A CLAUS SPRECKELS SIGNED SAN FRANCISCO & SAN JOAQUIN RAILWAY STOCK CERTIFICATE. SPRECKELS, CLAUS...

A CLAUS SPRECKELS SIGNED SAN FRANCISCO & SAN JOAQUIN RAILWAY STOCK CERTIFICATE. SPRECKELS, CLAUS. 1828-1908. Document Signed ('Claus Spreckels'), stock certificate #6 for 500 shares in the San Francisco and San Joaquin Valley Railway, 1 p, 4to (178 x 288 mm), San Francisco, February 26, 1895, also signed by Alexander Mackie as Secretary, printed in red, green and black, matted and framed to 405 x 690 mm. Provenance: Private Collection, Beverly Hills, California. Claus Spreckels immigrated from Germany in 1846, settling first in South Carolina before moving to New York and later San Francisco, where he opened a brewery. Soon Spreckels moved into the sugar business, building refineries in San Francisco and dominating the sugar trade in Hawaii. By the 1870s, he began experimenting with sugar beets, establishing a refinery in Watsonville and encouraging Salinas farmers to grow his crop. The San Francisco and San Joaquin Railroad was built in 1890 as a response to the monopoly of the Southern Pacific RR. Spreckels pledged $500,000 if an additional 3 million could be raised, and stock was sold to many small investors who hoped to force lower prices by introducing competition. Soon after it was constructed, the SF&SJRR was sold to the Atcheson, Topeka and the Santa Fe RR. Lot to be sold without reserve. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing