The Société des Usines Chimiques Rhône-Poulenc is the precursor of the global pharmaceutical and chemical giant born from the merger of Usines du Rhône and Poulenc Frères in 1928. This certificate of 4 registered shares of 100 francs, numbered 007808 and in the name of Chomette Jean residing in London, was issued in Paris on 16 November 1938, on the eve of World War II. The document is adorned with the medallions of three of the greatest names in French chemical science: Louis Pasteur, Marcellin Berthelot and Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier, an elaborate iconographic choice underlining the tradition of scientific excellence on which the company built its reputation. The London ownership by a French shareholder (Chomette Jean) in 1938 most likely reflects concerns about the mounting dangers in Europe. Rhône-Poulenc would become after the war one of the world's most important chemical and pharmaceutical groups before merging with Hoechst to form Aventis in 1999. An outstanding French industrial scripophily document, with remarkable scientific iconography