Beautiful engraved stock certificate for one share in the United States Centennial International Exhibition, one page, 24.75 x 18, issued to Samuel B. Fales, March 18, 1876. The ornate certificate, produced by the Bureau of Engraving & Printing, features details vignettes: the goddess Columbia at top center surrounded by muses and women in ethnic costumes bearing gifts; an American eagle flanked by bust sculptures of Presidents George Washington and Ulysses S. Grant at center; working men and Native American Indians portrayed at left to represent 1776; soldiers, and African-American man reading, a man with a sewing machine, and a sailor holding a model sailboat at left to represent 1876; and three historical vignettes along the bottom portraying a farming scene with machinery, a train, and a steamboat, the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence. Beautifully cloth-matted and framed to an overall size of 35.75 x 29.25. In fine condition.
The certificate was issued as part of an effort to raise $10 million in funding to finance the nation’s first world’s fair, held in Philadelphia from May 10 to November 10, 1876. Coinciding with the hundredth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence's adoption in Philadelphia on July 4, 1776, the fair showcased technological advancements and cultural culinary achievements from around the world, including Alexander Graham Bell's telephone, Thomas Edison's automatic telegraph system, Heinz ketchup, Hires Root Beer, and the right arm and torch of the in-progress Statue of Liberty. The fair's grandeur and innovations left a lasting impact, solidifying America's place on the global stage.
