First edition inscribed by John Muir, “To Mrs Lester S Abberley with compliments of John Muir Dec 23rd 1927.”

8vo., handsomely bound in full red crushed morocco, boards with 5 gilt line panels, spine richly panelled and lettered in gilt.

First edition of this illustrated biography of a working-class Canadian who became a railroad executive and went on to achieve great success trading odd-lots on the New York Stock Exchange.

John Muir was born in Canada to a family of modest means. However, by the time he had reached adulthood, he found his way into the railroad industry. In 1871, he worked with Kansas Pacific while Kansas was being cleared of buffalo. Later, he moved on the Northern Pacific Railway to work on their projects in Portland. This work clearly shows the rapidly expanding railroad industry at the time, the climate of the Old West, and the opportunities that were available Muir as a result of his involvement. While Muir began as a worker, he was an executive by the time he finished with the industry. Eventually, he was drawn to New York, where he began trading in so-called “odd-lots.” He established a new system of handling stocks and bonds in small quantities—a highly lucrative pursuit that quickly became popular. This system proved revolutionary for American finance and earned many men their fortunes.

John Muir and Wall Street is one of the quintessential pre-Crash biographies and shows how many Wall Street speculators made their fortunes through a combination of intelligence, ingenuity, and good luck.