[African Americana]

Profit Sharing Loan Certificate [caption title]

[Des Moines, Ia. Robert E. Patten, 1951]. Broadside, 8 x 6 inches, printed in brown ink within a decorative border. Mild toning. Near fine. Item #3518

A rare sample copy of an original promotional certificate offering a loan to prospective members of a “Co-operative movement” in Iowa. African-American publisher, printer, and Co- operative movement activist Robert E. Patten, from Des Moines, Iowa, upon the loan of $10.00 to him, agrees, within various periods of time, to pay off the loan, with $11.00 in cash, or $15.00 in labor or groceries. The certificate states (in part): "To arouse more general interest in the Co-operative movement among a large number of people I am seeking the moral and financial assistance of a few friends and acquaintances to whom I pledge direct and sole responsibility....” The document is signed by Patten in holograph facsimile, as issued.

Robert E. Patten (1883 -1968) was born in Georgia, and moved to Des Moines, Iowa in 1909. He was a printer, publisher, and social activist in the African-American community, promoting various progressive movements including organic farming and co-operatives, ending urban blight (“The Community Garden Club”), supporting pacifist and anti-nuclear causes, and more. The State Historical Society of Iowa recognized Robert E. Patten with an exhibition devoted to his work.

Price: $275.00