Map of Oklahoma and Texas Showing the Holdings of Security Producing and Drilling Company

“Big things may happen any day now which would send our values skyward.” [Text, bottom]

This rare and ephemeral broadsheet was issued by the Security Producing and Drilling Company of Fort Worth, Texas in 1920 to encourage company investment during the ‘gusher age’ oil boom. Authoritative text at the top of the page lays out the basic argument – Widely Distributed Holdings Mean Multiplied Chances for Success – while the image provides dramatic visual support.

Twenty-six separate leases stretching from the Kansas state line to the Rio Grande Valley, encompassing nearly 8,000 acres, are boldly identified in red ink. The diversity in holdings was intended to maximize an investor’s chance of striking it rich. “The “LAW OF AVERAGE” probably means more to the buyer of oil stocks than in any other enterprise. One oil well is a ‘bet’ but a multitude of oil wells is a ‘business’. The same applies to one oil lease and even to one field.”

Spurious logic aside, the map and accompanying text provide a compelling case to the prospective capitalist in the oil market. It continues in the bottom panel, speculating on possible values of acreage across the land holdings, hinting at growth in Louisiana, and encouraging investment in true Texas-style. “This is a straight-out, fair and square oil proposition – nobody grabbing it all – everybody helping – everybody working together.”

Copies of newspaper clippings on the verso highlight the explosion of oil wealth across the state, with headlines proclaiming large dividends, huge global oil demands, and much more. Despite their best efforts, the Security Producing and Drilling Company did not appear to strike it rich. Their historical record is thin and I’ve only been able to find a few mentions in contemporary investing magazines and one typed letter on the market, dated 1926. The map seems to be unrecorded, with no examples located in WorldCat or other online repositories.

Source.