Financing Anglo-American Trade: The House of Brown, 1800-1880 (Harvard Studies in Business History, 28)

Edwin Perkins’ book is an incomparable business history of an important international banking firm, one that now carries the venerable names of Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. in the United States and Brown, Shipley & Co., Ltd. in England. It is the most comprehensive history of the financing of U.S. trade in the nineteenth century. The author’s skillful handling of sources enables him to define distinct epochs in the pattern of international finance. Between 1820 and 1840 the House of Brown became a leader in the field of Anglo-American trade and finance. Later the firm dominated the U.S. markets for letters of credit and foreign exchange, surpassing Baring Bros. & Co. This book sheds new light on the emergence of future markets for foreign exchange, the operation of the gold point mechanism, and the general evolution of the basic documents of foreign trade.This unique study concentrates on analyzing how the firm carried out each of its major economic functions over extended periods of time. Professor Perkins provides a body of new and valuable information on the techniques of international banking and trade. And the author has been especially clear in describing managerial practices. He shows how the Browns maintained a unified administrative structure over a geographically dispersed chain of branch offices; how they used the telegraph to establish uniform rates for foreign exchange; and how they were innovators in the letter of credit field by insisting on collateral and prompt customer reimbursements. In the international banking field, the partners pioneered in the development of a more rational system of internal management. Edwin Perkin’s book is a major contribution to both business history and economic history. Editor’s Introduction Acknowledgments Contents Introduction I. The Role of the International Banker Part One. The Historical Narrative II. Growth and Expansion III. New Strategies IV. Specializing in Finance V. The Mature Firm Part Two. The Functional Activities Section 1. Advances and Merchandising VI. Anglo-American Consignments VII. Managing Cotton Operations Section 2. Letters of Credit VIII. The Rise to Preeminence IX. Managing Credit Operations Section 3. Foreign Exchange X. The Assumption of Leadership XI. Management and Administration XII. Formulating New Policies: The Sixties and Seventies Conclusion Appendixes Appendix A. Appendix Β. Appendix C. Appendix D. Notes Bibliography Index Notes Bibliography Index Edwin J. Perkins. Includes Index. Bibliography: P. [301]-311.