Stock Exchange Investment List

Stock Exchange Investment List (1987) – Henderson Crosthwaite Limited
Bishopgate Press • ISBN: none (because the market was the identity) • Condition: Good
Dusty capitalism, neatly stapled, from Crappy Old Books

Behold a relic from that golden age when:

• Men wore braces unironically

• “Big Bang” meant deregulation, not astrophysics

• And the phrase “the market will sort it out” was said with total, Thatcher-flavoured confidence.

Stock Exchange Investment List (1987) is exactly what it sounds like: a printed snapshot of what everyone was extremely excited about (or pretending to be) in the late 1980s financial universe. Before apps. Before candlestick chart tattoos. Before anyone thought, “Maybe we should not trust absolutely everything with a fax machine and a handshake.”

It’s a catalogue of investments from Henderson Crosthwaite Limited, back when having a double-barrelled stockbroker name was 80% of the job.

Condition: Good (like your dad’s portfolio before the crash)

When Crappy Old Books says Good, we mean:

• The cover is intact and still clinging to respectability like a mid-level analyst clings to their bonus

• The spine (or stapled binding, depending on the edition) is solid, not yet fraying under the weight of 1980s optimism

• All pages present and attached—no mysteriously missing sectors, no carefully removed “we don’t talk about that one anymore” entries

• Normal, honest ageing: lightly yellowed paper, softened corners, the occasional faint smudge from a long-forgotten cup of tea (or something stronger)

No frantic biro scribbles shouting BUY at random tickers. No coffee tsunami stains. No edges chewed by rodents or trainee brokers. Just a well-preserved, Good condition artefact of analog investing.

What’s inside (besides nostalgia and tiny print)

Open it up and you’ll find:

• Company names galore, some still titans, some quietly merged, acquired, or vanished into the footnotes of corporate history

• Columns of numbers, yields, prices and codes; a crisp, pre-digital layout for people who considered spreadsheets “a bit fancy”

• A complete lack of emojis, pie charts, or “investment personality quizzes” – just raw, unapologetic data

• The atmosphere of a time when your financial research toolkit consisted of this booklet, the FT, and a phone the size of a brick

This is not:

• A how-to guide

• A personal finance book

• An emotional journey of one person’s path to FIRE

It is:

• A printed fossil of how serious people in suits looked at the stock market in 1987 and said, “Yes, this all makes sense”

• A perfect period prop for anyone trying to recreate the atmosphere of pre-internet capitalism

• A strangely soothing parade of numbers from a world that believed volatility was something that happened to other people

Why you might bizarrely want this

You could use it as:

• Historical research material – for writers, economists, or anyone who thinks “long-term trends” should mean more than six months of meme stocks

• Office decor – leave it on your desk to project retro financial gravitas

• Conversation starter – “Would you like to see what people thought was a good idea in 1987?”

• Perspective aid – a reminder that today’s “solid, safe, forever” companies might be tomorrow’s “wait, who?”

In a world of real-time market apps and live tickers, there’s something deeply calming about seeing it all frozen in ink, like a financial snow globe: all the motion implied, none of it actually happening.

Why a Good used copy is perfect

A brand-new, untouched copy of an investment list would feel wrong—like insider trading that never got used. From Crappy Old Books, this Good copy:

• Looks exactly how it should: utilised but not abused, consulted but not cried over

• Comes with just enough wear to suggest it sat on a broker’s desk or in a filing cabinet, waiting for its moment

• Lets you flip through, fold a corner, or leave it open on a random page like you’re plotting your retro portfolio comeback

It’s not precious. It’s working paperwork that accidentally time-travelled into the present.

Ideal for readers (and hoarders) who:

• Collect finance ephemera, vintage city paraphernalia, or anything that smells faintly of carbon paper and ambition

• Are writing novels, dramas, or games set in the late 80s financial world

• Enjoy looking at old lists and saying things like, “Oh wow, they were still around…”

• Have a soft spot for dead-tree data and the gentle rustle of yesterday’s certainty

Also excellent for:

• Economists who want to terrify their students with “primary sources”

• People who love the aesthetics of old finance but not necessarily the actual risk

• Anyone who finds old reference material weirdly comforting

Suggested usage scenarios

Best enjoyed:

• With a cup of tea and a smirk

• In a quiet moment where you’d like to feel wiser than a group of very confident men in 1987

• Alongside a modern investment app, just to enjoy the contrast

Possible side effects:

• Mild smugness at surviving several economic cycles

• Nostalgia for a time you may not even have lived through

• Sudden urge to say “FT-SE” out loud in a serious voice

The hard numbers (of course)

• Title: Stock Exchange Investment List

• Publisher: Henderson Crosthwaite Limited, Bishopgate Press (1987)

• ISBN: None – this is from the era when the market didn’t need a barcode

• Condition: Good – complete, slightly aged, fully legible, nicely old-school

Stock Exchange Investment List (1987): for when you want a snapshot of capitalism with big hair, big dreams, and very small font. Supplied in honestly Good condition by Crappy Old Books, who are proud to bring you the paperwork of yesteryear’s confidence.

Keep browsing: See more Non-Fiction books Other books by Henderson Crosthwaite Limited