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Notes
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After the success of the Suez Canal, the engineer Ferdinand de Lesseps turned his attention to building a canal through the isthmus of Panama. In 1879 a company was formed for this purpose, the Compagnie universelle du canal interocéanique de Panama, in which De Lesseps, his son Charles, and Gustave Eiffel were involved. The company raised a large amount of capital mainly from small investors, their prospects having been exaggerated by the press, parliamentarians, government ministers, and the banks, all of whom were later alleged to have been receiving bribes from the company's financiers, especially Baron de Reinach and Cornelius Herz. In 1889 the company collapsed and many of the shareholders were ruined. After a period of government cover-up, the scandal was revealed in 1892, an enquiry was instituted and those involved were prosecuted.
Herz is shown here wearing a long white false beard and moustache to make his escape to England.
Title
The Panama Canal: Dr Cornelius Herz, One of Those Responsible for Its Financing, Gets on a Train to Flee France after the Collapse of the Company
Date
1897 (?)
Medium
pencil & watercolour on paper (?)
Measurements
H 14.7 x W 10.5 cm
Accession number
532778i
Acquisition method
purchased by the Wellcome Library from Chin Fine Art, 2001
Work type
Drawing & watercolour