A STOCK CERTIFICATE SIGNED BY THE 'QUEEN OF WALL STREET.' GREEN, HETTY. 1834-1916. Document Si...

A STOCK CERTIFICATE SIGNED BY THE 'QUEEN OF WALL STREET.' GREEN, HETTY. 1834-1916. Document Signed ('Hetty H.R. Green') on verso of certificate granting Green 4 shares in the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad Company, 1 p, 8vo (174 x 273 mm), New York, October 6, 1902, light creasing, recto signatures cancelled with punches, float-mounted and framed to 404 x 678 mm. Provenance: Private Collection, Beverly Hills, California. Hetty Green was the most successful American woman financier of the 19th century. Born into a wealthy whaling family, she learned the art of good investment from her father and grandfather. Her admirers referred to her as the 'Queen of Wall Street,' while her detractors labeled her the 'Witch of Wall Street,' a knock on her penchant for wearing a single black dress until it was worn out. Her Yankee frugality served her well over the years, however. Even though her inheritance was locked away in a trust fund, she managed to amass a significant fortune through wise investing strategy ('buy low, sell high,' basically), and was less vulnerable to the buffeting of the marketplace because her expenses were so few. When she died in 1916, her fortune was estimated between $100 and $200 million, making her the world's richest woman at the time. 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