This satirical engravings is from the important account of one the most infamous financial meltdowns in history, known as the Mississippi Bubble incident. This engraving is centered on an oval image of the interior of a coffee house on rue Quincampoix in Paris with numerous speculators inside. A portrait of John Law is at top, just beneath Mercury dressed as a jester. Surrounding the oval are vignettes alluding to the financial meltdown and to Dutch towns that were heavily involved, including Hoorn and Wesep. Four columns of Dutch verses are below the image.

John Law, a Scottish financier, established the Banque Generale (central bank) in France. He was then granted control of Louisiana and founded the Compagnie de la Louisiane d'Occident, in 1717. Law developed an elaborate plan to exploit the fabulous resources of the region, which quickly gained popularity and people rushed to invest, not just in France, but throughout Europe. This resulted in the development of several other overseas companies, such as the English South Sea Company and a number of smaller companies in the Dutch Republic. The share price of the (Carte du Mexique et de la Floride) rose dramatically in a frenzy of speculation. In 1720 the bubble burst; speculators cashed in, caused a run on the shares, and the company went bankrupt. As a consequence of the failure, confidence in other similar companies failed, and thousands of individual investors across Europe were ruined.

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Condition: B+

A sharp impression on a bright sheet with a bunch of grapes watermark and some extraneous creasing along the centerfold. There are dampstains along the edges of the sheet, with one at bottom center that just enters the text below the image.