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Los Angeles $100 Bearer Bond Certificate
Trustee's Bond Certificate for a bond investment in the Los AngelesBoard of Trade Produce Exchange and Building.
The document is signed by S.B. Lewis, M.D. Johnson and Eugene Germain as Trustees and, on behalf of California Bank, by H.G. Newhall, President and T.J. Weldon as Secretary.
Lithgraphed by the Los Angeles Lithographic Company, the certificate includes a striking view of the LA Board of Trade.
Eugene Germain, a native of Switzerland who had arrived in the city via the Isthmus of Panama in 1870, was the founder of the Germain Fruit Company. Germain became the first president of the Los Angeles Board of Trade, organized in 1883, and served two terms in the capacity. He was one of the first Vice-Presidents of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce and President of the Stock and Produce Exchange of Los Angeles.
Germain served as Treasurer of the Los Angeles Masonic Lodge No. 42 in the 1890s, belonged to the Odd Fellows and the Jonathan Club and was a charter member of the California Club. In 1893, Germain was appointed by President Grover Cleveland for a four-year term as United States Consul at Zurich, Switzerland.
