Pickwick Corporation 1930 - Early Greyhound Bus, Hotel and Aviation Company

Beautifully engraved Certificate from the famous The Pickwick Corporation issued in 1930. This historic document was printed by the Jeffries Banknote Company and has an ornate border around it with a vignette of a women. This item has a printed signature of the company's president (Charles F. Wren) and secretary (Warner Libby) and is over 76 years old


Certificate Vignette



The Pickwick Corporation was organized in the latter part of December, 1922, for the purpose of acquiring the ownership of Pickwick Stages, Northern Division, Inc., and Pickwick Stages, Inc., Southern Division, and other stage lines; to acquire and operate Auto Stage terminals; to engage in the manufacture of Motor Stages, together with other affiliated business enterprises.

The Pickwick Corporation, through its subsidiary companies, owned and operated twenty-two stage routes in California; many of these routes being operated with exclusive franchise or operative rights. The Pickwick Corporation also held options on additional stage lines.

Charles F. Wren was president of the Pickwick Corporation which included the Pickwick Greyhound Lines, Pickwick Airlines, Pickwick Nitecoaches, Pickwick Hotel (Kansas City), Pickwick Broadcasting, Pickwick Terminals Pickwick Motor Coach Works, Golden State Hotel Company, Pickwick International Stages and Pickwick Stage Systems. The airlines was run out of the Glendale Air Terminal in California from 1928-1930.




Early Pickwick Ad

In 1926, the Motor Transit company joined forces with two West Coast operations, the Pickwick Lines and the Pioneer Yelloway System, to form the Northland Transportation Corporation a.k.a. "the Greyhound Lines." The running dog is first used as the company's logo.

Pickwick was also involved with hotels including the Pickwick Hotel in San Francisco built in 1926 as the Pickwick Stage Lines. This hotel is mentioned in the classic mystery "The Maltese Falcon" by Dashiell Hammett. With its familiar marquee, the Pickwick was constructed in the Neo Gothic style.

Their early broadcasting properties included KGB in San Diego and KTM in Santa Monica.