“The so-called ‘dematerialization’ of securities, I fear, will deprive us in the future of the aesthetic enjoyment and historical evidence that this edition offers us.

Securities, primarily stocks and bonds (because the others are usually unpleasant), encapsulate values and rights as well as memories. In fact, memories last much longer than the economic values or legal information contained in these documents.

In today’s era of the ‘new economy’, which is based on the electronic circulation of information and the rapid movement of capital, it is particularly important to remember that behind every share and every bond lies the epic of the real economy, which produces added value and surplus through the labor, inspiration, collaboration, and sweat of many people: from the leading business mind to the most basic unskilled worker.

All of this has added value when it essentially reflects and summarizes the economic history of a city like Thessaloniki, a cosmopolitan and trading city, a city of private economy and labor. Thessaloniki in the 21st century can, after all, seek its comparative advantages and future goals through the study of its past.” Evangelos Venizelos [Excerpt from publisher or edition presentation text]