Barde

3733191 — <p>New York: Print of William Van Norden 1832. half-title 1–3 17 3 tables 1 blankpp. 6 x 4 inches. Removed pamphlet without wrappers. Very good thus.</p> <p>Sole edition scarce. Provenance: “T.C. Perkins Agent. Hartford Conn.†Only a few titles concerning New York Life & Trust’s early history emerge before Bard’s Letter 1832.</p> <p>William Bard’s text serves as an advertisement for The New-York Life Insurance and Trust Company. He was granted a charter in 1830 and raised $1 million in capital before establishing a network of salesmen to sell policies throughout New York State.</p> <p>Bard’s Letter explains to a New York state insurance agent why the newly-born life insurance market will continue to grow and why individuals would benefit from purchasing a policy. Three tables follow the text to further explain the mechanics of a life insurance policy. </p> <p>New York Life & Trust was “the most important life insurance company in the country prior to the rise of mutuals in 1840s. The driving force behind NYL & T William Bard 1778–1853 can in fact be considered the father of the U.S. life insurance industry. Not only did he push harder than anyone else in the early days of the industry for the compilation of better actuarial data and the creation of more accurate life tables but he also pioneered many of the marketing practices and protocols that informed the industry throughout the antebellum period indeed right through the Civil War.†Peter A. Coclanis reviewing Sharon Ann Murphy’s Investing in Life: Insurance in Antebellum America</p> <p>In 1933 New York Life & Trust merged with the Bank of New York founded in 1784 by Alexander Hamilton. In 2007 The Bank of New York and Mellon Financial Corporation merged to form The Bank of New York Mellon.</p> unknown