1960 Caire and Thatcher Buried Treasure Map of Louisiana

This is a 1960 Robert J. Caire and Bert Thatcher buried treasure map of Louisiana. Magenta 'X's mark the spots where fifty-six fortunes were 'partially recovered' or were supposedly buried by pirates, thieves, and the wealthy, or were lost at sea after a shipwreck. Each 'X' is numbered and corresponds with a short description of the fortune in question (ranging from $20,000 to $4,000,000).

The Portraits

Portraits of four historical figures adorn the title cartouche's corners. The top two are Jean and Pierre Lafitte, brothers and notorious smugglers/pirates active in Louisiana between 1805 and 1814. Per the map, they buried millions of dollars in gold around Louisiana, most of which had not been recovered when this map was produced (nor has it today). A portrait of William Quantrill, a Confederate guerilla leader during the American Civil War, appears on the lower left. Quantrill led the group known as 'Quantrill's Raiders', which, per the map, buried 3,000 Charles IV Doubloons near Ruston, Louisiana. The fourth, Jim Bowie, is most remembered for his role in the Texas Revolution and for taking part in the defense of the Alamo. It is unclear why his portrait is included. The whole is surrounded by a border consisting of markings commonly used on treasure maps. Each marking is labeled, allowing the viewer a small window into how a treasure map may have been composed.

Publication History and Census

This map was produced by Robert J. Caire and Bert Thatcher and published in 1960. Six examples are cataloged in OCLC and are part of the institutional collections at the Library of Congress, Florida State University, Louisiana State University, the University of Kansas, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and the Bibliothèque nationale de France.