The Intelligent Investor.: A Book of Practical Counsel.

New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers,, 1949. A classic of investment, in rare jacket First edition, early printing (code of F-Y, i.e. June 1949, to copyright page, earliest April 1949). A popular investment classic, in which Graham, known as the "father of value investing", forcefully expounds his investment philosophy; retaining the rare jacket. After the success of his groundbreaking, but specialized work Security Analysis, Graham "motivated by the need for consumer education and protection... produced a version of his investment text designed for the individual investor... The Intelligent Investor was a hit. A book of less than half the size of Security Analysis, nevertheless it was written with the same clarity and integrity. In it, Graham clearly distinguished between investing and speculating. An investment, he explained, was based on incisive, quantitative analysis, while speculation depends on whim and guesswork... Graham intended the book for the man on Main Street, but as with his earlier book, Wall Street professionals found it indispensable. Because it was so widely read, the book brought greater visibility, respect and prestige to the field of security analysis" (Lowe, pp. 129-30). "Those who would criticize Graham's investment philosophy must contend with his spectacular investment record, purported to have returned about 17 percent per annum from 1929 to 1956. Even worse, one must now deal with the unabashed support and investment results of Graham's most famous disciple, Warren E. Buffett, the most famous and successful stock investor of the twentieth century" (Rubinstein, A History of the Theory of Investments, pp. 68-9). Buffett is quoted as saying "no one has ever become poor reading Graham". Octavo. Original black cloth, spine lettered gilt. With dust jacket. Contemporary presentation inscription to front free endpaper. Light bump to fore edge of rear cover, a near-fine copy in good jacket, chipped, rubbed, and slightly stained, price intact and unrestored. Dennistoun & Goodman 501; Zerden, p. 23. See Janet Lowe, Benjamin Graham on Value Investing, 1995.