PROFESSOR JÖRG FRANKE review of Exchanges Book

A third factor which played a role at this time was the fall of the Iron Curtain and the opportunity for countries previously ‛on the other side’ to develop a new economic system. Planned economy was thrown overboard and a capitalist economic constitution took its place. Consequently, in cities from Prague to Shanghai stock exchanges came to life – in most cases one could say ‛again’ because many of them had existed hundreds of years before they were laid dormant by socialism. Initially, these stock exchanges experienced difficulties but in the meantime they have caught up and are still making up leeway.

In the middle of all this upheaval, Leon Dimitrios, the author of the photographs shown in this book, begins taking a serious interest in the world’s exchanges. In 1984 he sees a stock exchange from the inside for the first time, in 1993 he begins work on his book and twenty years later he takes the final photograph. During this time he visits most of the stock exchanges in forty-four countries more than once. The result of this tremendous journey is a fascinating piece of work. This book, however, is much more than the sum of its parts: here, the cosmos of exchanges worldwide emerge as a photographic network. Despite a multitude of differences, one thing becomes apparent: exchange trading is hope, fear, enjoyment, and suffering – strong emotion, no doubt about it. The author has done a splendid job of capturing all these emotions in unique snap-shots, some sharing the excitement and others the despair; one is mesmerized by the scene.

In any case, that is a thing of the past now. The exciting, lively pictures of hectic exchange trading floors have given way to the static ones of the ‘new age’; anonymous computers dominate the scene, they show no sign of life, as if nothing is happening at all. Although trading today is much ‘wilder’ because it is infinitely faster, it is just not visible to the naked eye. Exchange trading is now ‘engineered.’ The author has also managed to capture this ‘invisible’ exchange trading, occasionally but intensely describing its – not always straightforward – development. The book thus appropriately confirms the words of Bill Brodsky, Chairman and CEO of CBOE Holdings Inc., with whom I managed to maintain a friendly contact over the years even though he worked in a different, more traditional ‘camp’: “… it was a clear recognition that under the weight of the electronic revolution, the beauty and dimension and the unique personality of trading floors was going to disappear.”

In short, the book is not just a feast for the eyes in terms of appearance and graphic representation; it touches the heart, especially of those who have had the fortune to witness the old stock exchanges. The ‘old hand’ from the Frankfurt exchange, Walter Ludwig, says, understandably, “I really miss these personalities we had in the Börse. It used to be exciting on the floor because of the people one would meet and the exchange of ideas that happened there daily.” The world’s exchanges, however, cannot afford such nostalgia. An exception could have been made of the beautiful trading floor in Madrid, which almost became a museum over the years, only to be closed a few years ago. The memory, however, remains – this excellent book makes sure of that.