1912 Vitaphone Stock subscription

[fmblizz]

Picked this up recently on Ebay. I believe this is from the original Vitaphone Company that was in New Jersey, not the Vitaphone Sound Film Co. from later on.. NJ is not mentioned on the certificate anywhere but I thought they originated in New Jersey and had a subsidiary company somewhere in Canada.

Any input would be appreciated.

Blizz

[mrrgstuff]

Maybe not relevant but here is a video I found about the Canadian operation. There is a website also with more detail.

https://youtu.be/mdZTptImR_M?si=vloSlBHPH8V6A5_G

[Granby]

Hmmm.... Did the company originate in Delaware? I see a reference near the top that Delaware was the original state it was Incorporated....

- Chris

[fmblizz]

this is the reverse side.. I always thought the company was based in New Jersey..

blizz

[alang]

Delaware always had very favorable corporate laws, so many companies are incorporated in Delaware - be it just with a mailbox

Andreas

[Granby]

Ok, I follow now.... You're right, everything on the document appears to point to New York, not New Jersey (other than the state of original incorporation). I will pause and see if any others might want to chime in - who have historical knowledge about this particular company....

[BillH_NJ]

They may have had offices in NY but the factory was here in Plainfield, NJ (where I have lived for the past 34 years). As the obituary indicates he went into the palm oil business after ceasing production of Vitaphone. At the time Plainfield was a major commercial area in the NJ suburbs and home to many wealthy businessmen. He lived here in Plainfield and is buried in the local cemetery. So far I have managed to acquire 5 Vitaphones (with one of them being Canadian). I like to bring them back to where they were made—the site of the factory is about a mile from me.

Bill Havlena