When Wire Houses Really Were Wired

Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and other broker/dealers must be as smart-phoned, wi-fied and bluetoothed as everybody else by now. Yet you still see them referred to as "wire houses." And, as in this article on their salespeople quitting to become RIAs, you still see the term "wire-house broker."

Half a century ago, the wire houses really lived up to their name, as you'll read in this 1958 Merrill Lynch ad. These chatty columns were a regular feature of The Thundering Herd's advertising in the 1950s.

Click on the image to see the column in readable dimensions.