View at North Bend, Ohio

This vignette is labeled "View at North Bend, Ohio" and seems to have been engraved by Franklin Bank Note Company for the Cincinnati Indianapolis St. Louis & Chicago Railway Company (CIStL&C) in about 1880. The image appeared that year on the company's bonds and stock certificates and saw use for about nine years.

The image also appeared on bonds for two nearby Indiana railroad companies at about the same time (the Columbus Hope & Greensburg Railroad Co. and the Vernon Greensburgh & Rushville Railroad Co.). I haven't had time for research, but I bet those two companies were related to the CIStL&C.

Because of inevitable artistic license, I cannot pinpoint the image's exact location. Still, I suspect the image was created from a photograph, looking eastward, taken slightly upriver from the small community of North Bend, The hills at the viewer's right are in Kentucky. The sidewheel riverboat is heading upriver toward Cincinnati which is about twelve miles from this point in a straight line. The Indiana border is about four miles to the west.

Archives International Auctions, sale 26

Archives International Auctions
Sale 26, Jun 25, 2015 (aka Summer Auction 2015) featuring numerous paper and medallic items by engraver, die sinker and medailleur Rudolph P. Laubenheimer
201-944-4800
www.archivesinternational.com

This sale includes 1,172 lots of which 474 represent creations by Laubenheimer. I am guessing that most of my readers will find something to like among Laubenheimer's works, including my favorites, his hand-drawn and engraved illustrations.

While this sale contains only 51 rail-related certificates, I will virtually guarantee that several will appeal to my collector-readers. The two standouts include specimen bonds from the San Francisco & North Pacific Railway Co (lot 1108) and the Yosemite Valley Railroad Co. (lot 1112). The later item is an American Bank Note piece with a stunning engraving of Yosemite Valley!

Other rare lots include:

• McLeod Air Railroad Signal Co (lot 1114, 1880 issued stock)
• New Orleans City & Lake Railroad Co (lot 1123, 1893 specimen bond)
• Morgans Louisiana & Texas Railroad & Steamship Co (lot 1124, 1880 proof bond)
• Texas Pacific Land Trust (lot 1144, 1960s specimen stock )
• Central Pacific Railway Co (lots 1146, 1147, 1148, 1899 specimen bonds)
• Norfolk & Southern Railroad Co (lot 1149, 1891 specimen bond)
• Puget Sound Chelan & Spokane Railway Co (lot 1150, issued stock)

This is yet another beautifully-done catalog that we've come to expect from Dr. Robert Schwartz and company. (And a full half-inch thick!). Be sure to order your copy as soon as possible.