Swindling

Munchausen & Gull Creek Grand Consolidated Oil Company. Philadelphia: J. L. Magee, ca. 1865.

The Munchausen, Philosopher’s Stone and Gull Creek Grand Consolidated Oil Co. Pittsburgh: John W. Pittock, 1865.

The first oil well in the world was drilled in Western Pennsylvania in 1859, sparking an oil boom across the country; production leapt from just 2,000 barrels in the first year to over three million in 1862. As wells ran dry, entrepreneurs searched for new locations to drill, which encouraged great land speculation and fraud. A writer at the time remarked of such enterprises, “Their lands, where any title to lands really exists, have no indication of the presence of oil in quantities to warrant boring. The only object of their existence was the creation of shares to be sold at a profit by the sharp-witted projectors.”

Here, two satirical stock certificates lampoon the oil craze. The company, called Munchausen & Gull Creek, is named after a notorious 18th-century conman (Baron Munchausen) and an easily duped person (a gull). Officers pictured on the certificate include “S. Teal,” “R. Ascle,” and “S. W. Indle.” In addition to featuring vignettes of gambling, the certificate shows drops of oil as (financial) bubbles, men behaving like jackasses, and investors going bust from the Munchausen Well. A fake prospectus for the company can be seen below.

Prospectus [for the Munchausen, Philospher’s Stone & Gull Creek Grand Consolidated Oil Company]. [Pittsburgh?, ca. 1865].

A companion piece to the two certificates on the wall, this satirical prospectus for the fictional Munchausen Oil Company contained fanciful descriptions of various tracts containing supposed riches. One might notice, for instance, that “Cheat River” cuts through the “High Cock a Lorum,” “Moonshine,” and “China or Hades” tracts. According to the “log,” the well’s output included cooking butter, cod liver oil, sardines, and lottery tickets.