The Psychology of Speculation.

First edition, sole printing, presentation copy, from the author to "Mr. Strauss", of this pre-Crash character study of stock brokers and speculators. In the accompanying letter Harper writes, "It has afforded me a pleasant diversion to write this book for complimentary distribution among my friends and fellow-booklovers, and I trust you may not find an hour ill-spent in reading it. A friend once told me that the nearest he ever came to conceiving a great book was while in the delirium of a terrible sickness; and although I claim no such distinction for this work, it was mostly written during a period of convalescence, while attending nurses and physicians were anxiously wondering if I should survive the ordeal - of the book, not the illness". In 1930 Harper privately published a supplementary chapter to address the recent market crash.