William Armstrong. Stocks and Stock-Jobbing in Wall-Street, with Sketches of the Brokers. New York: New-York Publishing Company, 1848. (Gift of Charles G. Sower)
The New York Stock and Exchange Board was a self-regulatory group of securities brokers who traded among themselves behind closed doors. By 1848, the date of this pamphlet, the Board numbered seventy-five members. New members paid $400 to join, which gave them access to information about current stock prices and the creditworthiness of potential business associates, in addition to the opportunity to join price-fixing cartels. Critics argued that stock brokers were swindlers in disguise, taking advantage of naïve outsiders seeking easy gains. While explaining the system of investing and reviewing various houses (shown here), Armstrong also enumerated the many dishonest aspects of stock brokerage, including operators who offered “oracular” yet bogus advice, and those who simply stole money rather than investing it.
