Gulf & Western Corporation ( Became Paramount Pictures - Now Viacom ) 1959 - Michigan

Beautifully engraved SCARCE certificate from the Gulf & Western Corporation issued in 1959. This historic document was printed by the Franklin Lee Division of the American Banknote Company and has an ornate border around it with a vignette of an eagle. This item has the printed signatures of the Company’s President ( Woodhouse ) and Secretary ( Joel Dolkart ). The certificate was issued to Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner and Smith, Inc. and is the earliest Gulf & Western certificate we have seen.






Certificate Vignette



In 1960, the company changed its name to Gulf & Western Industries and reincorporated in the state of Delaware. In 1989, the company changed its name to Paramount Communications and in 1994 was acquired by Viacom Inc.

Properties owned by the Gulf & Western Corporation included South Puerto Rico Sugar, Collyer Insulated Wire, Desilu Productions, Consolidated Cigar, E, W. Bliss, Universal American, Associates Investment Co. Brown Co. (forest products), Allis-Chalmers, Universal American , E. W. Bliss Paramount Pictures, and Consolidated Cigar's which included the products Dutch Masters, El Producto,Muriel, and other cigars.