Sperry Corporation stock certificate 1981 (Delaware)

Nice US industrial and computer piece.  Nice offset vignette of a classical male figure seated around various scientific and industrial items. Company logo at the lower left. Issued and cancelled. Dated 1981. Approximately 12 x 8 inches.

Sperry Corporation was a major American equipment and electronics company whose existence spanned more than seven decades of the 20th century. Sperry ceased to exist in 1986 following a prolonged hostile takeover bid engineered by Burroughs Corporation, which merged the combined operation under the new name Unisys. Some of Sperry's former divisions became part of Honeywell, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon Technologies, and Northrop Grumman.

The company was incorporated on April 14 1910 by Elmer Ambrose Sperry as the Sperry Gyroscope Company, to manufacture navigation equipment—chiefly his own inventions: the marine gyrostabilizer and the gyrocompass—at 40 Flatbush Avenue Extension in Downtown Brooklyn. During World War I the company diversified into aircraft components including bomb sights and fire control systems. In their early decades, Sperry Gyroscope and related companies were concentrated on Long Island, New York, especially in Nassau County.

In 1918, Lawrence Sperry split from his father to compete over aero-instruments with the Lawrence Sperry Aircraft Company, including the new automatic pilot. After the death of Lawrence on December 13, 1923, the two firms were brought together in 1924. Then in January 1929 it was acquired by North American Aviation, who reincorporated it in New York as the Sperry Gyroscope Company, Inc. The company once again became independent in 1933 when it was spun-off as a subsidiary of the newly formed Sperry Corporation.

The company prospered during World War II as military demand skyrocketed, ranking 19th among US corporations in the value of wartime production contracts. It specialized in high technology devices such as analog computer–controlled bomb sights, airborne radar systems, and automated take-off and landing systems. Sperry also was the creator of the Ball Turret Gun mounted under the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and the Consolidated B-24 Liberator.

In 1955, Sperry acquired Remington Rand and renamed itself Sperry Rand. Acquiring the Eckert–Mauchly Computer Corporation and Engineering Research Associates along with Remington Rand, the company developed the successful UNIVAC computer series and signed a valuable cross-licensing deal with IBM.

In 1978, Sperry Rand decided to concentrate on its computing interests, and sold several divisions including Remington Rand Systems, Remington Rand Machines, Ford Instrument Company, and Sperry Vickers. The company dropped "Rand" from its title and reverted to Sperry Corporation.

Product descriptions and images
Please note that some pictures may only be representative of the inventory available.  If we have more than one piece, we are unable to scan and display every piece.  Unless otherwise noted, that there are variations for signatures, cancellation marks/holes, serial number, and dates.  Colors will be as noted and pictured.