[NEW YORK FINANCIAL HISTORY]. DUER, William (1743-1799). Printed document signed ("Wm Duer"), n.d. [ca. 1791]1 page, 4to, matted and framed. A SMALL STAKE IN THE SHAKY FORTUNES OF THE "KING OF THE ALLEY". A certificate made out for Cornelius Ray, certifying he is a subscriber to the Society for Establishing Useful Manufactures in the state of New Jersey, with "one share in the stock of the said society." Known as the "king of the Alley" on New York's Wall Street, Duer was a friend of Alexander Hamilton and served as his assistant in the early Treasury Department. Duer's misdeeds--insider trading on government bonds--forced Hamilton to fire him. But he remained full of entrepreneurial schemes such as this one, the Society for Establishing Useful Manufactures. When it and all of Duer's other ventures failed in 1792, a panic resulted among New York's speculators and investors. He languished in prison for the rest of his life, and his secret dealings proved a negative power of example to New York financiers, who realized the importance of more open, regularized transactions and set up the rudiments of the New York Stock Exchange in 1792.