Abraham H. Hummel

author

Abraham H. Hummel

1849–1926

A sharp, controversial New York lawyer of the Gilded Age, he became famous as the quick-witted junior partner in the notorious firm Howe and Hummel. His career mixed courtroom brilliance, celebrity clients, and the scandals that eventually brought him down.

1 Audiobook

Danger! A True History of a Great City's Wiles and Temptations The Veil Lifted, and Light Thrown on Crime and its Causes, and Criminals and their Haunts. Facts and Disclosures.

Danger! A True History of a Great City's Wiles and Temptations The Veil Lifted, and Light Thrown on Crime and its Causes, and Criminals and their Haunts. Facts and Disclosures.

by William F. Howe, Abraham H. Hummel

About the author

Born in Boston and raised in New York, Abraham H. Hummel went to work very young and became closely tied to lawyer William F. Howe. As the junior partner in Howe and Hummel, he helped build one of the most notorious law firms of the late nineteenth century, known for representing criminals, public figures, and clients caught in sensational scandals.

Hummel earned a reputation for legal ingenuity and for finding ways through cases that seemed impossible. The firm became a colorful part of New York's Gilded Age world, where law, politics, crime, and publicity often overlapped. Much of his fame came not from respectability, but from his skill in navigating that murky territory better than almost anyone else.

His story also has a darker side. Later accounts of Howe and Hummel describe a practice shaped by bribery, blackmail, and corruption as well as legal talent, and Hummel's career ended in disgrace rather than triumph. That mix of brilliance and notoriety is what keeps him memorable today.