July 2018 Auction Ends Thursday, July 26th, 5pm Pacific
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 7/26/2018
William Guggenheim thrice-signed page from the corporate ledger of the Philadelphia Smelting and Refining Company, the Guggenheim family company that produced the wealth of one of the most successful and philanthropic American families. Incorporated on 13 January 1888 by Meyer Guggenheim as the The Denver Smelting and Refining Company (with its name change occurring shortly thereafter), the initial investment in the company was $500,000, mostly owned by Meyer Guggenheim (from wealth made by his textile business during the Civil War), but also by other individuals already experienced in the mining industry. By the time of its sale in 1901, the company was worth hundreds of millions of dollars, and entirely family-owned by Meyer's sons: Isaac, Daniel, Morris, Solomon, Benjamin, Simon and William Guggenheim.
Ledger is written entirely in the hand of William Guggenheim, the Secretary of the company at that time, who attests to the veracity at the bottom, and also writes his name twice in the body of the document, as one of the Board of Directors along with Morris, Simon and Benjamin Guggenheim. Datelined Denver, Colorado on 29 January 1898, document records a ''Special Meeting of the Board of Directors'', who unanimously approve the following resolution by Benjamin Guggenheim: ''Mr. Benjamin Guggenheim offered the following, as an additional By-Law of the Company. 'Resolved that the President, Vice President, General Manager, Secretary and Treasurer of this Company be, and are hereby authorized to receive and give receipts for all money due and payable to this Company from any source whatever, and to endorse checks and warrants in the name and on its behalf and full discharge for same to give...'' Single page document measures 8.25'' x 13.5''. Uniform toning, overall in near fine condition with elegant penmanship.
William Guggenheim Thrice-Signed Page From the Guggenheim Family Mining Ledger -- Dated 1898, the Board Adopts a Special Resolution
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