When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Amazing piece of history.
This is an original share certificate from the Quincy Library (Quincy Library Association) in Quincy, Illinois, dated April 17, 1841.
Key details from the document
• Certificate No. 12 for one share.
• Issued to Almon Wheat.
• Dated at Quincy on April 17, 1841.
• Signed by Lorenzo Bull (Secretary) and C. M. Phillips (President).
• Printed by W. Peel.
• It states the share is transferable on the books of the Library.
Historical context
The Quincy Library Association was organized in March 1841 as one of the earliest formal libraries in Quincy (Adams County), Illinois:
• On March 5, 1841, a group met at the old courthouse. Major J. H. Holton presided, and Lorenzo Bull served as secretary.
• A constitution and bylaws were adopted on March 13.
• Officers were elected on March 20: E. J. (or C. M.) Phillips as president, Dr. J. N. Ralston as vice president, Lorenzo Bull as secretary, and others as directors/treasurer. It received a charter of incorporation under Illinois law.
• The library opened for circulation around April 18, 1841 (the day after this certificate was issued). It operated on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday evenings (plus Saturday afternoons).
This was a subscription/stock library (common before free public libraries became widespread). Stockholders paid $5 per share plus an annual assessment (around $2). Life memberships were available for a higher payment ($25) or a donation of books valued at about $30. Non-stockholder patrons paid an annual fee. By December 1841 the collection had grown to about 735 books through subscriptions and donations.
Lorenzo Bull was a prominent early Quincy civic leader (later involved in banking and other institutions). The library evolved over decades: it remained a subscription institution for many years, later merged with or transitioned into free reading-room efforts in the late 1870s, and eventually became the basis for the modern Quincy Public Library (the free public library building opened in 1889).
Significance and collectibility
Library stock/share certificates from the 19th century are uncommon. Most early American libraries were subscription or membership organizations that issued such certificates, but relatively few survive. Collectors of scripophily (old stock and bond certificates) and library history note that library-related certificates are scarce—roughly one in many thousands of ordinary stock certificates.
This example is particularly early (1841, just as the association was launching) and directly tied to the founding of what became Quincy’s public library system. It has clear local historical value for Quincy/Adams County history, genealogy (Almon Wheat and the signers), and the broader story of American library development.
Condition notes (from the photo): It shows age-appropriate wear, folds, some staining/spotting, and edge wear, which is expected for a nearly 185-year-old paper document. The text and signatures remain legible.
In short, this is a genuine founding-era artifact of the Quincy Library Association—one of the city’s earliest cultural institutions—and a nice piece of Illinois local history. If you’re interested in further research, the Quincy Public Library’s Illinois Room or the Historical Society of Quincy and Adams County would be excellent places to dig deeper into the association’s records or the people named on the certificate.
