1 The Story
The book that organized chart reading
In 1948 John Magee and Robert D. Edwards published Technical Analysis of Stock Trends — the work that turned scattered chart lore into a systematic discipline of patterns, trendlines, and support and resistance.
Magee, an MIT graduate, is often called the "father of technical analysis" for the rigor he brought to chart study; Edwards (his brother-in-law's associate and a pioneer of pattern and trend analysis) provided the foundational framework, itself built on the earlier work of Richard Schabacker. Their book has run through many editions — later carried on by editor W.H.C. Bassetti — and remains a primary reference for classical charting.1
2 The Big Idea
Classical chart patterns, codified
One book, the whole vocabulary
Head-and-shoulders, double tops and bottoms, triangles, flags, trendlines, support and resistance — defined and organized for the first time as a coherent system.
Generations of technicians learned the language of the chart from Edwards & Magee.1
3 The Method & Contribution
What the book established
Reversal & continuation patterns
Head-and-shoulders, double tops/bottoms, triangles, flags and pennants — each with defined structure.1
Trendlines & channels
Formalized drawing and interpreting trend boundaries.1
Support & resistance
Treated as the core mechanics behind pattern behavior.1
A debt to Schabacker
The framework built directly on Richard Schabacker's 1930s work — acknowledged in the book's foreword.2
4 See It On This Site
Chart patterns, explained on this site
Go deeper
Our Chart Patterns deep dive covers the Edwards-&-Magee classics — and the honest, data-tested view of how reliable each one really is.
5 The Work
His key contribution in print
Technical Analysis of Stock Trends
Robert D. Edwards & John Magee · 1948- The foundational text of classical chart analysis, in print for over 75 years.
- Defines the patterns, trendlines, and support/resistance still taught today.
6 Read More
Go deeper
- CONCEPTChart Patterns — the definitive guide.
- TRADERRichard Schabacker — the work this built on.
- READTechnical Analysis of Stock Trends — Internet Archive.
§ Sources
- Robert D. Edwards & John Magee — Technical Analysis of Stock Trends (1948); author background — Internet Archive; publisher notes, Routledge.
- The book's debt to Richard Schabacker, acknowledged in its foreword — overview.