Ferdinand Pecora (18 results)

Has Business reply card - to Simon & Schuster (illustrator). Hardcover, First edition, 311p. Original blue cloth, gold cover lettering, top edge red. Light cover wear with minor surface marks; small indentation at bottom edge of front and back cover. Overall, a very good copy! This historically significant volume by Ferdinand Pecora, lead counsel of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking and Currency during the early 1930s, offers a firsthand account of the Wall Street abuses and financial corruption that led to the Great Depression. Widely regarded as a landmark exposé, Wall Street Under Oath played a crucial role in shaping securities regulation and the creation of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). A cornerstone title in American financial history and an important collectible for those interested in economics, politics, or Wall Street's legacy.

Hard Cover. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. First Edition. First edition. Lacks scarce jacket. Spine slightly toned, minimal loss of gilt from titles, otherwise an excellent copy. 1939 Hard Cover. xi, 311, [3] pp. An investigate report explaining the market pressures that led to the United States Banking Act of 1933, more commonly known as the Glass - Steagall Act. This act's repeal has, in some critics' opinions, led to increased corruption and illegal manipulation in the stock market. "What happened to that common stock for which you paid $236 in 1929 and that was selling at 40c a share when last heard from' How did those foreign bonds that yielded 9% on your investment come to be worth nothing at all' Surely all that money must have gone somewhere. The answer is that it did and this book tells you where it went. Wall Street has put many an innocent victim through the wringer in its time, but it took Ferdinand Pecora to reverse the process. As Counsel for the Senate Committee on Banking and Currency he subpoenaed some of the richest men in America and asked them, under oath, how they made their fortunes. For seventeen months, starting in January, 1933, the 'Pecora Investigation,' as it came to be called, filled the newspapers. Yet it led one journalist to file a strange complaint. He begged Mr. Pecora not to break so many front-page stories daily because it was physically impossible to cover them all. Wall Street Under Oath does what the newspapers of the period could not do. It brings together some of the most important disclosures of the Senate Committee. It tells the inside story of American high finance in its most frenzied period. It contains the judgments, the personal impressions, and the conclusions of the man whose personality dominated all the proceedings. The past five years have vindicated Ferdinand Pecora's seventeen months of work. Four of the New Deal's major reforms came as a direct consequence of the Wall Street Investigation - the Banking Act of 1933, the 'Truth in Securities' Bill, the Securities and Exchange Commission Act, and the Public Utility Holding Company Act. Ferdinand Pecora writes about the investigation in the same straightforward way he conducted it. He starts right in with the testimony of J.P. Morgan and follows through with Charles E. Mitchell, Albert H. Wiggin, Winthrop W. Aldrich, Otto H. Kahn and Harry F. Sinclair. After describing how some of our richest men amassed fortunes during the golden 1920s, Ferdinand Pecora takes up some typical case histories - the rise and fall of Samuel Insull, Albert H. Wiggin's family corporate empire, and the Detroit bank crisis, which led to the national banking holiday in March, 1933. Wall Street Under Oath adds a new chapter to American history. It is a book of enduring importance.

Hard Cover. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. First Edition. First edition. Lacks scarce jacket. Ink underlining and marginalia on first five pages only, ink name on front endpaper, small newspaper clipping laid in. 1939 Hard Cover. xi, 311, [3] pp. An investigate report explaining the market pressures that led to the United States Banking Act of 1933, more commonly known as the Glass - Steagall Act. This act's repeal has, in some critics' opinions, led to increased corruption and illegal manipulation in the stock market. "What happened to that common stock for which you paid $236 in 1929 and that was selling at 40c a share when last heard from' How did those foreign bonds that yielded 9% on your investment come to be worth nothing at all' Surely all that money must have gone somewhere. The answer is that it did and this book tells you where it went. Wall Street has put many an innocent victim through the wringer in its time, but it took Ferdinand Pecora to reverse the process. As Counsel for the Senate Committee on Banking and Currency he subpoenaed some of the richest men in America and asked them, under oath, how they made their fortunes. For seventeen months, starting in January, 1933, the 'Pecora Investigation,' as it came to be called, filled the newspapers. Yet it led one journalist to file a strange complaint. He begged Mr. Pecora not to break so many front-page stories daily because it was physically impossible to cover them all. Wall Street Under Oath does what the newspapers of the period could not do. It brings together some of the most important disclosures of the Senate Committee. It tells the inside story of American high finance in its most frenzied period. It contains the judgments, the personal impressions, and the conclusions of the man whose personality dominated all the proceedings. The past five years have vindicated Ferdinand Pecora's seventeen months of work. Four of the New Deal's major reforms came as a direct consequence of the Wall Street Investigation - the Banking Act of 1933, the 'Truth in Securities' Bill, the Securities and Exchange Commission Act, and the Public Utility Holding Company Act. Ferdinand Pecora writes about the investigation in the same straightforward way he conducted it. He starts right in with the testimony of J.P. Morgan and follows through with Charles E. Mitchell, Albert H. Wiggin, Winthrop W. Aldrich, Otto H. Kahn and Harry F. Sinclair. After describing how some of our richest men amassed fortunes during the golden 1920s, Ferdinand Pecora takes up some typical case histories - the rise and fall of Samuel Insull, Albert H. Wiggin's family corporate empire, and the Detroit bank crisis, which led to the national banking holiday in March, 1933. Wall Street Under Oath adds a new chapter to American history. It is a book of enduring importance.

Hardcover. Condition: Near fine. First Printing. Near fine copy, navy boards unfaded, corners crisp, binding tight and square. Lacking front free endpaper. First edition of Pecora's timeless account of the the 1930s Senate inquiry into Wall Street and the crash, which uncovered many corrupt and abusive practices and led to the Glass-Steagall Banking Act and the Securities Act of 1933, among others. Although Pecora was the chief counsel of the investigation, his role was so significant it became known as the "Pecora Commission.".

First Edition. This is the landmark book on Pecora's 17-month investigation into Wall Street practices following the 1929 stock market crash. Pecora subpoenaed some of the richest men in America, as counsel for the Senate Committee on Banking and Currency, and got their testimony, under oath, on the practices they used to amass their Wall Street fortunes in the 1920s. This exposure of unethical financial dealings by major bankers and brokers led to several major New Deal reforms under FDR, including the Securities Act of 1933, the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933, and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. An important, highly sought after, and scarce first edition in this field. Rare in its original dust jacket. Bound in original dark blue cloth over boards with gilt-stamped spine and upper board titles. Faint evidence of dampstaining to spine and adjacent areas of boards--mostly visible under reflective light--else fine. Jacket has related dampstains, mostly visible on underside, but showing as faint browning toward head of spine along lower spine of rear panel, and as a slight darkening of title ribbon on front panel. Jacket also has a few edge chips and closed tears. Price of $2.50 is intact on rear flap. Overall a very presentable copy. Cloth over boards. Octavo. xi, 311, [2] pages.

Hardcover. Condition: Good. No Jacket. 1st Edition. original blue gold cloth, press photo of author, and financial news clipping attached to endpapers, otherwise no markings or writing.

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. Tan cloth covers have brown spine label with gilt title. Boards show some wear, smudges, dings, scratches, wear at shoulders, edgewear. Corners are bumped and frayed. See photos. Spine has gilt text on brown label and is darkened, with crushed ends. See photos. Binding is secure. Pastedowns and feps have some scribbles, esp. at back. Owner's name on half-title page. See photos. Interior is gently age-toned, with marginal toning, a few page corners creased; traces of red pencil on page 190. See photos. Text block edges have a few marks.** PS2023.1101** 312 pages. 5 1/8 x 7 3/4 inches** "For 16 months in the depths of the Great Depression, Ferdinand Pecora (1882-1971), a former New York prosecutor turned Senate inquisitor, captivated the country. He chronicled how, in the run up to the 1929 crash, Wall Street's elite financiers manipulated stocks, dodged taxes and collected enormous bonuses for peddling shoddy securities to unsuspecting Americans." As Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Ron Chernow describes it, "Pecora was the perfect foil to the posh bankers who paraded before the microphones? When he was hired for $255 per month by the Senate committee, Pecora was earning less money than most Wall Street mandarins disbursed weekly in pocket change. Pecora was meticulous in preparation and legendary in stamina, mastering reams of material and staying up half the night before interrogations? The hearings started in a modest committee room, but as the public was swept up in the drama, they shifted to a stately caucus room, illuminated by chandeliers and flashbulbs. As it gained momentum, the inquiry expanded until it shined a searchlight into every murky corner of Wall Street. Pecora exposed a stock market manipulated by speculators to the detriment of small investors who could suddenly attach names and faces to their losses."** This is a First Edition copy of Pecora's timeless account of the the 1930s Senate inquiry into Wall Street and the Crash, which uncovered many corrupt and abusive practices and led to the Glass-Steagall Banking Act, the Securities Act of 1933, and the creation of the Securities and Exchange Commission.** Unusual London printing, First Edition of 1939, the same year as the first New York edition.** "Postage for oversized and international shipping will be calculated by size and weight. AbeBooks shipping quotes are ESTIMATES only. Seller Inventory #009827"**.

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. First edition. Octavo. xi, 311pp. Blue clothcovered boards stamped in gilt. Binding with modest wear and a toned spine, topedge with a faint stain not affecting the interior, very good. Inscribed by the author to award winning journalist and the Chilean ambassador to the United States (1927-1931) Carlos Dávila (with Dávila's middle initial written as "A" instead of "G" and crossed out): "To my esteemed friend Carlos Dávila, with my compliments and best wishes, Ferdinand Pecora. May 27th 1939." Pecora's account of the Senate investigation that he led as Chief Counsel to the U.S. Senate's Committee on Banking and Currency in 1933, which looked into the Wall Street and stock brokerage practices leading up to the Wall Street Crash of 1929. A report of a 1933 hearing before this committee involves the investment bank Kuhn, Loeb, & Co. and its financial dealings with Chile during the time Dávila was serving as ambassador, with his name appearing in some of the exhibits presented to the committee. An interesting association that might deserve further research.

First edition of Pecoraâs account of his role as chief counsel in the dramatic 1930s Senate hearings on Wall Streetâs role in the 1929 Stock Market Crash. Octavo, original blue cloth. In near fine condition, small name to the front free endpaper. A very sharp example. Ferdinand Pecora was appointed Chief Counsel to the U.S. Senate's Committee on Banking and Currency in January 1933. The Senate committee hearings that Pecora led probed the causes of the Wall Street Crash of 1929 that launched a major reform of the American financial system. After Pecora closed his investigations, on July 2, 1934, President Roosevelt appointed Ferdinand Pecora a Commissioner of the newly formed U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In 1939 Pecora wrote a book about the Senate investigations titled Wall Street Under Oath: The Story of Our Modern Money Changers. On January 21, 1935, Pecora resigned from the SEC and became a judge of the New York State Supreme Court, a position he held until 1950.

First edition of Pecoraâs account of his role as chief counsel in the dramatic 1930s Senate hearings on Wall Streetâs role in the 1929 Stock Market Crash. Octavo, original blue cloth. Fine in a near dust jacket with light rubbing and a closed tear to the front panel. Rare in the original dust jacket. Ferdinand Pecora was appointed Chief Counsel to the U.S. Senate's Committee on Banking and Currency in January 1933. The Senate committee hearings that Pecora led probed the causes of the Wall Street Crash of 1929 that launched a major reform of the American financial system. After Pecora closed his investigations, on July 2, 1934, President Roosevelt appointed Ferdinand Pecora a Commissioner of the newly formed U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In 1939 Pecora wrote a book about the Senate investigations titled Wall Street Under Oath: The Story of Our Modern Money Changers. On January 21, 1935, Pecora resigned from the SEC and became a judge of the New York State Supreme Court, a position he held until 1950.

First edition of Pecoraâs account of his role as chief counsel in the dramatic 1930s Senate hearings on Wall Streetâs role in the 1929 Stock Market Crash. Octavo, original blue cloth. In near fine condition. A very sharp example. Ferdinand Pecora was appointed Chief Counsel to the U.S. Senate's Committee on Banking and Currency in January 1933. The Senate committee hearings that Pecora led probed the causes of the Wall Street Crash of 1929 that launched a major reform of the American financial system. After Pecora closed his investigations, on July 2, 1934, President Roosevelt appointed Ferdinand Pecora a Commissioner of the newly formed U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In 1939 Pecora wrote a book about the Senate investigations titled Wall Street Under Oath: The Story of Our Modern Money Changers. On January 21, 1935, Pecora resigned from the SEC and became a judge of the New York State Supreme Court, a position he held until 1950.

Hardcover. 1st Edition. 311p. Original blue cloth; light scratch and rubbed spot on front cover else in fine condition. Includes postcard designed for the reader to send back to the publisher with comments on the book. A rare work on the 1929 Stock Market Crash and its causes. Pecora blamed Wall Street for causing the crash by its own role in manipulating the market. A lawyer and judge, he was the Chief Consul to the Senate committee which investigated the Crash in the 1930s. The "Pecora Committee" argued Wall Street favored the rich at the expense of orinary investors and led directly to such major reforms as the Glass-Steagall Act. Pecora would go on to serve as the first Chairman of the SEC.

First UK edition. 8vo. xiv, 312 pp. Original oatmeal buckram, spine lettered in gilt on brown ground, dust jacket (light spotting to fore-edge of text block, contents otherwise clean and fresh; the cloth remains virtually unworn but with some toning to spine; jacket with heavy residue from old tape repairs in several places, spine panel faded with chipping at head, just about a very good copy overall). London, The Cresset Press. American lawyer Ferdinand Pecora (1882-1971) served as chief counsel to the Banking and Currency Committee; his importance for the committee's work investigating banking and securities fraud was such that the hearings held between February 1933 and June 1934 became known as the Pecora Wall Street Investigation. "The Investigation led to the resignation of the president of National City Bank in New York; revealed that J. P. Morgan, Jr., had paid no income taxes in 1930-31; and caused Chase Manhattan Bank to separate its banking and securities activities" (Pedersen, p. 206). Pecora's findings also contributed to several acts, including the Glass-Steagall Banking Act (1933), the Securities Act (1933), the Securities and Exchange Act (1934), and the Public Utility Holding Act (1935). Larson calls it 'an influential book but not always objective in its presentation of the case or in its judgements.' Originally published earlier in the same year in New York by Simon Schuster; the present UK edition is notably scarce and is seldom encountered complete with the original dust jacket. Larson, 1630.

FIRST ENGLISH EDITION, pp. xiii, 312, crown 8vo, original beige cloth, the backstrip lettered in gilt against a brown ground and lightly stained at foot with slight lean to spine, top corner of upper board very gently bumped, top edge a trifle dusty, dustjacket price-clipped, chipped at extremities and nicked and creased at head of slightly faded backstrip panel, small section of loss extending from foot of backstrip panel to front panel, good. The 'inside story of American finance' in the lead up to the Great Crash of 1929, endeavouring to 'cast a vivid light on the uninhibited mores and methods of Wall Street' with the aim that those unregulated years - which allowed the leaders of American banking to flourish at the expense of the economy - not return. Pecora was a New York lawyer, who served as counsel for the United States Senate Committee on Banking and Currency between 1933 and 1934, briefed with investigating the practices that had led to the economic depression. His exposure of the club operating at the heart of the American financial community, 'shrouded in deep, aristocratic mystery', ensured significant legislature: the GlassSteagall Act, the Securities Act of 1933, and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 all followed. Both the British edition and its American predecessor of the same year are uncommon, and either is scarce in the dustjacket (carrying distinct designs).

Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. First Edition. First edition, first printing. Bound in publisher's dark blue cloth stamped in gilt with a vibrant red topstain. Fine in a Near Fine unclipped dust jacket with light wear. A fantastic copy of Pecora's account of serving as chief counsel in the Senate hearings on the role of 1929 stock market crash, scarce in the original dust jacket.

Condition: Near Fine. First Edition. First edition, first printing. Bound in publisher's dark blue cloth stamped in gilt; lacking the dust jacket. Near Fine with light rubbing to cloth, previous owner name and date to front paste down, pages toned. A lovely copy of Pecora's account of serving as chief counsel in the Senate hearings on the role of 1929 stock market crash.

First edition, first printing, of Pecora's account of his role as chief counsel in the Senate hearings on the role of Wall Street in the 1929 Crash. American lawyer Ferdinand Pecora (1882-1971) served as chief counsel to the Banking and Currency Committee; his importance for the committee's work investigating banking and securities fraud was such that the hearings held between February 1933 and June 1934 became known as the 'Pecora Wall Street Investigation'. "The investigation led to the resignation of the president of National City Bank in New York; revealed that J. P. Morgan, Jr., had paid no income taxes in 1930-31; and caused Chase Manhattan Bank to separate its banking and securities activities" (Pedersen, The FDR Years, p. 206). Pecora's findings also contributed to several acts, including the Glass-Steagall Banking Act (1933), the Securities Act (1933), the Securities and Exchange Act (1934), and the Public Utility Holding Act (1935). Larson calls it "an influential book but not always objective in its presentation of the case or in its judgments". Larson 1630. Octavo. Title page printed in blue and black. Original blue cloth, spine and front cover lettered and ruled in gilt, top edge red, yellow endpapers. Spine dulled with lettering faded, light peripheral rubbing. A very good copy.

First Edition. "PECORA, Ferdinand. Wall Street Under Oath. New York: Simon and Schuster, (1939). Octavo, original blue cloth. $3200.First edition of Pecora's electrifying account of his key role as chief counsel in the dramatic 1930s Senate hearings on Wall Street's role in the 1929 Stock Market Crash, hearings that, in Pecora's own words, "cast a vivid light upon the uninhabited mores and methods of Wall Street," ranked with Watergate in their impact, laying the groundwork for long term financial reform and prompting FDR to name Pecora a commissioner of the newly formed SEC."For 16 months in the depths of the Great Depression, Ferdinand Pecora, a former New York prosecutor turned Senate inquisitor, captivated the country. He chronicled how, in the run up to the 1929 crash, Wall Street's elite financiers manipulated stocks, dodged taxes and collected enormous bonuses for peddling shoddy securities to unsuspecting Americans." As Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Ron Chernow notes, "Pecora was the perfect foil to the posh bankers who paraded before the microphones When he was hired for $255 per month by the Senate committee, Pecora was earning less money than most Wall Street mandarins disbursed weekly in pocket change. Pecora was meticulous in preparation and legendary in stamina, mastering reams of material and staying up half the night before interrogations The hearings started in a modest committee room, but as the public was swept up in the drama, they shifted to a stately caucus room, illuminated by chandeliers and flashbulbs. As it gained momentum, the inquiry expanded until it shined a searchlight into every murky corner of Wall Street. Pecora exposed a stock market manipulated by speculators to the detriment of small investors who could suddenly attach names and faces to their losses On Black Thursday of 1929, the nation had applauded a seemingly heroic attempt by major bankers, including Albert Wiggin of Chase and Charles Mitchell of National City, to stem the market decline. Pecora showed that Wiggin had actually shorted Chase shares during the crash, profiting from falling prices. He also revealed that Mitchell and top officers at National City had helped themselves to $2.4 million By the time Pecora got through with the bankers, Senator Burton Wheeler of Montana was likening them to Al Capone and the public referred to them as 'banksters,' rhyming with gangsters. "With a public aching for retribution, Pecora was playing with combustible chemicals, and Wall Street complained that he was destroying confidence. President Franklin Roosevelt retorted that the bankers 'should have thought of that when they did the things that are being exposed now In implacable style, Pecora badgered [House of] Morgan partners into admitting that they had paid no taxes for 1931 and 1932an incendiary revelation when the country was undertaking huge public works projects to combat unemployment No less inflammatory was exposure of Morgan's 'preferred list' by which the bank's influential friends participated in stock offerings at steeply discounted rates One Morgan partner, George Whitney, lamely explained that the intent was to safeguard small investors by preventing them from assuming such risk. To which Pecora responded tartly in his best-selling book, Wall Street Under Oath, 'Many there were who would gladly have helped them share that appalling peril!" Donald Ritchie, the associate historian for the Senate, ranks "the Pecora committee as one of the most effective among congressional inquiries, second perhaps to the Watergate hearings 'in terms of its impact on the nation The Pecora hearings laid the groundwork for financial reform legislation The Securities Act of 1933, the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934all addressed abuses exposed by Pecora" (New York Times). In 1934 FDR appointed Pecora one of the first commissioners of the newly formed Securities Exchange Commission. "After serving only six months, however, he was appointed by New York governor Herbert Lehman to the state supreme court in 1935. In that same year he was elected to a full 14-year term and was reelected in 1949" (ANB). In 1939 Pecora published Wall Street Under Oath to remind the nation "what Wall Street was like before Uncle Sam stationed a policeman at its corner, lest, in time to come, some attempt be made to abolish that post" (xi). First edition with "no printing or edition notice" on copyright page (Zempel & Verkler, 407). With one page of publisher's advertisements at rear; without very scarce dust jacket. Tiny bit of early marginalia to two leaves.Interior fresh with only faint trace of binder's glue to gutter edge of early leaves, mild soiling to cloth, with spine gilt rubbed away. An attractive copy.".