Featured Books
Chronicles and Characters of the Stock Exchange Francis, John 2001
In this early history of stock trading in London, from its early days in Exchange Alley, Francis traces the rise of the National Debt from its institutionalisation under William III. The association of the Stock Market with the demands arising from War and political intrigues is made evident, as is the service rendered by the City - despite the notoriety of its money making powers, episodic fallout from crashes and panics, and the ever present temptation to corruption.
That fraud is always with us is seen in early examples such as the unfortunately named Charitable Corporation when such scams could produce misery unmatched by modern day crimes. More widespread then was the corruption arising from the entanglement of government,debt and the exchange mediated through an unhealthy association of Politicians, Ministers, Officials, Schemers, Brokers, and Jobbers:
"From the Alley to the House is like a path of ants", said Walpole.
Ingenious schemes to raise money (and lower morals) are described, including Tontines, Lotteries and issuing insurance (gambling) on the lives of the Rich and (ailing!) Famous. The lotteries were a phenomenon that bordered on mania through the eighteenth century. Even barbers and sausage-makers concocted lotteries for their clients - it served as advertising - encouraging the spirit of gambling but depressing the ability to value goods and ultimately taking away the means to pay for them. At its worst, illegal lottery houses in London alone exceeded 400.
The great bubbles are recorded from Tulips to the almight collapse in foreign stocks in 1835 and along with other well-known speculative fevers (such as the South Sea Bubble) are those less famous - such as:
"In 1807 and 1808, a general and feverish love of speculation was abroad. Joint-stock companies were the feature of the day; canals, bridges, and life assurance being great favourites, which if injurious to the speculator, were beneficial to the country. To this period London owes Waterloo and Vauxhall bridges.."
Or the "excitement" of 1824 and 1825, which saw a rash of new companies and offers including the Bolivar Mining Company which promised "mountains, not mines" and a proposed railroad from Dover to Calais, along with a parliamentary steam company to speed bills through the House! Truly the nations of South America were emerging then, and if the rush to make loans there and other foreign lands did not prove troublesome enough, the folly of MacGregor’s Poyais Colony demonstrated that the further from home shores a great venture is proposed, the more excited imaginations become. A debacle followed in the Greek Loan, yet within ten years another bubble and burst in foreign stock was facilitated in the rush to finance military adventures in Portugal and Spain.
In the course of this financial history, houses and fortunes rose (Rothschilds, the Barings, Samuel Gideon, Thomas Guy) and fell (such as the crash of Douglas Heron). The book includes a wealth of colourful accounts and anecdotal history of speculators and intriguers, and vividly conveys a picture of financial life in Eighteenth and early Nineteenth century London.
It is of course the drama of the market’s turbulent nature, rather than its contribution to progress, which often consumes the attention of commentators. Francis points out that some of the finest pens in English literature were put to use ridiculing the role of projectors and speculators.
His counterpoint:
"what does not England owe to men who bore the burden and the heat of the day in the introduction of projects, which once household luxuries, they have made household necessities."
This reprint of the 1850 American Edition was published by Hindsight Books Limited in 2001 Leather-bound copies of this book are available directly from the publisher at www.hindsight-books.com Specialist Bookdealers in Company, Business & Investment History.
Keys: Stock Market, London Exchange, Investment, Government Debt, Manias, Bubbles, Rothschild, Barings, Thomas Guy, Lotteries, Tontines, Crashes
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Power and Profit: The Merchant in Medieval Europe Spufford, P. 2002
Wonderful. This is an immensely detailed and beautifully illustrated history of account of early capitalism. Thoroughly researched, and more -- the author has literally peered into contemporary painting and illustrations to seek out the background detail, (the real world of trade and commerce), and has followed in the footsteps of travelling merchants across the length and breadth of Europe.
Keys: Merchant, Trade, Commerce, Capitalism, History
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City Men and City Manners The City, or The Physiology of London Business with Sketches on 'Change and at the Coffee Houses Evans, David Morier 2005
“City Men and City Manners” was first published in 1845 and then updated by its author in 1851. It provides both a detailed account of the workings of the City from the desks of the clerks to floor of the exchanges, and, by way of the coffee-houses and alleyways, also shows us the people of those times, their character, condition and accomplishments. We see the brokers, jobbers, the “alley-men”, but also the bankers, underwriters, merchants, directors and “company mongers”, and even the people on the streets; porters, beggars and vagrants, all catching crumbs from the City’s table. Evans opens the doors on a wide range of institutions including the Royal Exchange, the various rooms of Lloyds, London’s other coffee houses; the American, Jerusalem, Jamaican, Baltic and Garraways, and looks in on the dealing in tallow and, in the trading rooms of Mincing Lane, tea and other commodities. The coffee houses are shown not only as places of business but as vital centres for information with intelligence gathered in from around the world and then disseminated amongst members, but also to an emerging and often critical press. The topsy-turvey psychology of the market place is also on show, with several episodes recounted, including the excitement of 1825-26 and its “bubble companies”, the Spanish Panic (1835), the “Little Go” that followed, and the railway fever of 1845. The last of these is given particular attention with its spectacular oversubscription of funds, often at the call of dubious subscription committees, “paralysing national commerce” in the pursuit of elusive new ventures and leading to the inevitable and painful unwinding. The author of this book, David Morier Evans, was editor of the Banker’s Magazine during the mid-nineteenth century and an astute observer of City life during a turbulent and exciting era. His writings included major works such as “The Commercial Crisis 1847-48“ (from which material concerning the Railway Mania is included in chapter five) and “Facts, Failures and Frauds: Financial, Mercantile Criminal”. He penned numerous essays on the workings of the city, the evolving practices of business and investment, and even fiction.
Keys: The City, London, Markets, Royal Exchange, Coffee Houses, Stock brokers, Jobbers
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Bid For Power Bull, George & Vice, anthony 1958
In this early work of post-war financial journalism, the authors set the task of casting light on the take-over bidder ; his methods, his importance, his personality. This at a time when many saw City life as dull : symbolised by "dreary emblems as bowler hats and pin-striped trousers". On the other hand "free-enterprise" was seen as fair game, the "City Financiers" engaged in take-over bids were fodder for journalists and represented a more lively, if not sinsiter aspect, of the marketplace. In "Bid For Power", a series of bids are examined, showing the mechanics, finance, contest, and objectives. The figures, such as Wolfson and Clore, seen in this book are names now well-associated with the re-emergence of post-war capitalist Britain (the activities covered in this text fall between 1952 and 1958). In fact, their careers carried them further into the 1960s amidst reinvigorated property and financial markets.
Keys: Takeovers, Take-over Bids, Stock Exchange, Isaac Wolfson, Great Universal Stores, GUS, Charles Clore, Sears, Hugh Fraser, Wontner, Savoy, Billmeir, Harold Samuel, City Financier
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The City of London ( 4 Volumes ) Kynaston, David
This historical quartet of the City in the 19th and 20th centuries was written between 1994 and 2001. Probably the most comprehensive history of this financial heart of Britain, examining broader social, institutional and political contexts as well as purely financial developments. It culminates in the re-emergence of London as a major global financial hub in the 1980s and 1990s. Vol 1 : A World of Its Own 1815-1890, Vol 2 : Golden Years 1890-1914, Vol 3 : Illusions of Gold 1914-1945, Vol 4 : A Club No More 1945-2000
Keys: City of London, Markets, Stock Exchange, Investment, Trade, Finance, Empire
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