1885 Stock Certificate- The Last Dance (Hyde Park Chicago) in Carbondale, Illinois For Sale

From xxxx to xxxx, the Buckingham Family (brothers Clarence and Alvah, along with a brother-in-law named Sturges) founded a grain elevator company which became Chicago's leading grain warehousing firm, eventually attaining a capacity of 2.9 million bushels of grain, largely thanks to a ten year exclusive contract with the Illinois Central Railroad depot.
The Buckingham and Sturges families already controlled a string of grain elevators in Pennsylvania, Ohio and along the Erie Canal. The two families prospered beyond measure despite that their Chicago holdings got obliterated by the Great Chicago Fire in xxxx.
In the mid-xxxx's the Buckingham Family expanded the family's enterprises to include banking, insurance, steel manufacture and real estate. Decades later Clarence's heirs later funded construction of the grand Chicago Buckingham Fountain (construction August xxxx to August xxxx) to honor his memory.
Rosalie Buckingham was granddaughter of Alvah Buckingham. Her father died when Rose was age four, at which time her mother and her sister Anna each inherited considerable wealth consisting of both property and money. In xxxx at age 30, Rose married Marshall Field's executive Harry Selfridge who would later operate high-end department stores in London.
In the seven years preceding her marriage, Rose acquired Chicago land on Harper Avenue (xxxx East) between 57th and 59th Street and hired acclaimed architect Solon Berman (designer of Pullman Town) to supervise the construction of 42 elegant villas and cottages with a landscaped environment which came to be known as Rosalie Villas in Rosalie Court. Architect Berman also designed most (but not all) of the homes. The larger homes contained a driveway on one side to reach the stable house in the rear (in the days before automobiles). Although updated and remodeled, most of these homes still stand today.
At the gateway of Rosalie Court on the southwest corner of xxxx S. Harper Ave. stood the Rosalie Inn and Cafe (aka Cafe Red Roses). Under architect Berman's supervision, Frank Chandler (who was Rose's brother in law and husband of Rose's sister Anna) built the two story building measuring 60 X 103 feet in xxxx with cafe on the ground floor and a high ceiling music hall on the upper floor accessible via a wide oak staircase rising to the music hall where columns added to its tasteful style, which also included a balcony for a band pit and private boxes.
Rosalie Music Hall hosted many live music, dramatic performances and political events as the social center of the Hyde Park community with a favorable location just a few minutes walk from both the grounds of the xxxx Columbian Exposition (World's Fair) and the University of Chicago (opened in xxxx), both of which had yet to be built.
A developer purchased the 75 X 180 foot lot occupied by the cafe and music hall and its property in xxxx and knocked down the building in favor of a six-story apartment building anchored by a State Bank on the ground floor. The legendary Powell's Book Store later occupied the space.
I have two authentic xxxx stock certificates for Rosalie Music Hall Company each signed by its president Frank Chandler and produced by Central Lithography and Engraving Company of Chicago. The documents measure 10 1/2 X 8 13/16 inches with an elegant black, white and gray presentation, except for the embossed gleaming gold corporate seal in the lower left corner and the royal blue certificate serial numbers (rather than the traditional red s/n's).
The company name sprawls across the top of the document in classic font just above a vignette featuring a barefoot and winged male cherub sitting atop a cloud and leaning one arm atop a giant globe while the other arm holds a long stem alpine horn which he blows. A nearby bald eagle with wings spread watches the cherub as he blows the horn. Background visages include a harp, a traditional horn instrument and an American flag.
Each document's paper quality is in Excellent condition, but each has two small straight rips along fold lines at the top edge. One of the two documents also has one small straight rip at the bottom edge. None of these rips exceeds 3/4 inch and none will be discernible if you keep the documents inside a paper protector. Each 130 year old document costs $69.