Standard Shipbuilding Corporation - Shooter's Island, New York 1915

Beautifully RARE engraved specimen certificate from the Standard Shipbuilding Corporation printed around 1915. This historic document was printed by the Republic Banknote Company and has an ornate border around it with a vignette of a ship in a harbor. This item is over 96 years old.


Certificate Vignette

STANDARD SHIPBUILDING CORPORATION. 44 Whitehall Street, New York; Shipyard,

Shooter's Island. New York. Officers : President, Jose Marlmon ; First Vice President, Gabriel Juve ; Second Vice President and General Manager. Eralllo S. Godoy ; Secretary, Adrian H. Larkln ; Treasurer,

Antonio B. Caragol; Assistant Treasurer. Felix Oarbonell. Directors: Antonio B. Caragol, Emilio S. Godoy, Gabriel Juve, Adrian H. Larkln, Jose

Marlmon. STANDARD STEEL CAR CO., Frlck Building, Pittsburgh, Pa. ; Fisher Building, Chicago, 111. ;

170 Broadway, New York.

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Shooter's Island 47.654 acres

During World War I (1914-1918), the Standard Shipbuilding Company employed nine thousand men to produce steel cargo ships on Shooter’s Island, New York. The massive size of the shipyards eventually required thirty acres of fill to accommodate the expanding business. After the war, operations came to a halt, and the island became a dump for derelict vessels; the surrounding waters became too polluted for even birds to wade. The island was ignored until the 1960s when a local politician proposed to obliterate Shooter’s Island to make ship navigation easier.

Luckily the proposal was discredited and with the Clean Water Act of 1972 it was only a matter of time before the island became a bird’s paradise. At least seven species of wading birds breed here, and forty-three species have been seen on the island. Because of its importance as a habitat and breeding ground for birds, Shooter’s Island was assigned to Parks on March 3, 1994 as a bird sanctuary. Nine of the island’s 43 acres belong to New Jersey (Bayonne owns 7.5 acres, Elizabeth owns 1.5 acres). New York State paid New Jersey $30,000 for the right to manage the whole of the island in perpetuity. The island is closed to the public and is only visited by scientists and government employees. The New York Audubon Society is responsible for wildlife research on the island.

Some of Shooter’s Island beautiful avian guests include glossy ibis, black-crowned night herons, yellow-crowned night herons, snowy egrets, great egrets, and cattle egrets. Although cattle egrets come from Africa, snowy egrets and great egrets are native to America and were once hunted to near extinction. Fortunately, legislation protecting egrets and their breeding grounds-such as Shooter’s Island-has effectively fought extinction and their numbers are increasing.

History from Wikipedia and OldCompany.com (old stock certificate research service).