John D. Rockefeller Standard Oil Company Contract Signed as President. Two pages, 8" x 13", New York; February 16, 1899. John D. Rockefeller executes a land transaction between Standard Oil of Ohio and Standard Oil of Indiana for a parcel of land in Wabash County, Indiana, signed only months before he would resurrect his oil trust in New Jersey. Rockefeller, as President of the Standard Oil Company of Ohio, purchases a plot of land in Wabash County, Indiana from the Standard Oil Company of Indiana for the sum of $450.00. Signed, "John D. Rockefeller". Countersigned by witnesses W. R. Squire and O.F. Taggart. Contract housed in gray wrappers. Wrappers record it was "Entered for taxation" on May 19, 1899. Only 22 years after its founding in 1870, John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil Company had grown into a powerful national monopoly, compelling the State of Ohio to declare it an illegal holding company and ordering its breakup in 1892. In response, Rockefeller separated Standard Oil of Ohio but remained in control of the entire empire by virtue of being the largest stockholder in all of them. In 1899, only months after Rockefeller executed the present agreement, New Jersey modified its business laws and allowed Standard Oil to incorporate there as a holding company. That arrangement lasted until 1911, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the trust constituted an "unreasonable" monopoly under the Sherman Anti-Trust act and ordered its breakup into 90 independent companies. Standard Oil of New Jersey became Esso (late Exxon), while Standard Oil of New York became Mobil. Condition: Previous separations along horizontal folds reinforced on verso with archival tape. Near complete separation along one horizontal fold on page one. Edgewear. Wrappers rubbed and soiled. HID03101062020 © 2022 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved

Buyer's Premium per Lot:
25% on the first $300,000 (minimum $49), plus 20% of any amount between $300,001 and $3,000,000, plus 15% of any amount over $3,000,001 per lot.