first edition Unbound
1944 · Jacksonville, Florida
by [LEWIS, Abraham Lincoln]
Jacksonville, Florida: The Afro-American Life Insurance Company, 1944. Unbound. Good. Original printed life insurance policy certificate issued October 2, 1944. Large, single sheet, measuring 10.5" x 15", printed on both sides, text in green and red within decorative border printed in green. Prints details about premiums and benefits, "Conditions, Privileges and Limitations," details about the policy holder (Willie Allen) and the beneficiary, (his sister, Lela Nesbitt), etc. Signed in holograph facsimile by James H. Lewis, the president and son of one of the company founders. Verso prints charts of extended term insurance and premiums. Also with a small folder or sleeve to hold the policy.
Small tears at old folds, a good or better example of a fragile, ephemeral item. Abraham Lincoln Lewis (1865-1947), African-American businessman, was one of the founders of the Afro-American Industrial and Benefit Association, which became the Afro-American Life Insurance Company, in Jacksonville, Florida in 1901. It was the first insurance company in Florida, and one of the largest black-owned businesses in Florida. "As the oldest life insurance company in Florida and one of the most successful black businesses in the state, it helped thousands of blacks over the years... The importance of that insurance company… cannot be underestimated. According to the 'Encyclopedia of Southern Culture,' the insurance companies established by African-Americans and catering to them 'formed the heart of black financial networks, the cultural beginnings of which can be traced to mutual benefit societies and the church'" [McCarthy, *African-American Sites in Florida,*' p. 52; c.f. Low, *Encyclopedia of Black America,* p. 207]. Lewis helped found the National Negro Insurance Association, and the exclusive African-American vacation spot, American Beach, on Amelia Island, and was Florida's first black millionaire. "By 1902 the Afro-American Life Insurance Company was the cornerstone of Black economic development in the city… [and] grew into one of the most successful minority owned insurance companies in the country... He was a close friend of Booker T. Washington, and helped Washington establish the Negro Business League…" [Bartley, *Keeping the Faith,* p. 10]. The company closed in 1990. (Inventory #: 597168)
Small tears at old folds, a good or better example of a fragile, ephemeral item. Abraham Lincoln Lewis (1865-1947), African-American businessman, was one of the founders of the Afro-American Industrial and Benefit Association, which became the Afro-American Life Insurance Company, in Jacksonville, Florida in 1901. It was the first insurance company in Florida, and one of the largest black-owned businesses in Florida. "As the oldest life insurance company in Florida and one of the most successful black businesses in the state, it helped thousands of blacks over the years... The importance of that insurance company… cannot be underestimated. According to the 'Encyclopedia of Southern Culture,' the insurance companies established by African-Americans and catering to them 'formed the heart of black financial networks, the cultural beginnings of which can be traced to mutual benefit societies and the church'" [McCarthy, *African-American Sites in Florida,*' p. 52; c.f. Low, *Encyclopedia of Black America,* p. 207]. Lewis helped found the National Negro Insurance Association, and the exclusive African-American vacation spot, American Beach, on Amelia Island, and was Florida's first black millionaire. "By 1902 the Afro-American Life Insurance Company was the cornerstone of Black economic development in the city… [and] grew into one of the most successful minority owned insurance companies in the country... He was a close friend of Booker T. Washington, and helped Washington establish the Negro Business League…" [Bartley, *Keeping the Faith,* p. 10]. The company closed in 1990. (Inventory #: 597168)
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