George D. Cook Company papers, 1898-1929

Processed with funding provided by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.

Copyright may be retained by the creators of items, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law, unless otherwise noted.

Gift (accession #: M1975.0017).

George D. Cook Company records (Chicago History Museum) plus a detailed description, date, and box/folder number of a specific item.

Personal and business correspondence, receipts, order forms, bonds, bulletins, and other administrative files of the George D. Cook Company, an investment securities business specializing in Mexican bonds founded by George D. Cook in the early 1900s. Also present are administrative files relative to Cook's other businesses including the Cook-Turner Company, Cafetal Carlota coffee company, and Automatic Electric Clock Company. Weekly bulletins Cook published to inform the American public of the economic advantages of supporting Mexican development are also included. The collection is arranged chronologically; some alphabetization by topic exists within years.

The George D. Cook Company (Chicago, Ill.) was founded by George Cook in the early 1900s as an investment securities business specializing in Mexican bonds. Cook owned additional businesses in Chicago, New York City, and Mexico including the Mexican Mineral Railway Company, Automatic Electric Clock Company, Cafetal Carlota Company (a coffee company), and Cook-Turner Company (co-founded with Arthur Turner), which dealt in mines and industrial properties. Cook promoted economic development in Mexico and was a member of the Mexican National Exhibition of 1908, which assisted Mexico in commercial, industrial, and material development. Cook claimed to be the first to sell foreign bonds in the United States.

Related materials at Chicago History Museum, Research Center, include the George Dilwyn Cook papers.

• Names
  • Cook, George Dillwyn, 1845-1920--Archives
  • Cook, George Shaw
  • Cook, Jas.
  • Cook, Stella
  • Turner, Arthur
  • Automatic Electric Clock Company
  • Cafetal Carlota Company
  • Cook-Turner Company
  • George D. Cook Company (Chicago, Ill.)--Archives
  • Jalisco Securities (Mexico)
  • Mexican Mineral Railway Company
• Subject
  • Economic development--Mexico--19th century
  • Economic development--Mexico--20th century
  • Investment banking--United States--19th century
  • Investment banking--United States--20th century
  • Banks and banking--Illinois--Chicago--19th century
  • Banks and banking--Illinois--Chicago--20th century
  • Railroad companies--Mexico--19th century
  • Railroad companies--Mexico--20th century
  • Railroad companies--United States--19th century
  • Railroad companies--United States--20th century
  • Securities industry--United States--19th century
  • Securities industry--United States--20th century
  • Securities industry--Mexico--19th century
  • Securities industry--Mexico--20th century
• Geographic Coverage
  • Chicago (Ill.)--Commerce--19th century
  • Chicago (Ill.)--Commerce--20th century
  • Mexico--Economic conditions--19th century
  • Mexico--Economic conditions--20th century

The collection is arranged in two series.

Series 1. Correspondence, 1898-1929 (box 1-10)

Series 1 consists of correspondence from the George D. Cook Company, Cook-Turner Company, Cafetal Carlota Company, and Automatic Electric Clock Company. The correspondence is arranged chronologically and largely pertains to business transactions and propositions, orders and shipments, and general inquiries. Also present are letters from Cook's son and wife regarding finances after Cook's death. Much of the correspondence is between George D. Cook, Arthur Turner (co-owner of Cook-Turner Company), George Shaw Cook (vice president of George Cook Company), and Jas D. Cook (secretary and treasurer of George Cook Company). Also present is correspondence with the following railroad companies: Mexican Central Railroad, Pan-American Railroad, Florida East Coast Railroad, Pennsylvania Railroad, Long Island Railroad Branch, Mexican Mineral Railway, Buffalo and Susquehanna Railway, and the Rock Island and Pacific Railway. Also present in the collection are scattered telegram receipts, bond documentation, a map of coal fields in Booke County, West Virginia, and George D. Cook’s bulletins on economic development in Mexico.

Series 2. Financial records, 1905-1906 (box 11)

Series 2 contains shipping receipts, office supply receipts, order slips, bills, and other financial records of the Cafetal Carlota Company, a coffee company. Also present are salary vouchers.