Stocks and Bonds

Diamond Jim Brady Signed Providence Securities Gold Debenture

The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Company Gold Debenture issued by The Providence Securities Company. Value of $10,000, with 4% interest payable on November 1st and May 1st. Certificate number 1019 for "Antoinette P. Brayton, Providence R.I.". Dated "September 21, 1910", and signed by the legendary Diamond Jim Brady for The Providence Securities Company as "James B. Brady", Vice President. 13.25" x 9.5" with purple ornate border engravings. Cancellation stamps passing through Brady's signature, else fine condition.

James Buchanan Brady (1856-1917) made millions of dollars selling equipment to the burgeoning railroads of Jay Gould, W. Averell Harriman, J. Pierpont Morgan, Leland Stanford, and Cornelius Vanderbilt. An utterly self-made man, he began as a bellhop for the New York Central Railway, and rose to become assistant to the General Manager by the time he was 21. He then took a low-level management position with Manning, Maxwell, and Moore, a railroad and industrial supply company, and duplicated his rapid rise there. As an executive at the Fox Pressed Steel Car Company he became moderately wealthy with commissions on his increasingly sizable supply deals, though he earned most of his fortune with brilliant investment strategy on Wall Street. By the beginning of the Twentieth Century he had a net worth approaching $15M.

Believing that his success should be visibly obvious, Brady took to wearing the finest suits and an array of glittering jewels, earning his nickname "Diamond Jim". He was a constant presence at the upstairs poker and baccarat tables at the Waldorf-Astoria, and in New York City's Broadway night life he was known as a dancer and big tipper. His extravagances included a $9,000 bejeweled watch, a diamond-studded umbrella, and an $8,500 pair of diamond-studded glasses for his dog. He drove the first automobile in New York City, and it was said that even his underwear was bejeweled. A gourmet and a glutton, he was well-known for ordering lavish, dozen-course meals. He never touched alcoholic beverages and he never married, but he had discreet romantic liaisons with actress Lillian Russell.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.