Maps, Globes, and Atlases from Martayan Lan

Item 12 is a most interesting piece. Headed Geographische Beschreibung der Provinz Lousiana... it is a 1720 broadside from Nuremberg in two joined sheets. One is a map of essentially what is today the United States, the other is text. The text promotes investment in John Law's Mississippi Company. This is what later became known as the “Mississippi Bubble,” a stock promotion that rose to great heights, and crashed back down again when reality set in. Law was promoting the wondrous resources of Mississippi and investors piled on through most of 1720. However, by late that year, investors were running for the exits, the stock collapsed, and large sums of money were lost. Anyone who followed the advice in this broadside was doomed. $15,000.

You may reach Martayan Lan at 212-308-0018 or info@martayanlan.com. Their website is www.martayanlan.com.