Fine Books & Manuscripts

[CHICAGO]. INSULL, Samuel (1859–1938). Pair of inscribed titles by an American utilities magnate dated just one day after the Wall Street Crash of 1929, including: Central–Station Electric Service. Chicago: privately printed, 1915. 8vo. Photogravure portrait frontispiece, numerous illustrations. Original publisher’s maroon cloth gilt, top edge gilt. LIMITED EDITION, number 835 of 1120 copies. –– Public Utilities in Modern Life. Chicago: privately printed, 1924. 8vo. Photogravure portrait frontispiece, numerous illustrations. Original publisher’s brown cloth gilt, top edge gilt. LIMITED EDITION, number 728 of 1150 copies. –– BOTH COPIES PRESENTED BY INSULL to Murray D. Smith with the author’s inscription (dated 30 October 1929) just one day after “Black Tuesday” when investors traded some 16 million shares on the New York Stock Exchange in a single day during the Wall Street Crash of 1929 signaling the beginning of the Great Depression. We could only locate one copy institutionally (The British Museum) and no copies ever being sold at auction or listed in dealer’s catalogues. A RARE PUBLICATION.Insull was instrumental in bringing electricity to the masses for low costs. He built the largest power plant in the world (the Harrison Street Station), wired houses cheaply by building the first electrical grid system, and bought a vast majority of electricity infrastructure in Chicago to monopolize his empire. By the end of the 1920s, Insull’s utilities served more than four million customers in 32 states, valuing at nearly $3 billion. To pay for his ongoing expansions, Insull sold low–price bonds and stock to millions of Americans that were eventually made worthless when his vast Midwest holding company collapsed during the Great Depression. In 1932, he owed $16 million more than his worth and was charged with defrauding investors but was later acquitted.