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Afbeeldinge van't zeer vermaarde Eiland Geks-Kop.
by Anonymous:
- Used
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
London, United Kingdom
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Amsterdam, 1720. Copper engraving, 30 x 23.5 cms, black and white, elaborate engraved border, Dutch text beneath; generous margins, blank verso. A Dutch fools cap map, satirising the bursting of the financial bubbles of 1720. Cartographic features are given punning names such as the River Bubble, the Island of Despair and the town of Madmandam, but the real Rivers Thames, Seine and Meuse are also marked, drawing attention to the scenes of the greatest folly. In Britain, the South Sea Company folded, wiping out inumberable fortunes after a period of intesnse speculation. In France, colourful Scottish financier John Law won the confidence of the Duke of Orleans (then Regent of France), and was permitted to set up the Mississippi Company, which controlled all trade with Frances vast and largely unexplored American possessions - believed to be rich in gold and silver. He established the Royal Bank and issued paper money based on the supposed value of shares in the company. Eventually he was minting French coinage, collecting taxes and largely controlling the French economy. The value of the shares soared, the French economy boomed, more paper notes were issued and after a period of wild speculation confidence collapsed, ruining investors throughout Europe. The imaginary mad-head island depicted by the engraver in a sea of shares and inhabited by shareholders (discovered by Mr Law-rens) has an asss ears and wears a fools cap. The cartouche shows angry investors storming the offices of John Laws company, and an equally ludicrous land-ship sailing towards a lunatic asylum. The insets, flanking the title, depict individual investors, ruined by their greed. Map
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Details
- Bookseller
- Bryars and Bryars
(GB)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 7070
- Title
- Afbeeldinge van't zeer vermaarde Eiland Geks-Kop.
- Author
- Anonymous:
- Book Condition
- Used
- Place of Publication
- Amsterdam
- Date Published
- 1720
- Bookseller catalogs
- Title Pages and Curiosities;
Terms of Sale
Bryars and Bryars
Books may be returned within seven days of receipt if not entirely as described. All items remain the property of the vendor until payment has been received in full. Payment must be made in Pounds Sterling drawn on a UK bank.
About the Seller
Bryars and Bryars
Biblio member since 2006
London
About Bryars and Bryars
Our shop is located in Cecil Court, a charming Victorian backwater in the heart of London's theatreland which boasts over 20 specialist book, map and print shops. Open: Mon-Sat 11-6. Nearest tube: Leicester Square (Exit 1, Charing Cross Road south, towards National Gallery).
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Verso
- The page bound on the left side of a book, opposite to the recto page.