Consolidated Petroleum Company
With World War I raging in Europe (America still on the sidelines), a series of discoveries in North Texas and Oklahoma brought oil fever to the East Coast. Despite allegations of fraud and ongoing litigation, an insurance company president took advantage of excited (if unwary) oil patch investors.
Organized in 1911, “to eliminate the irresponsible brokers and valueless stocks from the outside market,” the New York Curb did not move indoors until 1921 – and later became the American Stock Exchange.
In New York City, “curbstone brokers” at Broad Street and Exchange Place attracted investors to newly formed petroleum exploration and production companies.
This was the New York Curb market, outdoor home to young and aggressive traders offering speculative investments, unlisted stocks, and securities just down the street from the prestigious New York Stock Exchange.
The New York Evening Post described the traders as “a motley, agitated mass of struggling, yelling, finger-wriggling humanity.” (more…)
