Digest of scripophily readings V

New online scripophily articles and references, July 2012

The current footprint of scripophily on the Internet

About a year ago, see here, I googled the word scripophily with the following outcomes :

• Number of web links : 470000 (50% related to Ebay)
• Number of images : 92900
• YouTube video's : 26

I repeated that exercise two weeks ago :

• Number of web links: 623000 (40% related to Ebay), or +32%
• Number of images : 135000, or +45%
• YouTube videos : 34, or +31%

Fairly impressive growth rates!  More people write about our hobby and they do it more often. The scripophily content on the Internet is only a footprint created by an online community:  the tip of an iceberg.

Shares and Bonds from Czechoslovakia

Jiří Jaroš has been active on the Internet for some time now. Here you can find his impressive online catalogue on Czechoslovak securities. Thank you for sharing with us!

Book on the art and history of banknote engraving in the United States

CoinsWeekly reports about The Feel of Steel by Mark D. Tomasko. Many techniques for banknote engraving are used in security printing. Read more about this new book here.

Australian Mining Standard 1913

You can find a bundling of articles from The Australian Mining Standard, originally published between January and June 1913, here. On the left of the web page, click the PDF link to view the document. Size about 120 MB's, so depending on your network connection speed, it may take a while before it is downloaded. Though the majority of the articles are related to mining companies, you will discover many others related to oil companies, banks, electric utilities, tramways, et cetera.

War bonds for everyone

A smal but interesting story about American war bonds and stamp books,  told by the Museum of American Finance, see here.

double-click to enlarge

der aktiensammler

In addition to the articles above, the latest June 2012 No.3/12 issue of der aktiensammler magazine, contains the following stories (in German) :

• Assignaten -  die Finanzalchemie der Franzosen, English : Assignats - paper money from the French Revolution (part 9 in a series on the evolution of money)
• Die Ebay-Spekulation läuft und läuft, in English: Ongoing speculation on Ebay
• Ebay- und Auktionsrenner : Die Obligationen der Zwangsanleihen Jérômes, or in English : The napoleonic forced loan bonds of the Kingdom of Westphalia
• Die Deutschen Werkstätten Hellerau : Erschwingliches "Schöner Wohnen", freely translated : German Workshops Hellerau : affordable design furniture
• Die Deutschen Werkstätten-Aktie aus kunsthistorischem Blickwinkel, English : The share of the Deutsche Werkstätten from an art historic perspective
• other periodical topics : Auction Reviews, Collector's Portrait, Events Calendar, Classifieds

F.L.

How Claude Lorrain influenced scripophily !

Claude Lorrain 1605-1682: French artist of the Baroque era

I start off this article with a little task for you. Below, two old shares are listed. I want you to double-click the images and take a good look at their enlarged versions. For the moment don't spent any time checking out the other images from this post which are discussed later. So, take a deep breath, forget what is happening around you and focus on these first two certificates. Try to identify what these two shares have in common. I am not talking about any similarities in geographical, historical or economical terms, but in terms of visual experience. 

Société Sucrière d'Annam, in English : Sugar Company of Annam
 Share of 100 Francs, Saigon, French  Indochina, 1929
Printed by the French printer Imp. B. Arnaud
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Helouan (Egypt) Development Company
10 Ordinary Shares of 1 Pound Sterling, 1907
Note the art deco elements in the border design : early for the date.
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What do these shares have in common ?

When looking at the Sucrière d'Annam share, my eyes immediately perceive the printed borders, the company's name and  the 100 Francs denomination. But then, something else happens, unknowingly. After that first glance, my eyes are guided right into the underprint design. I'm not focusing anymore on the flat surface of the share. No, I'm peering .. deeper into the design. It sounds silly, but my eyes come at rest on a point a few meters further into the open space between the sugar canes. The same happens when looking at the share of the Heloun (Egypt) Development Company. When you see it, you'll first notice the title, its denomination and the border. But also here, the next blink of your eyes sets your focus on a spot maybe a 100 meters further into the design, behind the palm trees but before the sphinx. Magic ?

Reference catalogue : Scripophily from Morocco



image by Boone Shares

• Title : Le Maroc en Scripophilie
• Authors : Marc-Edouard Enay, Mourad Kusserow, Jean Célerier
• ID : ISBN 3-033-00084-3, published by Verlag im Orient-Antiquariat, 2004
• Languages : French
• Number of pages : 213
• Images : color images, often multiple per page
• Indexes : certificates are ordered by company name, further indexes: 1. place names, 2. artists, 3. printers

This luxury edition is a great book on Moroccan shares and bonds. Not less than 400 certificates are discussed. The catalogue section is preceeded by a set of very informative chapters on the history of Morocco which makes the book a thorough reference :

• Titre anciens du Maroc (old Moroccan securities)
• Histoire du Maroc (history of Morocco)
• Du Sultanat au Royaume (from the Sultanate to the Kingdom of Morocco)

The book contains also a list of Arabic terms used and a map of Moroccan mining places, and what I in particular like is an index on place names and one on the artists that designed the shares.

Top !

F.L.

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