 to 1876. The ledger continues with monthly payrolls for 1873
to 1875, corporate expenses for 1874, current purchase prices of freight cars
of all types, passenger cars, cabooses, maintenance cars and locomotives as
well as a list of "Cars Destroyed" and totals of all rolling stock. The second
ledger contains much of the same information as the first (in a neater form)
and has a few more tables including breakdowns of freight revenue per division
of railroad, earnings per mile, total cost of building the road, broken out
by division (the total cost being $1.6 million), averages of grade, locomotive
performance with all costs (wages, coal, oil, etc.), and cost of car repairs.
The two books are supplemented with numerous personal and business papers of
Levi Parsons. Many documents deal with the various affairs of the Missouri,
Kansas & Texas, including earnings reports, letters to Parsons from various
officials of the railroad, and correspondence between Parsons and Andrew Pierce,
president of the Atlantic and Pacific Rail Road, as well as letters from various
firms including The South Pacific Railroad Co., Corning Iron Works, numerous
letters from bankers, stock brokers and attorneys, circular letters of credit
from Drexel Morgan, and stock certificates for the Missouri, Kansas and Texas
Railway Co. Of particular interest are documents related to series of stock
trades executed in the early 1880s through the firm J. & S. Wormser, with
whom Parsons had a $350,000 margin account. For collateral he placed 97,000
acres of Texas land along with various bonds and notes of the Missouri, Texas
and Kansas Railroad. After a drop in his holdings, J. & S. Wormser sent
him a margin call for the sum of $454,000.00. With the broker threatening to
sell his land holdings to make up the difference, Parsons retained the firm
of Billings and Cardozo to sue the broker. Other documents include two divorce
cases, one in San Francisco and the other in New York. From what we can tell
from the documents, Parsons wed his second wife while still technically married
to his first wife whom he abandoned in the early 1860s in San Francisco. Also
included are numerous papers relative to his generous support of a library bearing
his name in Gloversville, N.Y.; letters from family members and friends; numerous
land documents dating from c. 1795-1830 in and around Philadelphia; as well
as leases, tax bills, several photographs and so on. Overall very good. This
great collection is certainly worthy of much further research! $2,000-3,000
418. JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER (1839 - 1937) American industrialist
and philanthropist who organized Standard Oil and virtually monopolized the
industry until he was forced by a Supreme Court ruling to dissolve the company
and break it up into regional producers and refiners. Exceedingly rare oversize
S.P. 9" x 12 1/2", a distinguished half-length portrait taken later in life,
signed "John D. Rockefeller May 7th 1923" in pencil on the bottom white
margin. As usual, signature was accomplished with a "light hand", with a thin
vertical stain affecting but one letter in signature, also signed by the photographer.
This is the first such oversize signed photo we have seen, most having been
signed in presentation books. Matted and framed. Unexamined out of frame.
$1,500-2,000
Walt Disney's Guide to Disneyland
419. WALTER E. DISNEY (1901 - 1966) American artist, film
producer and businessman, creator of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, producer
of the first animated film with sound, builder of theme parks in Anaheim and
Orlando. Signed paperback book Walt Disney's Guide to Disneyland, 30pp.
11 1/2" x 8", a 1962 heavily-illustrated park guide. The inside front cover
bears a printed welcome by Disney, along with a 3 1/4" x 3 3/4" color image
of Disney with two children, and he has added across a portion of the text a
large, black ink inscription and signature: "To Karl Walt Disney". Covers
bear a few trivial water spots and an abrasion, contents and signed page are
very good to fine.$1,500-2,000
Founder of Dow Jones
420. CHARLES H. DOW (1851 - 1902) American publisher,
with Edward Jones founded Dow Jones & Co.,, later founded the Wall Street
Journal, and devised the Dow Jones Industrial Average used to this day to track
the performance of the stock market. Exceedingly rare D.S. signed twice "Charles
H. Dow" as Trustee, a $500 Amity Canal, Reservoir & Improvement Co.
bond bearing 6% interest, issued in Colorado in 1891 and with 15 coupons attached
at bottom. Folds, else fine condition. $600-800
421. HENRY CLAY FOLGER (1857 - 1930) American oil magnate
and philanthropist, president and chairman of Standard Oil who endowed the Washington
library bearing his name. Rare, fine content A.L.S. on "The Homestead"
letterhead, 4pp. 8vo., Hot Springs, Aug. 8, 1929 to Mr. Godfrey. Just three
months before the 1929 market crash Folger discusses golf, in part: "...I
think yours a beautiful score - two birdies and only eight down to par - Why,
Rev. Ferguson, who beat you one stroke medal, had only one birdie and was twelve
down to par...it has been hot here, - too hot to play on several days - and
quite wet. There are only a few players here...I am looking forward to the Seniors'
- Shall we play Thursday?...There are two beautiful courses at Hot Springs...".
Much more fine golf content. Very good. $400-600
422. JOHN PIERPONT MORGAN (1837 - 1913) American banker
and financier who founded J.P. Morgan & Co., reorganized American railroads
and founded U.S. Steel. partly-printed D.S. "J. Pierpont Morgan" 1p.
folio, New York, 1866, a $1000 first mortgage bond issued by the New Jersey
Junction Railroad Co. and guaranteed by the New York Central and Hudson River
Railroad Co., co-signed by Morgan's partner HARRIS C. FAHNSTOCK. Matted
with a vintage photo of a locomotive and a copy of a portrait of Morgan, set
into a somewhat-scuffed frame. Very good condition. Unexamined out of frame.
$500-700
Ringling signs a circus act
423. JOHN RINGLING (1866 - 1936) American circus owner
who with his brothers organized their first circus in 1884, later merging with
the Barnum and Bailey circus in 1907. D.S. 1p. legal folio, [New York], Jan.
25, 1915, a contract between the Barnum and Bailey Circus and the "4 Melillo
Sisters", an act described in the contract as "4 ladies assisted by one
gentleman Acrobatic contortion act. Only 3 ladies in parades". The performers
agreed to a salary of $175 per week for the 1916 season. The margin bears a
note "Ten per cent commission for C. Rornhaupt, agent". Folds and creases,
a clean one inch tear at upper right corner, otherwise very good. $300-400
424. NATHAN MEYER ROTHSCHILD (1777 - 1836) British
banker and politician who founded the London branch of the family's banking
business, a member of Parliament and the first Jew admitted to the House of
Lords. Scarce D.S. 1p. folio, [Russia], 1822, a bond in the amount of 960 rubles
for a loan contracted by Rothschild, signed adding "Contractor" in upper-right
margin. Also included is one detached coupon. Weak folds repaired on verso with
minor paper loss and soiled. $400-600
NEXT SECTION LIVE AND INTERNET AUCTION PART I :
Authors
- Lots 425-437
View Business Leaders section from
LIVE AND INTERNET AUCTION PART II -
Lots 1274-1291
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417. LEVI PARSONS RAILROAD ARCHIVE A superb and detailed archive
of LEVI PARSONS (1822 - 1887), Jurist and railroad magnate who emigrated
from New York to San Francisco in 1849, where after an unsuccessful attempt
at finding gold, he became judge for the San Francisco district. Led unsuccessful
efforts to find oil in California in the 1860s. Parsons appears to have begun
railroad speculation and promotion with partner J.P. Robinson and by 1865, the
two men had interest in the Sacramento Valley Railroad, the San Francisco &
San Jose Railroad, and ties to the construction of the Central Pacific Railroad.
According to a document in the archive, the pair also had substantial holdings
in the Atlantic & Pacific Railroad Company along with John C. Fremont. Sometime
during the early 1860s, Parsons returned to New York to form the Land Grant
Railway Company. The company purchased the bankrupt Union Pacific Southern Branch
railroad and later named it the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad. It was
the first railroad to enter Texas from the north and created a vital link to
northern markets. Foreseeing the Panic of 1873, Parsons sold off much of his
stock in the railroad prior to the crash, but remained an active railroad speculator
until his death in 1887. This fine archive consists of hundreds of letters,
documents, notes, and related ephemera documenting a good part of the personal
and professional life of Parsons and his involvement in the Missouri, Kansas
and Texas Railroad. The centerpiece of the collection is a pair of highly detailed
duplicate ledgers, approx. 64 leaves each, oblong 8vo., for the Missouri, Kansas
and Texas Railroad. The first ledger begins by noting the dates of construction
of the railroad, the date of the opening of each section along with mileage
from 1869 to 1873. Also included are operating expenses from 1874 to 1876, earnings
from 1872 to 1875, earnings per mile for 1872 to 1874-75, an analysis of freight
movement for 1872 and 1873 including total tonnage per month, ratio per ton
per mile and miles operated, a "Summary of Passenger Business" for 1873 to part
of 1876, locomotive performance including average cost per mile, monthly statements
of receipts and expenses and the earnings to profit ratio for 1870 through 1876.
More detailed tables include quantities of different cargo carried on the railroad,
including wheat, corn, livestock, stone, coal, lumber, sand, salt, hay, flour,
agricultural instruments, machinery, household goods, wagons, iron and railroad
ties from 1873 to 1876. The ledger continues with monthly payrolls for 1873
to 1875, corporate expenses for 1874, current purchase prices of freight cars
of all types, passenger cars, cabooses, maintenance cars and locomotives as
well as a list of "Cars Destroyed" and totals of all rolling stock. The second
ledger contains much of the same information as the first (in a neater form)
and has a few more tables including breakdowns of freight revenue per division
of railroad, earnings per mile, total cost of building the road, broken out
by division (the total cost being $1.6 million), averages of grade, locomotive
performance with all costs (wages, coal, oil, etc.), and cost of car repairs.
The two books are supplemented with numerous personal and business papers of
Levi Parsons. Many documents deal with the various affairs of the Missouri,
Kansas & Texas, including earnings reports, letters to Parsons from various
officials of the railroad, and correspondence between Parsons and Andrew Pierce,
president of the Atlantic and Pacific Rail Road, as well as letters from various
firms including The South Pacific Railroad Co., Corning Iron Works, numerous
letters from bankers, stock brokers and attorneys, circular letters of credit
from Drexel Morgan, and stock certificates for the Missouri, Kansas and Texas
Railway Co. Of particular interest are documents related to series of stock
trades executed in the early 1880s through the firm J. & S. Wormser, with
whom Parsons had a $350,000 margin account. For collateral he placed 97,000
acres of Texas land along with various bonds and notes of the Missouri, Texas
and Kansas Railroad. After a drop in his holdings, J. & S. Wormser sent
him a margin call for the sum of $454,000.00. With the broker threatening to
sell his land holdings to make up the difference, Parsons retained the firm
of Billings and Cardozo to sue the broker. Other documents include two divorce
cases, one in San Francisco and the other in New York. From what we can tell
from the documents, Parsons wed his second wife while still technically married
to his first wife whom he abandoned in the early 1860s in San Francisco. Also
included are numerous papers relative to his generous support of a library bearing
his name in Gloversville, N.Y.; letters from family members and friends; numerous
land documents dating from c. 1795-1830 in and around Philadelphia; as well
as leases, tax bills, several photographs and so on. Overall very good. This
great collection is certainly worthy of much further research! $2,000-3,000
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