This certificate of 6 shares of $100 represents a stake in one of the largest American railway networks of the 19th and early 20th century: the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway, known as the "Rock Island Railroad". Founded in 1847, this network linked Chicago to the plains of the Middle West through to Texas, playing a crucial role in the settlement of the American West. Certificate N°C43754, issued on 26 December 1902, is characteristic of the great American railway certificates of the railroad era: heavy paper, engraved vignette with steam locomotive, elaborate geometric ornamentation and manuscript officer signatures.