Very beginning of the Panic of 1873...

Item # 564820

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September 19, 1873

THE EVENING TELEGRAPH, Philadelphia, Sept. 19, 1873 Over half of the front page is taken up with the earliest reports on what became known as the "Panic of 1873" precipitated by the bankruptcy of the banking firm of Jay Cooke and Company.
The first column is headed: "The Financial Disaster" "Wall Street Panic-Stricken" "The Situation in New York--The Storm Weathered--Opinions of Leading Bankers--Condition of the Stock Market--The Railroad Question" "The Wildest Day Since Black Friday" and the fifth column has even more heads including: "The Great Excitement" "New York in Tumult" "Other Failures Reported" "Fisk & Hatch Suspended" "Fall of 10 Per Ct. in Stocks" (see).
There is even more on page 5 with: "The Financial Panic" "More New York Failures" "The Wall Street Flurry" "The Panic Nearly Over" "Calmer Counsels Prevailing" "Wall Street Toning Down" "Assurances from Washington" and more. Plus the back page has additional coverage as well.
The failure of the Jay Cooke bank, followed quickly by that of Henry Clews, set off a chain reaction of bank failures and temporarily closed the New York stock market. Factories began to lay off workers as the United States slipped into depression. The effects of the panic were quickly felt in New York, more slowly in Chicago, Virginia City and San Francisco. The New York Stock Exchange closed for ten days starting September 20. Of the country's 364 railroads, 89 went bankrupt. A total of 18,000 businesses failed between 1873 and 1875. Unemployment reached 14% by 1876, during a time which became known as the Long Depression. Construction work lagged, wages were cut, real estate values fell and corporate profits vanished.
This is the first report, as Jay Cooke & Co. went bankrupt on September 18. An extremely significant newspaper in U.S. financial history. Complete in 8 pages, slightly close-trimmed at the top shaves to top of the masthead & some inside pages, rejoined at the spine, very nice, clean condition.

Category: Post-Civil War