Williams, John Burr:

$17,500 · Offered by William Reese Company · No longer available

THE THEORY OF INVESTMENT VALUE. A presentation copy of the first edition of this landmark work on investment and the stock market. This copy is inscribed by Williams "to Mr. George C. Long, Jr., with the compliments of the author" on the front free endpaper. George Clifton Long, Jr., who is thanked in the acknowledgements of this book, was a secretary and eventually head of the Phoenix Insurance Company in Hartford. Chapter XXIII of Williams' book is in fact devoted to an extensive case study of Phoenix Insurance in order to demonstrate his formulas and theories, and much of the information underpinning his examination was likely provided by Long.After the crash of 1929, Williams (who already had a degree from Harvard Business School) began his doctoral studies in order to research the causes of the Great Depression. Based on his thesis (presented in 1937), this book set the stage for what became known as the "dividend discount model" of stock valuation and anticipated or pioneered a number of other models and strategies which remain fundamental to modern finance. Regarding the intrinsic value of stocks, Williams states his most lasting argument: "Earnings are only a means to an end and the means should not be mistaken for the end. Therefore, we must say that a stock derives its value from its dividends, not its earnings."A lovely copy of this rare and influential book, inscribed by the author to a man whose company features prominently in the study.

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