4 ms·

The 19th Century Confidence Man

47 points by Avawelles 10y ago

devy 10y ago
This article reminds me of Neal Caffery from the USA Network original series "White Collar". Sometimes, conman's life is fascinating.
- bluebelle1 10y ago
  It reminds me of the big cons in Ocean's 11. Although, I wonder if they were thieves or conmen? And is there a difference?
  - norswap 10y ago
    The term "heist" seems more appropriate here. I thought "heister" was a word, but apparently only in the (excellent) game Payday: The Heist.
smacktoward 10y ago
If this subject interests you, I cannot recommend highly enough David Maurer's classic book "The Big Con," (https://www.amazon.com/Big-Con-Story-Confidence-Man/dp/0385495382/ref=sr_1_2 https://www.amazon.com/Big-Con-Story-Confidence-Man/dp/03854...) published in 1940. Its subject is the early 20th century confidence man rather than that of the 19th, but it's full of rich detail both on the types of cons that were being run in that era and the personalities of the people who ran them. And its prose is so well-crafted that it reads like a contemporary book, despite being more than 75 years old now. It's such a fun book to read.
Booktrope 10y ago
For a remarkable fictional exposition of this, read The Confidence Man by Herman Melville one of the truly great American novels. Many of the examples described in this article are brought to life, and used to generate a very funny, strange and interesting kind of literary and intellectual experience. The book doesn't have one main character -- instead, it describes a riverboat trip where various avatars of the confidence man appear one after the other, although at one point two avatars appear at the same time and try to con each other. It was written in the mid-19th century but so advanced that Melville couldn't get it published -- it finally got into print about 50 years after he died. Plus, if you want to understand the historical roots of Donald Trump, try the chapter in this book called "Some account of a man of questionable morality, but who, nevertheless, would seem entitled to the esteem of that eminent English moralist who said he liked a good hater."
Gustomaximus 10y ago
Reading this makes me think of this review of a private equity lead float. It's the contemporary confidence man; https://foragerfunds.com/bristlemouth/dick-smith-is-the-greatest-private-equity-heist-of-all-time/ https://foragerfunds.com/bristlemouth/dick-smith-is-the-grea... Dick Smith officially went bankrupt some months after this article.
nsajko 10y ago
P.T. Barnum and Soapy Smith, who gained enormous power from confidence tricks and hoaxes, weren't even mentioned.

47 points by Avawelles 10y ago

devy 10y ago

This article reminds me of Neal Caffery from the USA Network original series "White Collar". Sometimes, conman's life is fascinating.

bluebelle1 10y ago
It reminds me of the big cons in Ocean's 11. Although, I wonder if they were thieves or conmen? And is there a difference?
- norswap 10y ago
  The term "heist" seems more appropriate here. I thought "heister" was a word, but apparently only in the (excellent) game Payday: The Heist.

smacktoward 10y ago

If this subject interests you, I cannot recommend highly enough David Maurer's classic book "The Big Con," (https://www.amazon.com/Big-Con-Story-Confidence-Man/dp/0385495382/ref=sr_1_2 https://www.amazon.com/Big-Con-Story-Confidence-Man/dp/03854...) published in 1940. Its subject is the early 20th century confidence man rather than that of the 19th, but it's full of rich detail both on the types of cons that were being run in that era and the personalities of the people who ran them. And its prose is so well-crafted that it reads like a contemporary book, despite being more than 75 years old now. It's such a fun book to read.

Booktrope 10y ago

For a remarkable fictional exposition of this, read The Confidence Man by Herman Melville one of the truly great American novels. Many of the examples described in this article are brought to life, and used to generate a very funny, strange and interesting kind of literary and intellectual experience. The book doesn't have one main character -- instead, it describes a riverboat trip where various avatars of the confidence man appear one after the other, although at one point two avatars appear at the same time and try to con each other. It was written in the mid-19th century but so advanced that Melville couldn't get it published -- it finally got into print about 50 years after he died. Plus, if you want to understand the historical roots of Donald Trump, try the chapter in this book called "Some account of a man of questionable morality, but who, nevertheless, would seem entitled to the esteem of that eminent English moralist who said he liked a good hater."

Gustomaximus 10y ago

Reading this makes me think of this review of a private equity lead float. It's the contemporary confidence man; https://foragerfunds.com/bristlemouth/dick-smith-is-the-greatest-private-equity-heist-of-all-time/ https://foragerfunds.com/bristlemouth/dick-smith-is-the-grea... Dick Smith officially went bankrupt some months after this article.

nsajko 10y ago

P.T. Barnum and Soapy Smith, who gained enormous power from confidence tricks and hoaxes, weren't even mentioned.