Andrew Mellon Photograph Signed [WITH] Signed Stock Certificate for the Allegheny Valley Street Company Issued to Him.

MELLON, Andrew; [Bachrach].

$1,250.00

Item Number: 146764

Pittsburgh: Allegheny Valley Street Railway Company, 1906.

Rare photograph of the commanding American banker Andrew Mellon. Octavo, black and white photogravure of Andrew Mellon, inscribed by him below his portrait, “To W. H. Thompson with my kind regards A. W. Mellon.” The recipient “W. H. Thompson” may be either William Henry Thompson, a U.S. Senator from Nebraska, or William Howard Thompson, a U.S. Senator from Kansas. Additionally signed by the photographer in pencil at the lower right of the portrait, “Bachrach.” Matted and framed with an informational placard and a stock certificate for the Allegheny Valley Street Railway Company. Quarto, one page partially printed and accomplished in manuscript, the certificate is dated September 26, 1906 and issues 500 shares in the Company to Andrew Mellon. Signed by his brothers “W. L. Mellon” as President and “R. B. Mellon” as Treasurer of the Company. In near fine condition. The piece measures 37 inches by 23 inches.

Leader of a prosperous business empire, Andrew William Mellon earned his name in Big Banking, owning or helping finance large companies including the Union Trust Company, Alcoa, the New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Old Overholt whiskey, Standard Steel Car Company, Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Koppers, the Pittsburgh Coal Company, the Carborundum Company, Union Steel Company, the McClintic-Marshall Construction Company, Gulf Oil, and numerous others. The Allegheny Valley Street Railway, led by Mellon's brothers Richard and William Mellon, was established in the mid-19th century to transport oil from the fields in Oil Creek and Titusville to refineries.