Cornelius Vanderbilt Twice-Signed Bond Ledger

Business magnate and philanthropist (1794-1877) who built his wealth in railroads and shipping as owner of the New York Central Railroad. Desirable collection of 22 oversized 13.25 x 15.75 ledger pages headed "Interest Due to holders of 6 per cent. Bonds of the Hudson River Rail Road Company," with entries dated between December 1, 1860 and February 1866, signed twice on the same page by Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt in June 1866: once for himself, "C. Vanderbilt," and once on behalf of Horace F. Clark, "for H. F. Clark, C. Vanderbilt." For his own interest payment, Vanderbilt records receipt of the large sum of $5,775 redeemed from a massive holding of 165,000 bonds. Other notable names listed within the ledger are John Q. Jones, C. V. S. Roosevelt, Robert Goelet, Samuel L. Gouverneur, Jr., and John David Wolfe. In fine condition.

As he neared 70, Cornelius Vanderbilt sold his lucrative shipping interests and turned his attention to railroads, a move which resulted in the creation of one of the nation's great transportation systems. In the early 1860s, Vanderbilt gained control of the New York & Harlem Railroad, followed shortly after by the run-down Hudson River Railroad. In both cases, Daniel Drew and other stock manipulators tried to make a killing at Vanderbilt's expense by short-selling stock in these companies, in the hopes of forcing the stock price down. Vanderbilt outwitted them, however, and many either lost substantial amounts of money or were wholly ruined. In 1867, Vanderbilt acquired the New York Central Railroad and, in 1869, merged it with the Hudson River Railroad to form the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad. Vanderbilt's well-documented battles with Daniel Drew and others, including Jay Gould, for control of the New York & Harlem, Hudson River and Erie railroads form some of the most colorful and exciting pages in the financial history of the United States.