“Bankruptcy is coming!” [“Die Pleite kommt!”] In alarmist fashion, this caption conflates the economic setbacks and political scandals of the “Founding Era” [Gründerzeit] of 1871 to 1873. The panic depicted here is allegedly the result of “swindles” by banks, joint-stock companies, building societies, railway entrepreneurs, and stock exchange dealers. In the original German, the title of this image, “Das jüngste Gerücht” [“The Latest Rumor”], was a pun on the German term for “Judgment Day” [“das jüngste Gericht”]. It was published in the satirical journal Berliner Wespen in April 1872.