I recently posted this 1846 stock certificate of the Baltimore & Ohio RR in the stocks and bonds thread. But I also have a question that I'm hoping a fellow collector of obsolete notes may be able to answer. This stock inexplicably shows no imprint of the printer, as was always the practice, but it seems certain that it was produced by one of the major bank note companies in the 1830s. The vignette of the locomotive "Novelty" is too distinctive to be found elsewhere. However, it's entirely possible that one or both of the "maidens" were used on broken bank notes from the era. Can any forum member match one up and identify the printing house?
Nope. They would have certainly included their company name on the note. Here's a little help I got on another forum. This very rare fractional note from the Grenada Savings Institution shows a match for the maiden on the right. Naturally, the bank note shows no printer's name either.
This treasure hunt has really gone off in an interesting direction. I went directly to Terry Cox, who administers the Coxrail database of railroad stocks and bonds. He took up the hunt and posted what he found on his blog. From this information, I was able to connect the cited engraver -- Edward Stabler -- to other work. An engraver by the same name also produced the first presidential seal, as well as official seals for the U.S. House and Senate! Stay tuned, more research to come.
@Dollarsavr - This mystery is within your area of interest and your geographical vicinity. Any thoughts?
