Pigeons in Wall Street
Medals Commemorating the Arrival of the Pigeon Post in Paris 1870
One of the richest and most famous families in the world amassed its wealth, certainly in part, as a result of exploiting the pigeon. In the early 1800s the Rothschild family set up a network of pigeon lofts throughout Europe and used homing pigeons to carry information between its financial houses. This method proved to be quicker and more efficient than any other means of communication available at the time. The speed of the service and the ability to send and receive information ahead of the competition helped the Rothschild family amass a fortune, which still exists today.
