Philadelphia Bourse - 1890's dated Stock Certificate - George Edward Bartol Sr. (1858–1917)

Stock printed by Theo Leonhardt & Son, Phila. Train and ship vignette! Some wear at edges and paper loss. 

George Edward Bartol Sr. (1858–1917) was a prominent Philadelphia businessman and commodities exporter who significantly influenced the city’s commercial landscape at the turn of the 20th century. Born into a family involved in the sugar refining business, he began his career as an apprentice at his father’s refinery. Later, he ventured into the foreign commission and grain trade. During his European travels in 1890, Bartol was captivated by the centralized “bourse” organizations in cities like Hamburg, Germany. Upon his return, he successfully organized the local business community, requiring members to pledge $1,000 each, to establish a unified center for trade and commerce under the Philadelphia Bourse Company.

The Philadelphia Bourse, founded in 1891 and completed in 1895, was a groundbreaking institution aimed at boosting the city’s economy with the motto “buy, sell, ship via Philadelphia.” Situated in Old City near Independence Hall, the building stood as one of the first steel-framed structures globally and the first in the United States to simultaneously house a stock exchange, maritime exchange, and grain-trading center. Designed by architects G. W. & W. D. Hewitt in the Beaux-Arts style, it incorporated cutting-edge technology for its time, including pneumatic tubes and telegraphs for global financial news dissemination. Although it ceased operations as a commodities exchange in the 1960s, the National Register of Historic Places landmark continues to serve as an architectural centerpiece, having transformed into a modern office complex and a popular food hall.