Philip Albright Small Franklin (1871-1939) President and chairman of International Mercantile Marine Company from 1916 to 1936. At the time of the Titanic disaster on the 14th of April, 1912, Franklin was in charge of the White Star Line office and terminus affairs at IMM headquarters in New York City. Upon hearing about the Titanic's sinking via wireless messages, he did not at first assume the worst, saying in a statement to worried relatives and friends of the ship's ill-fated passengers and press reporters crowding outside the White Star Line offices at roughly 10:30 PM that night, "There is no danger that Titanic will sink. The boat is unsinkable, and nothing but inconvenience will be suffered by the passengers." Later at about 11:30, he insisted, "We hope that reports from the Virginian and the Parisian will prove to be true, and that they will turn up with some of the passengers (other than those already aboard the Cunard liner Carpathia )." But, by midnight, Franklin admitted the seriousness of the situation, saying in a statement, "I thought her unsinkable, and I based my opinion on the best expert advice. I do not understand it." Nevertheless, his competent handling of the public relations crisis in New York at the time earned him praise from the directors of IMM, and was later promoted in due course as Joseph Bruce Ismay had fallen out of favor due to the latter's controversial association with the ship. Ismay had, at one point, been considered for the presidency of IMM before the Titanic disaster. Offered here is a International Mercantile Marine Co. stock certificate, 1915, signed by Philip Franklin as Vice-President.

VERY GOOD