1793 Newspaper with an Advertisement for the Brokerage Firm of Leonard Bleeker
Philadelphia, PA: Gazette of the United States, 1793. 1st Edition. Folio. Very Good. Item #17388
An original 1793 issue of the Gazette of the United States with a back-page, displayable advertisement for the brokerage firm of Leonard Bleecker, a founder of the New York Stock exchange and signer of the Buttonwood Agreement, one of the foundational economic and financial documents in U.S. history.
This piece is VERY EARLY United States stock-trading history.
Bleecker served as an officer in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, rising to the rank of Major and serving under the likes of John Sullivan and the Marquis de Lafayette. He was present at the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown in 1781 and a founding member of the Society of the Cincinnati.
"His business acumen served him well later in life when he, his older brother Anthony Lispenard Bleeker (the famed financier of “Bleeker Street” in New York City), and 22 other men signed the Buttonwood Agreement on May 17, 1792. This agreement became the founding document of the New York Stock Exchange. He became a well-regarded stockbroker on Wall Street." - nps
"The Buttonwood Agreement is the founding document of what is now New York Stock Exchange and is one of the most important financial documents in U.S. history. The agreement organized securities trading in New York City and was signed on May 17, 1792 between 24 stockbrokers outside of 68 Wall Street. According to legend the signing took place under a buttonwood tree where their earliest transactions had occurred. The New York Stock Exchange celebrates the signing of this agreement on May 17, 1792 as its founding.
In March 1792, twenty-four of New York's leading merchants met secretly at Corre's Hotel to discuss ways to bring order to the securities business. Two months later, on May 17, 1792, these men signed a document called the Buttonwood Agreement, named after their traditional meeting place under a buttonwood tree – not because it was signed there.
"There were too many brokers involved to meet under a tree. Business was conducted in various offices and coffee houses. In 1793, they coordinated their business inside the Tontine Coffee House on the corner of Wall and Water streets."- wiki
This historic newspaper was published just a year after the founding of the NYSE and the same year as early NYC brokers began meeting at the Tontine Coffee House.
Bleeker's ad lists his address as 16 Wall Street and seeks orders from Philadelphia and Boston in addition to New York, promising "Those who may please to favor him with their business, may depend upon having it transacted with the utmost fidelity and dispatch."
This newspaper is complete in four pages, printed on on rag paper and in excellent condition.
Perfect for framing and display!
#1H-048.
Price: $275.00