STEAMBOAT  - UNISSUED CERTIFICATE FOR SHARE 1834.
Certificate for shares in the Steamboat "Helen" unissued, 3 x 7 1/2. , 1834. The "HELEN" a double-hull wooden steamboat was being rebuilt Henry Burden for use on the Hudson River. Henry Burden (1791-1871) was an engineer and businessman who built an industrial complex in Troy, NY called the Burden Iron Works that featured the most powerful water wheel in the world. In 1833 Burden built the steamboat "Helen," named in honor of his wife. Its deck rested upon two cigar-shaped hulls, 300 feet in length, with a paddle-wheel amidships thirty feet in diameter. The "Helen" made an experimental voyage in December, 1833. In one trial in July 1834 she recorded 18 miles per hour. Another vessel, launched in 1837, had many improvements upon the first boat, all patented by Burden. (trma792); $35.