Abstract
Le présent article examine le rôle joué par les technologies d’enregistrement et de transmission des cours et par les connaissances financières dans l’organisation des marchés financiers à la fin du 19e siècle. Contrairement à la conviction très répandue que la technologisation du marché a commencé avec l’arrivée de l’ordinateur, cet article démontre que ce processus a commencé dans les années 1860 et s’est poursuivi sans interruption jusqu’à nos jours. Deux cas de technologies explicitement boursières, développées à la même époque à la Bourse de Paris et à celle de New York, sont ici examinés : le pantélégraphe de Caselli et le téléscripteur ou « ticker » de Calahan. Partant d’une analyse des formats cognitifs sous-jacents de ces deux technologies, cet article explore les raisons du triomphe du ticker a sur le pantélégraphe, malgré certains avantages technologiques manifestes de ce dernier. Nous mettons ensuite en évidence les conséquences de cette victoire : le cadre cognitif et la forme organisationnelle du marché boursier ont été considérablement modifiés. Les données sur lesquelles l’auteur base son analyse proviennent de manuels d’investissement d’époque, brochures, articles de journaux, rapports, correspondances de courtiers et journaux personnels d’investisseurs. Il soutient, dans sa conclusion, que les principes de fonctionnement du ticker ont été poursuivis et développés par les écrans d’ordinateurs financiers actuels.
The present paper examines the role played by price-recording technologies and financial knowledge in the organization of financial marketplaces in the late 19th century. Contrary to the widely held belief that the technologization of the marketplace began with the advent of the computer, the paper shows that this process began in the 1860s and continued uninterruptedly to our days. Two cases of market-tailored technologies are examined here, which were developed at about the same time on the Paris Bourse and the New York Stock Exchange: Castelli's 'pantelegraphe' and Calahan's 'stock ticker.' Starting from an analysis of the cognitive assumptions underlying their mode of functioning, the paper shows how the ticker triumphed while the pantelegraphe did not, in spite of some clear technical advantages. In the next step, the consequences of this triumph are highlighted: the cognitive frame and the organizational shape of the stock exchange were substantially changed. The data on which the author relies is provided by investors' manuals, brochures, newspaper articles, reports, stockbrokers' correspondence, and investors' diaries. The conclusion argues that the operational principles of the ticker have been continued and developed by financial computer screens in our days.
The present paper examines the role played by price-recording technologies and financial knowledge in the organization of financial marketplaces in the late 19th century. Contrary to the widely held belief that the technologization of the marketplace began with the advent of the computer, the paper shows that this process began in the 1860s and continued uninterruptedly to our days. Two cases of market-tailored technologies are examined here, which were developed at about the same time on the Paris Bourse and the New York Stock Exchange: Castelli's 'pantelegraphe' and Calahan's 'stock ticker.' Starting from an analysis of the cognitive assumptions underlying their mode of functioning, the paper shows how the ticker triumphed while the pantelegraphe did not, in spite of some clear technical advantages. In the next step, the consequences of this triumph are highlighted: the cognitive frame and the organizational shape of the stock exchange were substantially changed. The data on which the author relies is provided by investors' manuals, brochures, newspaper articles, reports, stockbrokers' correspondence, and investors' diaries. The conclusion argues that the operational principles of the ticker have been continued and developed by financial computer screens in our days.
Translated title of the contribution | On ticks and tapes : financial knowledge, communicative practices and information technologies in 19th century financial markets |
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Original language | French |
Pages (from-to) | 137-165 |
Number of pages | 29 |
Journal | Reseaux |
Volume | 122 |
Issue number | 6 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Nov 2003 |
Externally published | Yes |