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NY - 1866 - Roberts Petroleum Torpedo Co. Stock Certificate

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Western Americana Start Price:250.00 USD Estimated At:500.00 - 900.00 USD
NY - 1866 - Roberts  Petroleum Torpedo Co. Stock Certificate
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Certificate No. 130, datelined New York, Dec., 1866. Signed by Walter Roberts as secretary and William S. Fogg as president, with red 25c internal revenue stamp affixed at far right. A veteran of the Civil War, Col. Edward A.L. Roberts of New York was granted one of many patents for an “Improvement in Exploding Torpedoes in Artesian Wells” to "fracture oil-bearing formations and increase oil production (patent no. 47,458)." In February, 1865 E.A.L. Roberts and his brother Walter formed the Roberts Petroleum Torpedo Company. Roberts also received a patent for the "Roberts Torpedo," which used nitroglycerin detonations to increase well production. The invention is a major technological achievement of the U.S. Petroleum industry. The use of unlicensed practitioners to perform this operation, typically at night, also caused the term "moonlighter” to be created [Ref: aoghs.org].