Description
The author’s copy of American Express: A Century of Service, 1850-1950 by Alden Hatch, inscribed by the CEO of American Express, Ralph T. Reed.
Octavo, 287pp, [3]. Three-quarter blue morocco, blue cloth boards, title stamped in gilt on spine. Decorative raised bands. Stated “First Edition” on the copyright page. Top edge gilt, illustrated endpapers. Light wear to cloth boards, rubbing to tips of the spine. Internally clean. Illustrated with portraits and photographic plates.
This copy is inscribed on the half title by the CEO of American Express: “For Alden Hatch / A very satisfactory piece of work which I appreciated very much. With kind personal regards from Ralph Reed / 1950.”
Ralph T. Reed (1890-1968) was president of American Express from 1944 to 1960, leading the company through its postwar expansion from an express and travel-services firm into a broader financial-services business. Under his leadership, he introduced the first American Express charge card in 1958. He published “American Express: Its Origin and Growth” in 1952.
