You will receive the exact certificate pictured
Over 75 years old
Common stock
December 4, 1928
Issued, canceled
American Bank Note Company
Hand signed
11" (w) by 7" (h)
This piece is signed by Jacob J. Shubert.
Jacob J. Shubert was the sixth child and third son of Duvvid Schubart and Katrina Helwitz, a Jewish couple. Jacob was still a small child when the family emigrated in 1881 to the United States, settling in Syracuse, New York where a number of Jewish families from their hometown were already living.
His father's alcoholism kept the family in difficult financial circumstances and both he and his older brothers received little in the way of education and had no choice but to go to work at a young age. With borrowed money, he and brothers Sam and Lee Shubert eventually embarked on a business venture that led to them becoming the successful operators of several theatre houses in upstate New York.
The Shubert brothers decided to expand their theatrical operations and in 1900 Sam and Lee Shubert moved to New York City leaving Jacob at home to manage their existing theatres. In New York, the elder Shuberts laid the foundations for what was to become the largest theatre empire in the 20th century including Broadway's Winter Garden and Shubert Theatres. In 1905 Sam Shubert was traveling to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on business when the passenger train he was on collided with several freight cars. Shubert died as a result of the injuries he sustained. His death changed the brothers' business dynamics and Jacob assumed a much larger role.
Together, although often feuding, Jacob and Lee Shubert overcame the stranglehold on the industry by the Theatrical Syndicate's monopoly under Abe Erlanger and Mark Klaw to build the largest theatre empire in the 20th century.
Jacob Shubert's son, John, took over as head of the operations in the 1950s but died unexpectedly on November 17, 1962 and a year later, Jacob died at age 84 and was interred in the family plot in the Salem Fields Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.
He left a substantial portion of his assets to the Shubert Foundation, and by 1972, the assets of his estate totalled $60 million.
Historical Context
The Shubert Theatre Corporation was founded by the Shubert brothers, Sam S. Shubert, Lee Shubert, and Jacob J. Shubert of Syracuse, New York - colloquially and collectively known as "The Shuberts" - in the late 19th century in upstate New York, entering into New York City productions in 1900. The organization produced a large number of shows and began acquiring theaters. Sam Shubert died in 1905, but by 1916 the two remaining brothers had become powerful theater moguls with a nationwide presence.
In 1907, the Shuberts tried to enter vaudeville with the United States Amusement Company. In the spring of 1920 they made another attempt, establishing Shubert Advanced Vaudeville with Lee Shubert as President and playing two shows per day in Boston, Dayton, Detroit, Cleveland, Chicago, Philadelphia and in September 1921 opening in New York.
In April 1922, the Shuberts teamed with Isidore Herk and E. Thomas Beatty formed the Affiliated Theatres Corporation, which would book shows for the chain. Faced with fierce competition from the B. F. Keith Circuit, the Shuberts closed their vaudeville operation in February 1923.
By 1929, the Shubert Theatre chain included Broadway's most important venues, the Winter Garden, the Sam S. Shubert, and the Imperial theaters. The company also owned, managed, operated, or booked nearly a thousand theaters nationwide. The company continued to produce stage productions in New York until the 1940s, returning to producing Broadway productions in the 1970s after a hiatus.
The company was reorganized in 1973, and as of 2016 owned or operated seventeen Broadway theaters in New York City, two off-Broadway theaters - Stage 42 and New World Stages - and the Forrest Theatre in Philadelphia.
Several former Shubert-owned theaters across the United States are still referred to by the Shubert name. One of the most famous is the New Haven Shubert, the second theater ever built by the Shubert Organization. Until the 1970s, major Broadway producers often premiered shows there before opening in New York. It was immortalized in many mid-20th century films, such as All About Eve.
Another important regional theater was the Shubert in Chicago, Illinois, located within the Majestic Building at 22 West Monroe Street. Originally known as the Majestic Theatre, the Shubert Organization purchased it in 1945 and rechristened it the "Sam Shubert Theatre". The Shuberts sold the theatre to the Nederlander Organization in 1991 and is now known as the CIBC Theatre.
In 2016, it sold its longtime headquarters at 1700 Broadway to Ruben Cos for $280 million.
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