A double-sided ledger from the Hudson River Railroad Company account books, twice signed by Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794-1877), the railroad company's majority shareholder. Vanderbilt signed his name as "C Vanderbilt" two times: on line 195 and on line 196. One side of the ledger is entitled "11th Dividend" and is dated October 15, 1867 while the reverse is entitled "12th Dividend" and is dated April 15, 1868; Vanderbilt's two signatures appear on the former page. Lightly toned, and with isolated edge darkening, else near fine. On elephant folio-sized ledger pages measuring 11.25" x 17.25."

The Hudson River Railroad Company paid out its shareholders 4% dividends on Capital Stock twice a year, in April and in October. The red- and blue-ruled ledger pages are partially printed and partially handwritten and divided into six columns. Stockholder signatures appear in the "Signatures" column at extreme right. The two pages of this ledger show the names of 42 stockholders collecting dividends. Cornelius Vanderbilt signed receipts on behalf of himself and his eldest son William Henry Vanderbilt (1821-1885). These entries appear as:

- Line 195, "Wm H Vanderbilt," referring to William Henry Vanderbilt, Vanderbilt's eldest son. William's 2,133 shares accrued $8,532 at 4% interest. William's semi-annual dividend was the equivalent of over $159,000 in 2021 currency.

- Line 196, "C Vanderbilt," referring to Cornelius Vanderbilt himself. Vanderbilt's 22,740 shares generated a dividend of $90,960, which is nearly $1.7 million in today's money!

Cornelius Vanderbilt had been known as "The Commodore" since his days as a teenaged ferry boatman plying the waters between Staten Island and Manhattan. Vanderbilt had a keen business sense, and gained his fortune investing in ferry and steamboat service in and around New York City, New Jersey, Long Island Sound, and the Hudson River. In the late 1840s, he diversified his portfolio and began investing in railroad companies. He bought control of the Hudson River Railroad in 1864, and the New York Central Railroad in 1867, merging the two companies as the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad Company in 1869.

The Hudson River Railroad was chartered in 1846 in order to extend existing railroad service between Troy and Rensselaer, New York, with new routes south into New York City. It fully opened in 1851; its trajectory on the east side of the Hudson River closely follows that of today's Metro-North Railroad Hudson Line.

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.

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