Stone & Webster, Incorporated (Specimen)

Charles Stone and Edwin Webster first met in 1884 and became close friends while studying electrical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 1890, only two years after graduating, they formed the Massachusetts Electrical Engineering Company. The name was changed to Stone & Webster in 1893. Their company was one of the earliest electrical engineering consulting firms in the United States[1]. Stone & Webster's first major project was the construction of a hydroelectric plant for the New England paper company in 1890. Stone & Webster not only had valuable insight into developing and managing utilities but they also had keen intuition for businesses to invest in. Through the panic of 1893, Stone & Webster were able to acquire the Nashville Electric Light and Power Company for a few thousand dollars and later sold it for $500,000.

Throughout the next ten years, Stone & Webster acquired interest in large number of utilities while offering managerial, engineering and financial consulting to a number of independent utility firms. Even though Stone & Webster were not a holding company, their financial and managerial presence meant that they had considerable influence in policy decisions. They would often be paid in utility stock. By 1912, the company divided itself into three specialized subsidiaries: Stone & Webster Engineering, Stone & Webster Management Association and Stone & Webster and Blodget Inc.

In 1927, Stone & Webster entered the investments business merging a newly formed securities subsidiary with the investment banking firm of Blodgett & Company, founded in 1886, to form Stone & Webster and Blodgett Inc. In January, 1946, the name of the business, was changed to Stone and Webster Securities Corporation. Stone and Webster Securities was one of the 17 U.S. investment banking and securities firms named in the United States Department of Justice's antitrust investigation of Wall Street commonly known as the Investment bankers case.

Stone & Webster, Inc., has since offered its customers in the United States and the world engineering, design, construction, consulting, and environmental services to build electric power plants, petrochemical plants and refineries, factories, infrastructure, and civil works projects. Stone & Webster helped build substantial portions of the nation's power production infrastructure, including coal, oil, natural gas, nuclear, and hydroelectric plants constituting around 20 percent of U.S. generating capacity. The company played a significant role in the nation's defense efforts during World War I and II and afterwards, helping develop the A-Bomb, constructing large shipyards, and creating alternate means of production of strategic materials such as synthetic rubber. Much of the world's capacity in petrochemical and plastics development was also developed as a result of Stone & Webster efforts.

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Close Up of Vignette:




Certificate: Common Stock, specimen, late 1900’s

Printer: American Bank Note Company

Dimensions: 8” (h) x 12” (w)

State: MA-Massachusetts

Subject Matter: Engineering Companies | Specimen Pieces

Vignette Topic(s): Allegorical Featured | Map Featured | Lightning Bolts

Condition: No fold lines, punch hole cancels in signature areas and body, very crisp.