"Pennsylvania Oil Wells" printed below vignette. No. 15, issued for 300 shares to Egbert Lees in Philadelphia in 1864. Signed by president William Curtis and treasurer Willis. Not cancelled. Highly illustrated design with four vignettes: oil barrels being loaded onto train car (top center), oil derrick and barrels being filled (left border) and two allegorical vignettes (right and bottom center). Printed by American Bank Note Co., Philadelphia. 25 cent US IR stamp attached on the left. Deep folds with some separation. 6.5 x 10.5" In 1865 the Commercial Oil Company on the James Tarr farm (Oil Creek fields) was having trouble with its pumping outfits, which necessitated frequent withdrawals from its oil wells of the tubing and seed bags, and consequent releasing of the column of water into the oil rocks. This resulted in great damage to its wells. They then came up with the idea of inserting into its finished wells three-and-a-quarter-inch casing below the upper fresh water rocks with a seed bag on the outside of the lower end of this casing to keep out the fresh water. The tubing without a seed bag was then inserted inside of this casing, and this plan was used generally in old wells and new wells. Later mud was used instead of flax seed. [oilcitypa.net]Date: 1864Country (if not USA): State: PennsylvaniaCity: Venango CountyProvenance: Ken Prag Collection