How to Invest and How to Speculate

How to Invest and How to Speculate by C. H. Thorpe is a forgotten gem of early financial literature that bridges the wisdom of Edwardian investment logic with timeless market psychology. Aimed at the small investor of his day, Thorpe delivers a direct, reasoned guide to understanding the difference between investment, speculation, and gambling—a distinction just as vital in modern markets.

Through concise chapters, Thorpe dissects the motives and behaviors that drive booms and busts. He explains how to approach speculation with discipline rather than emotion, how to judge sound securities, and how to manage risk through patience and rationality. His commentary on averaging, margin use, “tips,” mining shares, and option trading anticipates many of the behavioral mistakes and market structures still seen today.

More than a manual of financial tactics, this work is a mirror into the psychology of markets—showing how human hope, greed, and fear have always shaped price movement. For anyone who values history as a teacher of discipline, Thorpe’s treatise remains a masterclass in prudent market participation.

✅ What You’ll Learn:

• How to distinguish investing from speculating—and both from gambling.
• The psychology behind bull and bear markets.
• Why most small investors lose money chasing “tips” and rumors.
• How to recognize sound securities and genuine opportunities.
• The logic of averaging down, when it helps, and when it destroys capital.
• The mechanics of limited markets, liquidity, and option speculation.
• Lessons from mining share manias and historical booms.

💡 Key Benefits:

• Builds a foundation of rational investing principles that transcend eras.
• Sharpens awareness of emotional pitfalls and herd behavior.
• Reveals how early 20th-century traders applied principles still valid today.
• Inspires disciplined thought for modern investors navigating uncertainty.
• A rich resource for historians and behavioral-finance enthusiasts alike.

👤 Who This Book Is For:

• Beginner to intermediate investors seeking clear, time-tested guidance.
• Readers of financial history, speculation, and early investor psychology.
• Students of Dow, Wyckoff, and Gann tracing the lineage of modern methods.
• Anyone wishing to cultivate patience, reason, and prudence in investing.

📚 Table of Contents:

– PART I

• HOW MARKETS ARE INFLUENCED
• WHEN TO BUY AND WHEN TO SELL
• HOW TO INVEST ON THE STOCK EXCHANGE
• SPECULATION ON THE STOCK EXCHANGE
• ON THE RIGHTS OF SHAREHOLDERS
• THE CAREER OF A PUBLIC COMPANY
• ON MONEY AND THE MONEY MARKET
• TRUSTEES AND TRUSTEE STOCKS
• HOW TO READ A PROSPECTUS
• HINTS TO THE SMALL INVESTOR
• HOW To DEAL IN MINES

– PART II

• THE GILT-EDGED GROUP
• HOW RAILWAY SECURITIES
• AMERICAN RAILS
• COLNAIL, INDIAN, AND FOREIGN RAILWAYS
• FOREIGN SECURITIES
• MINING OPERATIONS-WHAT THEY ARE, WHAT IS DONE, AND WHY
• KAFFIR MINING SHARES
• WEBTRALIAN, INDIAN, AND RHODESIAN MINES
• WEST AFRICAN AND MISCELLAYEOUS MINING GROUPS
• MISCELLANEOUS SECURITIES-I
• MISCELLANEOUS SECURITIES-II

How to Invest and How to Speculate By C. H. Thorpe