TONO-BUNGAY sounds great. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tono-Bungay It seems to have elements that were science fiction at the time but have since become routine: "George tries to rescue his uncle's failing finances by stealing quantities of a radioactive compound called 'quap' from an island off the coast of West Africa, but the expedition is unsuccessful." I am ashamed I have not read a lot of Wells outside of his most famous novels and several widely anthologized short stories; he was very prolific. (I love "The Truth About Pyecraft," which I first encountered in one of Alfred Hitchcock's anthologies for young readers: https://the.hitchcock.zone/wiki/Alfred_Hitchcock%27s_Ghostly_Gallery_(book) )
In the abstract crypto and FTX seem like an invention of Victorian futurists like Wells and Verne -- invisible, intangible private currency stored in "adding machines" outside the reach of government treasuries -- but Victorians might have rejected the idea as too absurd.
I couldn't figure out how to put these together until I found the Finance museum flickr file.
I have just read Wells' biography because when reading Churchill's bio I found they were friends. Wells came from the poorest working class. His biography was full of new insights for me. His science came from a British experiment to educate poor boys who were interested in science because they were afraid the Germans were getting ahead of them.
Scripophily. You never fail to amaze.
It surprised me, too. I didn't find any big collections but the ones I saw were gorgeous.
Given your post on Railroad accidents I looked especially hard at some railroad examples..
https://billheath.substack.com/p/railway-accidents
One of your best. Does a lot in a short space.
TONO-BUNGAY sounds great. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tono-Bungay It seems to have elements that were science fiction at the time but have since become routine: "George tries to rescue his uncle's failing finances by stealing quantities of a radioactive compound called 'quap' from an island off the coast of West Africa, but the expedition is unsuccessful." I am ashamed I have not read a lot of Wells outside of his most famous novels and several widely anthologized short stories; he was very prolific. (I love "The Truth About Pyecraft," which I first encountered in one of Alfred Hitchcock's anthologies for young readers: https://the.hitchcock.zone/wiki/Alfred_Hitchcock%27s_Ghostly_Gallery_(book) )
In the abstract crypto and FTX seem like an invention of Victorian futurists like Wells and Verne -- invisible, intangible private currency stored in "adding machines" outside the reach of government treasuries -- but Victorians might have rejected the idea as too absurd.
I couldn't figure out how to put these together until I found the Finance museum flickr file.
I have just read Wells' biography because when reading Churchill's bio I found they were friends. Wells came from the poorest working class. His biography was full of new insights for me. His science came from a British experiment to educate poor boys who were interested in science because they were afraid the Germans were getting ahead of them.