Share Trading, Fraud and the Crash of 1929

9    Keeping up appearances in 1929

In January 1929, as so often, the prevailing mood was captured by a New Year cartoon in Punch.¹ An old sailor is pictured cavorting on an exiguous raft waving a pipe, the usual signifier in cartoons for Stanley Baldwin, the prime minister. The raft is encircled by sharks with large sharp teeth. In the cartoon, the sharks are not identified but readers would have been able easily to think of imminent risks for the government. Internationally, there were to be negotiations over the payment by Germany of the reparations due under the Treaty of Versailles. Domestically, local government reforms were to be implemented involving a major reform of the poor law. The need for rationalisation of many industries was ...