BLACK FRIDAY

Indianapolis: Bobbs Merrill. Very Good. 1904. First Edition. Hardcover. 409 pages; This is the genuine 1904 edition with the marvelous pictorial cloth binding. Tiny former owner's name on front endpaper, otherwise clean and tight in very attractive pictorial green cloth binding with image of three turn-of-the-century ticker-tape machines designed by Rome K. Richardson. Illustrated with full page plates by Harrison Fisher. Isham's book presents a fictionalized account of "Black Friday" the dramatic financial panic of Friday Sepetember 24, 1869 which was caused by Jay Gould's efforts to corner the market in Gold. Isham relates the story of the Gold Conspiracy from its inception through its demise when President Grant interceded to end one of the greatest financial crises in the history of the United States. Isham's novel also makes use of the Paris Commune, representing the fulfillment of the worst elements of modernity, a lawless, leaderless society in which mobs wreak havoc on innocent citizens. ; Experience the pleasure of reading and appreciating this actual printed item. It has its own physical history that imbues it with a character lacking in ephemeral electronic renderings. .