Stock certificate for shares in the explosives manufacturing firm founded by Alfred Nobel, Nitroglycerin Aktiebolaget, three pages on two adjoining sheets, 9 x 11.5, issued on April 7, 1915, to his nephew Emanuel Nobel. Signed at the bottom in fountain pen by seven company officials. The second page logs the transfer of ownership of the shares from 1915 to 1976, in which the company's name change from "Nitroglycerin Aktiebolaget" to "Nitro Nobel AB" can be observed. In fine condition, with two punch holes.
Emanuel Nobel was the son of Ludvig, Alfred Nobel's brother whose death had been misreported as his own. It is extremely rare to have a Nobel stock certificate issued to a Nobel family member. In 1888, Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel—famed as the inventor of dynamite—was shocked to read his own obituary in a French newspaper: 'The Merchant of Death is Dead,' the headline read, ‘Dr. Alfred Nobel, who became rich by finding ways to kill more people faster than ever before, died yesterday.’ This prompted him to secretly rewrite his will so that he would be remembered otherwise, dedicating his fortune to the establishment of a prize to honor those who have conferred great benefits upon mankind. Despite family quarrels, Emanuel Nobel played a fundamental role in supporting the execution of his uncle's will.
