Gilded Age Portraits: Mr. & Mrs. Henry Marquand

Henry Gurdon Marquand by John Singer Sargent, 1897

R188 Block of 4 cancelled by Henry Marquand & Company, 

January 28, 1901

Block retains full original gum

Henry Gurdon Marquand held a seat on the New York Stock Exchange during the Gilded Age, including the years of the 1898 Spanish American War tax period.  He was extremely wealthy and had a passion for fine and expensive art, for which he built a grand Manhattan mansion in which to hang it all.  And like many of New York's wealthiest at the time, he had his portrait and that of his wife painted by the go-to Gilded Age portrait artist of the time, John Singer Sargent.  

Elizabeth Allen Marquand (Mrs. Henry Marquand) 

by John Singer Sargent, 1887

Yesterday I put up Sargent's Benjamin Kissam portrait up on the right side of this site, and I started wondering how many Gilded Age brokers might have had their portraits done in oil, by Sargent or any other accomplished oil portraitist.  The Marquand's were the first couple I could think of, but I'll see how many more I can find.

Meanwhile, the curious issue of Marquand cancelled stamps remains:  every stamp I have ever seen cancelled by Marquand has a light, neatly applied cancel, with the stamp or stamps almost always retaining their original gum.  The R188 block of 4 is one example.  Here are more:

There is not much more to add, except: 

• I'll be looking for on-document uses of these stamps by Marquand & Company, and
• Why would a company cancel high value stamps but not apply them to documents?  Was there something nefarious happening?

American Telephone and Telegraph Company

AMERICAN TELEPHONE

DEC

19

1899

& TELEGRAPH CO.

XXX Other ATT scans here?

Corporate structure

New York Bankers, Banks & Trusts: New York Security and Trust Company

1901 Poor's Manual advertisement

While I have not checked all the names listed above for this company's Board of Trustees, I can identify   James J. Hill of St. Paul, Minnesota, President of the Great Northern Railway.

N. Y. SECURITY & TRUST CO.

DEC

27

1900

Dave Thompson scan

A Spectacular Bond

When I started blogging about bonds a few days ago, I emailed Bob Patetta, who has contributed some great documents before, asking if he had any unusual bonds.

Am I glad I asked! It turns out Bob has a spectacular bond, ex Morton Dean Joyce, written for Three Hundred and Fifteen Thousand, Two Hundred and Eighteen Pounds, Fourteen Shilling Sterling. That converts to $1,525,658.50 with the tax at 5 cents per $100 in face value, or fraction thereof, being $762.85

The $762.85 tax was paid by an interesting combination of stamps: four $50, five $30, twenty $10, twenty-nine $5, twenty-two $3, one $1, one 80-cent, and one 5-cent.

The Securities Company Consol (Bond)
New York, New York September 1, 1899
Bob Patetta

front of attachment sheet showing tax stamps
Bob Patetta scanback of attachment sheet showing the balance of the tax stamps
Bob Patetta scan

I'm guessing this Securities Company bond was a type of investment vehicle where the assets of various investors were pooled to create a super bond. Considering the official British Government bonds of the period generally paid just 2 3/4% annual interest, the 4% offered through this bond must have looked attractive to its investors. Anyone who can shed further light on how this investment likely was structured is invited to Comment below, or email 1898revenues@gmail.com

The stamps are all cancelled with a single-line hand stamp reading, J. A. H. Macnair, C. A. , the company's named agent, and a separate single-line date stamp dated, 29 AUG 1900. There is no indication other than the lined out signatures that the bond was called, but the fact that it was not taxed until 2 days prior to September 1, 1900, one of the interest due days when the principal also could have been paid off, suggests that's what occurred thus forcing Macnair to pony up the tax nearly a year after it should have been paid.

It's hard to find on-document usages of the $3 and $30 Commerce issues. To find both on the same document is a real coup! And it's likewise hard to find on-document usages of the 80-cent Battleship.

Thanks Bob for sharing this spectacular bond. If anyone else has an unusual bond with unusual taxation, please send a scan and description to 1898revenues@gmail.com