IN THIS ISSUE
▶ By Paolo Zannoni
▶ By Sean H . Vanatta
▶ By Mark J . Higgins
▶ By Gregory DL Morris
▶ By John K . Brown
▶ By William L . Pressly
IN THIS ISSUE
FEATURES
The magazine of the Museum of American Finance
in association with the Smithsonian Institution
Issue 150 • Summer 2024 ( ISSN 1520-4723 )
Kristin Aguilera Editor
12 Money and Promises
Debt as money in 18th century America .
▶ By Paolo Zannoni
EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD
Howard A . Baker , Esq . Howard Baker Associates Lawrence A . Cunningham Mayer Brown Peter C . Earle American Institute for Economic Research Brian Grinder Eastern Washington University Mark Higgins Index Fund Advisors ( IFA ) Institutional Gregory DL Morris Freelance Journalist Susie Pak St . John ’ s University Arthur W . Samansky The Samansky Group Myles Thompson Columbia Business School Publishing Janice Traflet Bucknell University Robert E . Wright Central Michigan University Jason Zweig The Wall Street Journal
ART DIRECTION Alan Barnett Design
MUSEUM STAFF David J . Cowen , President / CEO Kristin Aguilera , Deputy Director Robert Dinkelmann , IT / Technology Maura Ferguson , Director of Exhibits Sarah Poole , Collections Manager
Linda Rapacki , Managing Director of Visitor Services and Operations
Mindy Ross , Director , External Relations Ben Urizar , Assistant Director of Visitor Services
Copyright © 2024 by the Museum of American Finance , publisher . All rights reserved .
Financial History is the official membership magazine of the Museum of American Finance .
17 Plastic Capitalism
A deluge of unsolicited credit cards in the 1960s helped build the companies that remain the dominant consumer payment systems today .
▶ By Sean H . Vanatta
23 Denying the Odds
The history of active management in US securities markets .
▶ By Mark J . Higgins
28 All the Rage
Context for the persistence of poor customer service .
▶ By Gregory DL Morris
32 Profit from Risk
Junius Morgan and the Eads Bridge .
▶ By John K . Brown
38 Translating High-Art Sources into an American Idiom
The artistry of Freeman Rawdon ’ s Venus of 1834 .
▶ By William L . Pressly
2 FINANCIAL HISTORY | Summer 2024 | www . MoAF . org