Money and Mortals
Baker Library Prints Show Power of the Purse
Le Grand Diable d'Argent Patron de la Finance Hand-colored etching, artist unknown (France, early 19th century)
COURTESY BAKER LIBRARY HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
In more than 1,000 woodcuts, engravings, etchings, and lithographs from the 16th to the 19th century, Baker Library’s Bleichroeder Collection provides a view of society’s changing attitudes toward money and depicts its influence on mankind. Donated in 1975 by the New York banking firm of Arnhold and S. Bleichroeder, Inc., the collection includes works by Rembrandt, Breughel, and Hogarth.
Shown on this page are three of the seventy prints from the collection that have been selected for inclusion in a permanent online exhibition, Coin & Conscience: Popular Views of Money, Credit and Speculation. The exhibition may be viewed at www.library.hbs.edu/hc/cc/.
