The United States Centennial International Exhibition.
Title
The United States Centennial International Exhibition
Description
Share certificate issued by the Centennial Board of Finance containing a series of historical and allegorical vignettes, scenes, and figures. Vignettes depict a view on a coastline showing a white man, attired in colonial dress, reaping with a sickle beside a white man driving a plow in front of a steer-drawn conestoga wagon, a moving train, and sailing ships; the signing of the Declaration of Independence; and a scene depicting a Native American man, attired in pants and moccasins with a feather in his hair and a quiver of arrows on his back, covering his face from the sight of a dilapidated windmill near rows of industrial buildings spewing smoke. Along the sides figures include: tradesmen; laborers; soldiers; frontiersmen; inventors, including Benjamin Franklin; Native Americans; and an African American man reading. In the top center, allegorical figures of Liberty, Art, and Peace, portrayed as white women, accept offerings from representations of people from across the world, including African women; a woman attired in a turban, a person with a parrot on their shoulder, and an Asian man with a queue. Also contains: busts of George Washington and Ulysses S. Grant; an eagle holding an American flag; views of the State House and Capitol; and the printed seal of the Centennial Board of Finance. The Centennial Exhibition of 1876 celebrated the centennial of the United States through an international exhibition of industry, agriculture, and art., Title from item., P.2002.67.77 issued to Margaret R. Bringhurst for one share on October 20, 1875. Signed by Fred. Fraley, Treasurer; and John Welsh, President., 5788.F.10 issued to Mary Norris Logan for one share on November 10, 1876. Signed by Fred. Fraley, Treasurer; and John Welsh, President., Printed on recto: Shares $10. Each. Capital $10,000,000., P.2002.67.66 poor condition., Gift of Helen Beitler, 2002 [P.2002.67.66]., Originally part of a McAllister scrapbook of Centennial and Columbian Exposition views [5758.F.10. McAllister Collection, gift, 1886., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Creator
United States, Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Date
[ca. 1872]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *Philadelphia certificates - Centennial [P.2002.67.77], Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department **Philadelphia certificates - Centennial [5758.F.10]