Stock printed by American Bank Note Company, New York. Purple Common Stock Type. Philip Albright Small Franklin (1 February 1871 " 14 August 1939) was president & chairman of International Mercantile Marine Company (IMM) from 1916 to 1936. At the time of the Titanic disaster on April 15, 1912, Franklin was in charge of the White Star Line office & terminus affairs at IMM headquarters in New York City. At the time of the Titanic disaster on April 15, 1912, Franklin was in charge of the White Star Line office & terminus affairs at IMM headquarters in New York City. Upon hearing about the ship's sinking via wireless messages, he did not at first assume the worst, saying in a statement to worried relatives & friends of the ship's ill-fated passengers & press reporters crowding outside the White Star Line offices at around 10:30 PM that night, "There is no danger that Titanic will sink. The boat is unsinkable, & nothing but inconvenience will be suffered by the passengers." Later, at about 11:30, he insisted, "We hope that reports from the Virginian & the Parisian will prove to be true, & that they will turn up w/ some of the passengers..." (Other than those already aboard the Cunard liner Carpathia) But, by midnight, Franklin admitted the seriousness of the situation, saying in a statement, "I thought her unsinkable, & I based my opinion on the best expert advice. I do not understand it." Nevertheless, his competent handling of the public relations crisis in New York at the time earned him praise from the directors of IMM, & Franklin was later promoted in due course as J. Bruce Ismay had fallen out of favor due to the latter's controversial association w/ the lost ship. Ismay had, at one point, been considered for the presidency of IMM before the Titanic disaster. Read more at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Albright_Small_Franklin The White Star Line was a British shipping company. Founded out of the remains of a defunct packet company, it gradually rose up to become one of the most prominent shipping lines in the world, providing passenger & cargo services between the British Empire & the United States. While many other shipping lines focused primarily on speed, White Star branded their services by focusing more on providing comfortable passages for both upper class travellers & immigrants. Today, it is remembered for the innovative vessel Oceanic & for the losses of some of their best passenger liners, including the wrecking of Atlantic in 1873, the sinking of Republic in 1909, the infamous loss of Titanic in 1912 & the wartime sinking of HMHSBritannic in 1916. Despite its casualties, the company retained a prominent hold on shipping markets around the globe before falling into decline during the Great Depression, which ultimately led to a merger w/ its chief rival, Cunard Line, which operated as Cunard-White Star Line until 1950, when Cunard purchased White Star's share in the joint company. Cunard Line then operated as a separate entity until 2005 & is now part of Carnival Corporation & plc. As a lasting reminder of the White Star Li Item ordered may not be exact piece shown. All original and authentic.