| | Thumbnail | | Creator | Date | Title / Author / Date / Location | Price | | | Description |
| 6668 |  | Details | Bowles, Carington | 1785 |
| Bubblers Medley rare South Sea Bubble satirical etching |
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Bowles, Carington |
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| 1785 |
| LOC:1 |
| $0.00 | Bowles--Carington | Bubblers-Medley-rare-South-Sea-Bubble-satirical-etching | SOLD<br><br>"The Bubbler's Medley, or a Sketch of the Times: Being Europe's Memorial for the Year 1720" is a trompe l’oeil-style satirical print published by Carington Bowles (1724-1793) from London ca 1785. At top center this plate shows an unsuccessful speculator staring out from behind the bars of a debtors prison. Bottom center with the text of "A South Seas Ballad", a satirical poem by Jonathan Swift, written in response to the South Sea Bubble financial crisis. It criticizes the greed and folly of investors who were caught up in the speculative frenzy. One of several re-issues, this on wove paper thus ca. 1780 - 1790. Page 23.
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<a title=""></a> <img id="3" src="/zoomifyimages/SC_6668/SC_6668_Debtor.jpg" alt="Bowles' Debtor's Medley detail" width="300"/> <br><small>"Behold a poor dejected wretch<br>Who kept a sea-coach of late" ...</small>
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In 1720, England experienced a financial crisis known as the South Sea Bubble. The South Sea Company was established in 1711 to consolidate and decrease the cost of the national debt. Its main business was initially to supply African slaves to the islands in the "South Seas" and South America, although this trade did not yield significant profits. Instead, the company expanded its operations to deal in government debt, and this led to the creation of a notorious economic bubble that ultimately collapsed suddenly, resulting in the ruin of numerous investors and a decline in the national economy.
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<a title=""></a> <img id="3" src="/zoomifyimages/SC_6668/SC_6668_Detail.jpg" alt="Bowles' Debtor's Medley detail with speech scrolls" width="300"/> <br><small>"A numerous family ruin'd without Remedy" ...</small>
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