Grosvenor Prints

[The Active Bellows and the Spirit of Erasmus, Leaving the City Where he was Born to Visit the three Cities of Holland not Affected by Share-trading.] De Eklips der Zuider Zon doet veele in 't duister zitten Veroorzaakt door de onpolitike Maan der Brn
[1720.]
Engraving, 18th century watermark. Plate: 340 x 260mm (13¼ x 10¼'') very large margins. Crease as normal.
A Dutch satirical print satirising the financial crisis of 1720. Mercury, representing trade, stands in the centre with Erasmus, behind them is an obelisk with the coat of arms of Amsterdam, Haarlam and Leyden. On the left two men throw themselves off a cliff. Below the image are columns in French and Dutch.
BM Satire 1645.
[Ref: 48468] £280.00 (£336.00 incl.VAT)

[Anatomy of the Stock Broker or Bombario Gone to the Devil.] Anatomie der Wind-Negotie, of Bombario voor den Drommel.
[Anon.]
[1720.]
Engraving, 18th century watermark. Plate: 280 x 275mm (11 x 10¾'') very large margins. Crease as normal.
A satirical scene commenting on the financial crisis following the collapse of serveral stock schemes in Europe. A stock broker is shown laid out on a table while several figures perform an autopsy on him, pulling objects out of his stomach; in the foreground a man sleeps in a giant cradle and on the left the devil blindfolds a man and two monkeys rob him.
[Ref: 48481] £230.00 (£276.00 incl.VAT)

[Apollo's Verdict on the Stock Sellers.] Vonnis van Apol over de bubbels.
[1720.]
Engraving, 18th century watermark. Plate: 285 x 360mm (11¼ x 14'') very large margins. Crease as normal and repaired tears.
A satirical scene showing Apollo, sitting on a cloud, deciding whether Hercules should strike the wild looking stock brokers running towards him. A commentary on the financial crisis on 1720 in which stock speculation collapsed ruining the financial markets of several European countries.
[Ref: 48477] £260.00 (£312.00 incl.VAT)

Atlas.
[Anon.]
[1720.]
Engraving, 18th century watermark. Plate: 290 x 360mm (11½ x 14'') very large margins. Crease as normal.
A Dutch satirical print commenting on collapse of the Mississippi and South Sea Bubbles. Figures, including Atlas and John Law hold up giant bubbles above their heads.
[Ref: 48482] £280.00 (£336.00 incl.VAT)

Baal. of de Waereld in Maskerade. The World in Masquerade. Here, may the Wand ring Eye with pleasure See Both Knaves and Foolls in borrow d shapes agree; How Lords and Ladies wave their wonted pride, And walk with Jilts and Bullies. side by side…Thus, all the World for Intrest, Love or Fear Conceal themselves and in disguise appear. [Followed by translation in Dutch.]
[n.d. c.1720.]
A very rare etching. 398 x 469mm. 15¾ x 18½". Vertical crease down the middle.
The stockmarket as a masquerade ball. A grand interior, host to the masquerade ball.
BM Satires: 1635. Muller: 3601.
[Ref: 14572] £280.00 (£336.00 incl.VAT)

The Bank Macaroni.
Pub accord to Act April 17th 1773 by MDarly 39 Strand.
Etching, 175 x 125mm. 6¾ x 5".
A portly and rather self-important looking man in profile holding a quill pen, presumably a manager or employee of a bank. From 'Characters, Macaronies & Caricatures, by MDarly', in an album of caricatures published by Mary Darly dated January 1776. It seems that her husband Matthew made the plates. Numbered 'V.6' upper left and '1' upper right.
BM Satires: 4707.
[Ref: 14351] £220.00 (£264.00 incl.VAT)

The Blue Devils _ !!
G. Cruikshank fec.t.
Pub.d by G. Humphrey 27 St. James's St. London _ Jan.y 10th. 1823 _
Coloured etching, J. Whatman Turkey Mill watermark Sheet 200 x 240mm (8 x 9½"). Trimmed to printed border.
A melancholy man in night-cap and slippers stares at his account sheet in an otherwise empty grate, supporting his head on his hand. He is tormented by blue demons: one offers him a noose, another a razor.
BM Satires 14598, with extensive description.
[Ref: 60564] £320.00

[Encounter of the Carousing Bubble Lords and Menacing Poverty.] Stryd tuszen de smullende bubbel heeren, en de aanstaande armoede.
[1720.]
Engraving, 18th century watermark. Plate: 370 x 400mm (14½ x 15¾'') very large margins. Crease as normal.
A Dutch satirical print commenting on the financial bubbles of 1720. In the image two figures, formed of bubbles fight with one another while egged on by men and women covered in comodities like fish and sausages and bread.
[Ref: 48475] £260.00 (£312.00 incl.VAT)

[South Sea Bubble] The Bubblers Mirrour; or Englands Folly.
Printed for Carington Bowles next ye Chapter House in St Pauls Ch. Yard, London [n.d., c.1766].
Mezzotint image with etched surround. Image 355 x 250mm (14 x 9¾"). Framed. Unexamined out of frame.
A weeping man holds up an empty money bag. A satire on financial bubbles, primarily the South Sea Bubble (the text under the portrait describes the man as a South Sea investor), but also listing other schemes and giving some of the inflated prices they reached from the subscription price. For example: stockings, rising to £30 from £2 10s; 'Manuring of Land' ('They'll never make corn cheap, or horse dung dear'); 'Bleaching of Hair'; Royal Assurance & London Assurance; 'Insurances against ye Venereal Desease'; and the Pennsylvania Company, rising from £5 5s to £40! This satire was first published by Thomas Bowles in 1720; this example was published by his nephew soon after Carington took over the business in 1766. Apparently the satire was extremely popular: the firm of Bowles & Carver were still issuing it at the end of the century.
BM: 1621.
[Ref: 33210] £790.00

[South Sea Bubble] The Bubblers Mirrour; or Englands Folly.
Printed for Carington Bowles next ye Chapter House in St Pauls Ch. Yard, London [n.d., c.1766].
Mezzotint image with etched surround. Sheet 350 x 250mm (13¾ x 9¾"). Trimmed into printed border, laid on modern card.
A weeping man holds up an empty money bag. A satire on financial bubbles, primarily the South Sea Bubble (the text under the portrait describes the man as a South Sea investor), but also listing other schemes and giving some of the inflated prices they reached from the subscription price. For example: stockings, rising to £30 from £2 10s; 'Manuring of Land' ('They'll never make corn cheap, or horse dung dear'); 'Bleaching of Hair'; Royal Assurance & London Assurance; 'Insurances against ye Venereal Desease'; and the Pennsylvania Company, rising from £5 5s to £40! This satire was first published by Thomas Bowles in 1720; this example was published by his nephew soon after Carington took over the business in 1766. Apparently the satire was extremely popular: the firm of Bowles & Carver were still issuing it at the end of the century.
BM: 1621.
[Ref: 58856] £380.00

The Bubblers Mirrour: or Englands Folly.
Printed for Bowles & Carver 69, St. Pauls Church Yd. London. [n.d., c.1800.]
Engraved broadside with central mezzotint and etched vignettes. 350 x 250mm (13¾ x 9¾"); large margins. Some repaired tears in margins.
A weeping man holds up an empty money bag. A satire on financial bubbles, primarily the South Sea Bubble (the text under the portrait describes the man as a South Sea investor), but also listing other schemes and giving some of the inflated prices they reached from the subscription price. For example: stockings, rising to £30 from £2 10s; 'Manuring of Land' ('They'll never make corn cheap, or horse dung dear') ; 'Bleaching of Hair'; Royal Assurance & London Assurance; 'Insurances against ye Venereal Desease'; and the Pennsylvania Company, rising from £5 5s to £40! This plate was first issued by Thomas Bowles in 1720; this impression from a re-worked and re-issued state - on wove not laid paper - by his successor Henry Carington Bowles (1724 - 1793) and Samuel Carver, with whom Bowles traded between 1793 and 1832.
BM Satires: 1621. State iii of iii.
[Ref: 40699] £420.00

Coffee's the thing! Go it ye Tigers!
Drawn, Etch.d. & Pub by Richard Dighton Nov. 1823.
London Pub.d. by Tho.s. M.c.Lean 26 Haymarket 1824.
Hand coloured etching with very large margins. Plate: 145 x 225mm (5¾ x 9").
A full length portrait of a man, identified by the British Museum as a Mr Cohen, stands facing the right, holding his shirt collar between his fingers.
BM 14533.A.
[Ref: 34412] £220.00 (£264.00 incl.VAT)

An English Macaroni at Paris changeing English Guineas for Silver.
Pubd. by MDarly 39 Strand March 17th 1774.
Etching, 180 x 245mm. 7 x 9¾".
An Englishman directing two men, one of whom appears to be a black boy, to load bags of silver into a carriage where his wife is seated. The money-changer with one foot in the doorway to right meanwhile cannot believe his luck. From 'Macaronies, Characters, Caricatures &c designed by the greatest personages, artists &c', in an album of caricatures published by Mary Darly dated January 1776. It seems that her husband Matthew made the plates. Numbered 'V.3' upper left and '15' upper right.
BM Satires: 4650.
[Ref: 14528] £280.00 (£336.00 incl.VAT)

An Exchequer Clerk, drest as the Act directs.
[by Matthew Darly.]
Pub.d as the Act directs July 22d 1773 by MDarly 39 Strand.
Etching, 170 x 120mm (6¾ x 4¾"), large margins. Imprint weak, stain top left on edge of plate.
A man walking with a large pair of scales over his shoulder and a small pair in his hand, a pair of clippers in his belt. The Act' is evidently the Coin Act, which had made scales necessary for all to whom payments were made in gold. The clippers suggest shading deeds continue.
BM Satires: 5158.
[Ref: 55580] £170.00 (£204.00 incl.VAT)

The Falling of the Stocks. Engraved for the Carlton House Magazine.
Published by W & J. Stratford No. 112 Holborn Hill, March 1793
Engraving with accompanying letterpress, platemark 175 x 110mm (6¾ x 4¼").
Print published in the 'Carlton House Magazine', where it accompanied a dialogue between a man who had recently lost a large amount of money on the stock market, and his maid. Here the man rages, kicking a table and scattering its contents, while a cat and dog fight. On the wall are pictures of a stormy sea with a lighthouse, and a pair of pictures bearing the text 'Such Things Are Much Ado About Nothing'. The print may be a reissue of a plate first published a couple of years earlier, as was often the case with illustrations in the 'Carlton House Magazine'.
[Ref: 45854] £65.00 (£78.00 incl.VAT)

[The Masses Went Crazy Because they Believed in Schemes.] By Veele Zit de Kei In't Hooft Om Dat Men In De Wind Gelooft.
[1720.]
Engraving. Plate: 310 x 390mm (12 x 15¼'') very large margins. Crease as normal.
A Dutch print satirising the chaos which followed the financial crisis in 1720. The scene shows various lunatics, some strapped to chairs some being taken care of by doctors.
[Ref: 48470] £260.00 (£312.00 incl.VAT)

[The Fool's Cap.] Afbeeldinge van 't zeer vermaarde eiland Geks-Kop.
[n.d., c.1720.]
Broadside, 18th century watermark. Plate: 305 x 235mm (12 x 9¼'') very large margins. Creases as normal and staining.
A satirical print commenting on the collapse of European stock markets following the bursting of the Mississipi and South Sea Bubbles. The central image is a map of an island in the shape of a fool's cap. Several towns are marked including a larger city 'Quinquempoix' named after the street in Paris on which the Compagnie des Indes was located. Surrounding the central island are several smaller islands names Sadness, Poverty and Dispair. Also in the image are two scenes, one shows an angry mob outside a coffee house in a Dutch street, in the second two men run after a chariot with sails.
BM Satire 1682.
[Ref: 48462] £190.00 (£228.00 incl.VAT)

[The Great Gathering Place of the Wind Dealers in 1720.] Der grosse Versammel-platz der Wind verkauffer A. 1720.
[1720]
Broadside, 18th century watermark. Plate: 280 x 350mm (11 x 13¾''). Crease as normal. Repaired tear.
A Dutch print satirising the financial crisis of 1720, the called stock speculation dealing in wind. Four columns in Dutch are situated below the image.
[Ref: 48474] £230.00 (£276.00 incl.VAT)

The Ghost.
Designed & Published by G. Rowe [n.d., c.1839]
Rare lithograph, printed area250 x 295mm (9¾ x 11½"). Repaired tear to margins.
Four bankers sit at a table making an inventory of the complex assets of the 'ghost' of the title, who, to make things more complicated, hovers above the company, gleefully distributing codicils. One of these is in the includes the text 'Corporation of Gloucester' and 'Jam. Wood'. The artist and lithograph George Rowe (1796-1864) lived in Cheltenham and depicted sights and people of local interest. The 'ghost' in question here is probably James Wood (1756-1836), who ran Gloucester Old Bank, one of the earliest private banks in England. After Wood's death it was absorbed by the County of Gloucestershire Banking Company. Rowe also made a print of Gloucester Old Bank.
For Rowe's print of Gloucester Old Bank see ref. 17546.
[Ref: 42003] £140.00 (£168.00 incl.VAT)

A Whole Family Lost.
[CW.]
Pub.d Pubd Novem.r [24th 1814 by Saml Knight Sweeting Alley Rl Exce]
Hand-coloured etching, sheet 335 x 230mm (13¼ x 9"). Trimmed within plate losing artist/engraver and part of publication line.
Satire on the Bank Restriction Act 1797 that was renewed annually until 1821. This act was introduced as an increasing number of people were trading their banknotes for gold. Due to the overprinting of banknotes, the Bank of England was losing its supply of gold, and due to the gold standard, the value of each banknote was diminishing. Outside the Bank of England a town crier shouts, 'O Yes! If any of the relations, or next of kin, of one Mr Guinea, who about the year 1800 was much seen in England, and is supposed to be an Englishman. will give information where he can be met with, they will be handsomely rewarded, on application to Mr John Bull, Growling-Lane. opposite Thread-needle-street—A proportionate reward will be given for information relative to his son, Mr Half Guinea; or his grandson, Young Seven Shilling Piece. Papers innumerable have been issued in consequence of their disappearance, but all in vain; and they are believed by many persons to have left the kingdom; though others shrewdly suspect they lie hid somewhere in the country, waiting for more favourable times before they dare make their appearance; as they have reason to suppose they would instantly be tken up [sic] and put in close confinement— Their sudden disappearance is particularly to be regretted, as they were in great favour with the people, and enjoyed even the King's Countenance, to such a degree that they actually bore the Royal Arms.—Notwithstanding they are persons of real worth, yet it must be confessed that by getting occasionally into bad company, they have lost some little of their weight in society; yet if they will return all faults will be forgiven; no questions will be asked; but they may depend upon being recieved with open arms by their disconsolate friends, who by this temporary separation have learnt how to appreciate their sterling worth.—they resemble each other very closely, and may very easily be known by their round faces, and by their complexion which is of a bright yellow; for though they, it is true, were born and acquired their polish and insinuating manner in London; yet it is well ascertained, that the family originaly came, and derived their name, from the coast of Guinea, a place too well known in Liverpool to require any discription.— God save the King.' On the pavement by the arched gateway is a group of four. One man, feeling in his coat-pockets, looks at the Bellman, saying, "Mercy on us how shocking." Two men talk together; one says: "Oh! you have recieved your Dividend"; the other, holding out a sheaf of notes, answers: "Yes but it is all in Papers still!!"
BM Satires
[Ref: 61922] £240.00 (£288.00 incl.VAT)

The Heiress Plate 1. The Surprise.
[by Robert Seymour]
Published March 1st 1830 by Thomas McLean 26 Haymarket London
Etching with hand-colouring, platemark 250 x 350mm (9¾ x 13¾"), with large margins. Repaired tear on right.
Five sketches, in the first of which an unexpected visitor informs the assembled company of a shabby working-class home that 'Grandfather from India Died on his Passage immense fortune Great Heiress Lady Dashfort Guardian'. The subsequent sketches show the heiress reacting to the news and leaving with the 'man of business'. The first plate of 'The Heiress, A Farce In Six Plates' by Robert Seymour (1798-1836). Seymour was amongst the leading British comic artists of his generation (Baudelaire wrote of his 'violence...love of the excessive, and...simple, ultra-brutal and direct manner of stating his subject'), and he provided illustrations for Dickens' 'Pickwick Papers' (which carries some similarities with the characters of 'The Heiress'), but committed suicide shortly after at the age of 38.
Abbey Life 319.i
[Ref: 40584] £110.00 (£132.00 incl.VAT)

The Heiress Plate 2. Hey! For London [...]
[by Robert Seymour]
Published March 1st 1830 by Thomas McLean 26 Haymarket London
Etching with hand-colouring, platemark 250 x 350mm (9¾ x 13¾") large margins.
The second plate of 'The Heiress, A Farce In Six Plates' by Robert Seymour (1798-1836). Having been informed of her inheritance in the first plate, the protagonist is here brought to London, introduced to her guardian, Lady Dashfort, and fitted out in stylish new clothes ('the metamorphose'). Along the bottom are Lady Dashfort's 25 staff. Seymour was amongst the leading British comic artists of his generation (Baudelaire wrote of his 'violence...love of the excessive, and...simple, ultra-brutal and direct manner of stating his subject'), and he provided illustrations for Dickens' 'Pickwick Papers' (which carries some similarities with the characters of 'The Heiress'), but committed suicide shortly after at the age of 38.
Abbey Life 319.ii
[Ref: 40585] £120.00 (£144.00 incl.VAT)

Waare afbeelding van den vermaarden Heer Quinquenpoix.
[Anon.]
[n.d., c.1720.]
Broadside. Plate: 190 x 305mm (7½ x 12''), with large margins.
A satirical print commenting on the financial crisis of 1720. In the central image is the portrait of Scottish economist John Law (1671-1729) who served as Controller General of Finances of France at the time. The name 'Heer Quinquenpoix' refers to rue Quinquempoix on which the Compagnie des Indes was located. Allegorical figures of Gluttony, Vanity and Rage surround the portrait of Law. This figures carry papers which refer to the Mississipi Company Bubble which affected French finances and was contemporaneous with the South Sea Bubble. French and English versions of this print were also issued.
BM Satire 1612.
[Ref: 48320] £220.00 (£264.00 incl.VAT)

Missisippi, of 't Wyd-Befaamde Goud-Land, Door de Inbeelding der Wind-Negotie.
[Anon.]
[n.d., c.1720.]
Broadside, 18th century watermark. Sheet: 420 x 330mm (16½ x 13''). Creasing as issued.
A Dutch print satirising the collapse of the Mississipi Bubble which affected the finances of France. In the centre of the image Europeans are showing negoiating with Native Americans in the Mississippi Valley. Four vignettes which surround the image, the first shows the bedchamber and deathbed of Louis XIV, at the base of the bed rats knaw through bills and papers. The second image shows John Law putting forward his financial plan, the bottom left image shows an affluent couple enjoying their wealth while the final image shows the family of a speculator rushing in to stop his suicide. Beneath the image are two columns of text.
BM Satire 1683.
[Ref: 48326] £260.00 (£312.00 incl.VAT)

Opkomts, midden, en geen eynde van den doortrapte Jan Lauw.
[Anon.]
[n.d., c. 1720.]
Engraving. Plate: 290 x 380mm (11½ x 15'') very large margins. Creasing as normal and foxing.
A Dutch print satirising John Law's promoting of the Mississippi Scheme and its subsequent collapse causing a financial crisis. The central image shows John Law shaking the hand of the regent Duke d'Orleans. Surrounding the central image are 16 vignettes showing scenes from Law's life and financial decisions.
[Ref: 48339] £290.00 (£348.00 incl.VAT)

De inventeur der windnegotie, op zyn zegekar.
[Amsterdam, 1720.]
Engraving with very large margins. 225 x 180mm (8¾ x 7"), set in letterpress. Folded as issued.
'The inventor of stock-jobbery in his triumphal car.' John Law seated in a carriage drawn by two scrawny cockerals. A satire on the Mississippi Bubble. Scotsman John Law's house in rue Quinquempoix was besieged by investors eager to invest in his 'Mississippi Scheme', blocking the street. The share price shot up from 500 livres to 15,000, before collapsing back to 500 in 1721. Law had to flee the country. Published in 'Het Groote Tafereel der Dwaasheid' (The Picture of Stupidity), a collection of satires on financial bubbles.
BM: 1671.
[Ref: 35859] £290.00 (£348.00 incl.VAT)

De Laggende Law, de Treurende Actionist met de Smekende Mercurius.
[n.d., 1720.]
Engraving. 275 x 355mm. Repairs to folds.
Satire on the Mississippi Bubble, with the title translating as 'Law laughing, the shareholders mourning, and Mercury entreating.'. Published in 'Het Groote Tafereel der Dwaasheid' (The Picture of Stupidity), a collection of satires on financial bubbles.
[Ref: 7688] £130.00 (£156.00 incl.VAT)

Stryd Tuszen de Smullende Bubbel Heeren, en de Aanstaande Armoede.
[n.d., 1725.]
Engraving. 275 x 355mm. Repairs to folds.
Satire on the Mississippi Bubble, with the title translating as 'Encounter of the carousing bubble lords and menacing poverty'. Published in 'Het Groote Tafereel der Dwaasheid' (The Picture of Stupidity), a collection of satires on financial bubbles.
[Ref: 7687] £130.00 (£156.00 incl.VAT)

Vonnis van Apol over de bubbels.
[n.d., 1725.]
Engraving. 275 x 355mm.
Satire on the Mississippi Bubble, with the title translating as 'Apollo's verdict on the stock-jobbers'. Published in 'Het Groote Tafereel der Dwaasheid' (The Picture of Stupidity), a collection of satires on financial bubbles.
[Ref: 7686] £130.00 (£156.00 incl.VAT)

Graf kelder der Verongelukte Actionisten. Eere-titel, of Gordyn voor het Schouburg der Actie-Tafereelen, beschildert met de Actie-Winkel des Groenen en Dorren Tyds, Of Spiegel des Papieren Warelds.
[Amsterdam, 1720.]
Coloured etching & engraving. Two plates, largest 290 x 190mm (11½ x 7½"), with letterpress title below Letterpress description lacking.
'Tomb of the ruined stockholders', 'Titlepage of honor, or curtain before the theatre of the stock plays, representing the stock shop of the green and sterile times; or mirror of the paper world'. An engraving showing an old winged man, holding a mirror in front of a young man who points at a globe representing the international speculation schemes, surrounded by an etched border of Callot figures, strap-work and various objects, including two bird cages. Published in 'Het Groote Tafereel der Dwaasheid' (The Picture of Stupidity), a collection of satires on financial bubbles.
BM: 1638.
[Ref: 43998] £360.00

De Vervallen Actionisten, Hersteld, door den Triompheerden Arlequin.
[n.d., 1722.]
Engraving. 280 x 355mm. 11" x 13¾". Trimmed close to platemark at top edge. Fold crease vertically down the centre as normal.
Satire on the Mississippi Bubble, with the title translating as 'The ruined share-holders restored by the triumphant Harlequin'. Published in 'Het Groote Tafereel der Dwaasheid' (The Picture of Stupidity), a collection of satires on financial bubbles.
BM: 1631.
[Ref: 26991] £260.00 (£312.00 incl.VAT)

De stervende Bubbel-Heer in den schoot van Madame Compagne.
[n.d., 1720.]
Engraving. 350 x 330mm (13¾ x 13"). Sheet extended with strips of paper to fit the original binding. Edges tatty.
Satire on the Mississippi Bubble, with the title translating as 'The dying Lord Bubble in the lap of Madam Company'. Published in 'Het Groote Tafereel der Dwaasheid' (The Picture of Stupidity), a collection of satires on financial bubbles, copied from a satire of Louis XIV by Romeyn de Hooghe.
[Ref: 11793] £220.00 (£264.00 incl.VAT)

[The Boaster, covered, who has escaped.] Ontsprongen rondom bedekte Blaaskaak.
[n.d., c.1720.]
A rare engraving. Sheet: 260 x 210mm (10¼ x 8¼''). Staining in margins.
A portrait of a dwarf wearing a large hat and wig holding a playing card. Plate 7 from 'Het Groote Tafereel der Dwaasheid', a series of Dutch satires on the Mississippi and South Sea Companies, their promoters and victims.
BM Satire: 1669.
[Ref: 48329] £180.00 (£216.00 incl.VAT)

De Geest van der Verreesene Heerakliet Schryjende over de Rampe die er Dagelyks Spruyten uyt Wind Verkopers Acksie: Het tweede Deel
R. invent Et fe:
[Dutch, n.d., c.1720.]
Scarce hand-coloured etching on laid paper, sheet 230 x 175mm. 9 x 7". Trimmed to plate. Slight crease across middle not visible from front.
Satire on the financial crisis in 1720, showing people distressed because they are struck by the 'Wind Trade'; in the front is a man dying, on the right a man hanging over a barrel vomiting, in the background several fools laugh and dance. Heraclitus of Ephesus (c.535 - c.475 BCE) was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher. Numbered in image with key above (below title). From a satirical series 'De Geest van den Verreesen Herakliet'; many prints lampooning the excessive financial speculations of the early 18th century (such as the South Sea Bubble of 1720) were issued by engravers and publishers in the Netherlands.
See BM ref:1868-0808-9728/9 for prints with similar title, inscription, and subject.
[Ref: 22595] £230.00 (£276.00 incl.VAT)

A Monument Dedicated to Posterity in commemoration of ye incredible Folly transacted in the Year 1720. [...] Just grav'd 4 prints upon the humours of Stock Jobbing, with a list of the bubbles & what each sold at when highest.
B. Picart inv.t. B. Baron sculp.t.
Printed for Carington Bowles, in St Pauls Church Yard, London [n.d., c.1765].
Rare engraving, 18th century watermark. 275 x 370mm (10¾ x 14½"). Trimmed to plate and mounted in album paper.
A reversed English version of a satire on the Mississippi Bubble by Bernard Picart, showing investors eager to buy 'Mississippi Company' shares from the cart of Fortune, led by Folly and drawn by allegorical figures of the various companies (South Sea, Mississippi, West India, East India) and the Bank of England. The spokes of the wheel visible are inscribed with the names of several popular schemes, referring to the York Buildings Company (designed to supply water in London), Mining, Silk Manufacture and others. The Devil is sat on a cloud, blowing bubbles. Next to him rays emanate from a cloud, naming the consequences of economic speculation: 'Extream Joy', 'Madness', 'Prison', 'Beggery' etc. In the background buildings are named: 'Jonathan's', the coffee house famous as a scene of early share trading (replacing John Law's home, Quinquenpoix, in Picart's original); Bethlehem, the mental hospital famed as Bedlam; and the 'Hos. of Beggers'. This English version was originally published in 1720; this example was published by his nephew Carington Bowles, who took over his business in 1762.
BM: 1629. For Picart image see 35858.
[Ref: 58016] £480.00

De Lachende Ezopus, op het koolmaal, gehouden ter asscheyd van Actieapen.
[n.d., 1720.]
Engraving. 290 x 365mm, 11½ x 14½". Edges of margins tatty.
Satire on the Mississippi Bubble, with the title translating as 'The laughing Aesop, present at the cole (cabbage-feast), which was given at the leave-taking of the stock-apes'. In the background a pacl of wolves savage a flock of sheep. Published in 'Het Groote Tafereel der Dwaasheid' (The Picture of Stupidity), a collection of satires on financial bubbles.
BM Satire 1678.
[Ref: 11789] £230.00 (£276.00 incl.VAT)

De Viaantsche tol-poort voor d'actionisten komende uyt alle steeden.
[n.d., 1720.]
Engraving. 350 x 330mm, 13¾ x 13".
Satire on the Mississippi Bubble, with the title translating as 'The tollgate of Vianen for the shareholders arriving from all towns'. Vianen, despite being near Utrecht, was in a region owned by a German count and was therefore German soil. It became the refuge of thos made bankrupt by the Mississippi Bubble's collapse: anyone who could pay the toll to enter the city could get sanctuary from creditors. 'Going to live in Vianen' became a euphemism for going bankrupt. Published in 'Het Groote Tafereel der Dwaasheid' (The Picture of Stupidity), a collection of satires on financial bubbles.
[Ref: 11792] £220.00 (£264.00 incl.VAT)

De Kornet van Vuil gewin of Wortel en Besse Postiljon op zyn mager, doch niewlyks gemest Varken uitschreewende De Lompany is vol.
[n.d., 1720.]
Engraving. 340 x 280mm, 13½ x 11". Edges of margins tatty.
Satire on the Mississippi Bubble, with the title translating as 'The rubbish-bearing courser, riding on his thin, but newly fatted boar, cries: The company is full'. Above his head is a flock of harpies, and, in the background, a crowd clamours for shares being thrown from a window. Published in 'Het Groote Tafereel der Dwaasheid' (The Picture of Stupidity), a collection of satires on financial bubbles.
[Ref: 11790] £180.00 (£216.00 incl.VAT)

De Opgehulde Actionisten in hun eer en aan zien Gesteld.
[n.d., 1720.]
Engraving. 275 x 275mm. Repaired tears.
Satire on the Mississippi Bubble, with the title translating as 'The bedizened shareholders shown during their honor and influence.' Published in 'Het Groote Tafereel der Dwaasheid' (The Picture of Stupidity), a collection of satires on financial bubbles.
BM: 1631.
[Ref: 7674] £130.00 (£156.00 incl.VAT)

Tytel-Print der Actie-Kraam of Voor-hof van Quinquenpoix.
[Pieter van den Berge.]
[1720.]
Broadside. Plate: 390 x 235mm (15½ x 9¼''). Creasing. Damaged. Repaired loss in centre.
A Dutch satirical print commenting on John Law's financial schemes and the collapse of the Mississippi Bubble. Law is referred to as Quinquenpoix because rue Quinquempoix was where the Compagnie des Indes was located. The central panel is surrounded by a decorative boarder which contains vignettes showing Native Americans, barrels of tobacco, navigational equipment and crocodiles.
[Ref: 48332] £45.00 (£54.00 incl.VAT)

De Ridder van het Gilde Kalf of Hopman van de Vroege en Laate Slacht tyd In Optogt naar 't Orakel van Delfos. De Zon in de Schutter. Orakel van Deflos. Schuylenburg. Al ons geschater Is wind en water. Uit het vel van't kalf Puurd men narren zalf. 't Brood dronken beeft Diend ons ter feest.
Engraving. Plate 342 x 277mm.
A satire on the most infamous financial meltdown in history, the Mississippi Bubble incident. The humpbacked man, mounted on a cow holding gun and a fool's cap, is is John Law, the Scottish financier who established the Banque Generale in France. He was then granted control of Louisiana and founded the Compagnie de la Louisiane d'Occident in 1717 to raise money to capitalise on the fabulous resources of the region. Speculators forced up the value of the company's shares but in 1720 the bubble burst, causing a run on the shares, forcing the company into backruptcy. As a consequence of the failure confidence in other similar companies failed and thousands of individual investors across Europe were ruined.
[Ref: 1670] £280.00 (£336.00 incl.VAT)

Monument consacré a la posterité en memoire de la folie incroyable de la XX. année du XVIII. siecle. Ter eeuwiger gedagtenisse der dwaasheid van het XX. jaar der XVIII. eeuw.
B.Picart fecit 1720.
Engraving. 275 x 370mm (10¾ x 14½"), with wide margins. Folded as issued.
'Monument consecrated to posterity in memory of the unbelievable folly of the 20th year of the 18th century.' A satire on the Mississippi Bubble, showing investors eager to buy 'Mississippi Company' shares from the cart of Fortune, led by Folly and drawn by allegorical figures of the various companies (South Sea, Mississippi, West India, East India) and John Law's 'Banque Générale Privée'. In the background is John Law's house in rue Quinquempoix. The share price shot up from 500 livres to 15,000, before collapsing back to 500 in 1721. Law had to flee the country. Published in 'Het Groote Tafereel der Dwaasheid' (The Picture of Stupidity), a collection of satires on financial bubbles.
BM: 1628.
[Ref: 35858] £350.00

Monument consacré à la postérité en mémoir de la folie incroyable de la XX année du XVIII. siècle / Ter eeuwiger gedagtenisse der dwaasheid van het XX jaar der XVIII. eeuw.
B. Picart fecit 1720.
Etching and engraving. Plate 279 x 361mm (11 x 14¼").
Satire on Law's Mississippi scheme: personifications of various elements involved in the scheme (Mississippi, Compagnie des Indes, Bank, etc) dragging a chariot driven by Madness and running over True Trade; on the chariot stands Fortune, who is throwing shares, snakes and fool's hats at the crowd; above her, the devil blows bubbles; the chariot leads a crowd to a building with three doors (hospital for the mad, the sick and the poor); on the left people gathered around a standing man holding a project for a trade company.
[Ref: 52254] £260.00 (£312.00 incl.VAT)

Anatomie der Wind-Negotie, of Bombario voor den Drommel.
[n.d., c.1725.]
Engraving. 275 x 275mm. Repaired tears.
Satire on the Mississippi Bubble, with the title translating as 'Anatomy of the stock-jobbery or Bombario gone to the devil'. The bespectacled Bombario is a usurer, picking over the corpse of an investor. Published in 'Het Groote Tafereel der Dwaasheid' (The Picture of Stupidity), a collection of satires on financial bubbles.
[Ref: 7672] £80.00 (£96.00 incl.VAT)

[The share-jobber and the ghost of Aesop]. Bombario Actionist ende Geest van Esopus.
1720.
Engraving. Sheet: 100 x 155mm (4 x 6"). Trimmed and laid on album sheet.
The frontispiece to a series of satirical prints 'Het Groote Tafereel der Dwaasheid' commenting on the Mississippi and South Sea Companies, their promoters and victims.
[Ref: 44629] £230.00 (£276.00 incl.VAT)

Graf kelder der Verongelukte Actionisten. Eere-titel, of Gordyn voor het Schouburg der Actie-Tafereelen, beschildert met de Actie-Winkel des Groenen en Dorren Tyds, Of Spiegel des Papieren Warelds.
[Amsterdam, 1720.]
Etching & engraving. Two plates, largest 290 x 190mm (11½ x 7½"), with letterpress below Folded as issued, repaired tears & creases.
'Tomb of the ruined stockholders', 'Titlepage of honor, or curtain before the theatre of the stock plays, representing the stock shop of the green and sterile times; or mirror of the paper world'. An engraving showing an old winged man, holding a mirror in front of a young man who points at a globe representing the international speculation schemes, surrounded by an etched border of Callot figures, strap-work and various objects, including two bird cages. Published in 'Het Groote Tafereel der Dwaasheid' (The Picture of Stupidity), a collection of satires on financial bubbles.
BM: 1638.
[Ref: 35873] £240.00 (£288.00 incl.VAT)

The Looking Glass No. 6. New Way to Pay the National Debt -- Fudge. ''Now you see the case stands thus - we borrow money of you (without any intention of repaying it-) but agree to allow five pr Cent interest not being in a situation to pay five now - we intend to give you three - consequently that will be so much of your Principal paid off - thus we shall go on reducing the Interest untill it comes to Nothing and then you know if we have nothing to pay to you we cannot possibly owe you anything - now you see the thing in quite a new light''.
[by Charles Williams.]
Published June 1st 1830 by T. McLean 26 Haymarket London sole publisher of William Heaths etchings Communications for this work must be post paid and directed to McLean for the editor of the Looking Glass.
Fine coloured etching, J. Whatman Turkey Mill watermark. 375 x 255mm (14¾ x 10"). Trimmed within plate at sides.
Henry Goulburn (1784-1856) as Chancellor of the Exchequer (under Wellington), bamboozling a citizen. As chancellor, he reduced the rate of interest on part of the national debt. He left office with Wellington in November 1830. Underneath this satire is another, 'Nuisances of London - The Deluge', about the havoc caused by water-wagons cleaning the streets.
BM Satires 16124 (issue of The Looking Glass satirical magazine),
[Ref: 54390] £180.00 (£216.00 incl.VAT)

What security can you give for the £100? / Why I've not the least objection to give my own personal security! Notions of the Agreeable. No.43.
London: Published by William Spooner, 377, Strand. Printed by W. Kohler. 22, Denmark St. Soho. [n.d. c.1835]
Coloured lithograph. 310 x 240mm (12¼ x 9½"). Paper toning, laid; two spots upper right corner; chip to lower left.
Satire on banking: a man seeks financial security from his banker.
[Ref: 30748] £120.00 (£144.00 incl.VAT)

Odds & Ends No.19. Now then old boy, we want, One Pound, Ten shillings & Eleven pence half-penny, for Four rates, due Michelmas day last, [...]
W.N.
London Printed & Published by T. Dawson. 54 Leicester Square. July 22nd 1835.
Hand coloured lithograph. Sheet size: 310 x 215mm (12¼ x 8½"), with large margins. Slightly stained.
[Ref: 39289] £85.00 (£102.00 incl.VAT)

Paul Pry among the Bankers. [Pry:] Hope I don't intrude....if you don't find it rather hard to make both ends meet...I dare say you haven't stop'd payment eh? ... [Banker:] ...take your Ballance...and put it in a place of safety, if you can find one!
Pub. by Ingrey & Madeley. Lithoge. Office. 310 Strand [n.d., c.1835].
Coloured lithograph, sheet 210 x 235mm. 8¼ x 9¼".
John Liston was the leading comic actor of the first half of the 19th century. In 1825, with 20 years of experience behind him, he created his masterpiece character, Paul Pry, in John Poole's farce of the same name. Pry is a man consumed with curiosity, an interfering busybody unable to mind his own business. Here he quizzes a banker about how he maintins his bank as a going concern - a very topical subject! With his striped trousers, hessian boots, tail coat and top hat, Liston moulded Pry into a uniquely endearing character. Most memorable was the umbrella that Pry conveniently left behind everywhere he went so that he would have an excuse to return and eavesdrop.
Not in BM.
[Ref: 12274] £140.00 (£168.00 incl.VAT)

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