“MEN GO MAD IN HERDS”: A STOCK MARKET CLASSIC, MACKAY’S EXTRAORDINARY POPULAR DELUSIONS, 1852, LATER USED IN CHARTING THE STOCK MARKET

MACKAY, Charles. Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds. London: National Illustrated Library, 1852. Two volumes. Octavo, period-style full tan calf gilt, raised bands, elaborately gilt-decorated spines, red and black morocco spine labels, marbled endpapers, top edges gilt.    $2650.

Second edition of this important, entertaining and influential early study of crowd behavior, subsequently used both to explore popular psychology and to chart the stock market.

Charles Mackay, a noted Scottish poet and journalist, attempted in this work to document and explain major “popular delusions” or seemingly irrational instances of mass action and belief. “Men,” the author contends, “think in herds; it will be seen that they go mad in herds.” In developing his theories of mass behavior, Mackay analyzes a range of historical examples, from witch-hunts to Tulipomania, from the South Sea Bubble of 1720 to the Crusades. The effect of Mackay’s work has been remarkably far-reaching, with its influence and applications extending to such diverse fields as popular psychology and the charting of the stock market. With numerous illustrations. First published in 1841. Norman 1406. Owner signatures.

A fine copy, beautifully bound.