Museum objects
0 shown · 5 cited but not shown. An image only appears here if it is openly
licensed and confirmed to depict the object we claim. Otherwise we cite it and link you to
the museum — we would rather show you nothing than show you the wrong thing.
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Drake Well original sample
Drake Well Museum
image failed verification (wrong object) — cited, not shown
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Original Crude Oil Sample from the Drake Well
Drake Well Museum · Drake Well original sample · 1859
The only surviving original crude oil sample from the world's first commercial oil well, drilled by Edwin Drake.
This is the actual liquid that started it all — before pipelines, before OPEC, before a single barrel was ever priced, this was just oil bubbling out of the ground in Pennsylvania.
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Oil Industry Photographs collection
Harvard Business School, Baker Library
image failed verification (wrong object) — cited, not shown
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John A. Mather Oil Industry Photographs
Harvard Business School, Baker Library · Oil Industry Photographs collection · 1860s-1880s
A photographic archive documenting the earliest days of the Pennsylvania oil boom by pioneering photographer John A. Mather.
These photos are the only visual record of the exact moment the world realized oil could be an industry, not just a curiosity.
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2010649522
Library of Congress
image failed verification (wrong object) — cited, not shown
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First Oil Well Photograph
Library of Congress · 2010649522 · c. 1861-1865
An early photograph of the Drake oil well site, part of the Library of Congress's historical photo collection.
A single black-and-white image of a wooden derrick — the modest, unglamorous birthplace of the industry that would eventually run the world.
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UNTS Vol. 443, Doc. I-6363
United Nations Treaty Series
image failed verification (wrong object) — cited, not shown
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OPEC Founding Treaty Document
United Nations Treaty Series · UNTS Vol. 443, Doc. I-6363 · 1960
The founding treaty establishing the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.
This is the moment Zane stopped being controlled by a handful of American companies and started being fought over by entire nations.
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Samuel Kier rock oil ad
Referenced via Wikipedia/historical archives
image failed verification (wrong object) — cited, not shown
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Samuel Kier's Rock Oil Advertisement
Referenced via Wikipedia/historical archives · Samuel Kier rock oil ad · 1850s
An early advertisement by Samuel Kier marketing petroleum as a medicinal 'rock oil' before its fuel value was understood.
Before anyone knew oil would fuel the modern world, someone was trying to sell it as medicine. Zane's whole identity started as a misunderstanding.
Primary sources
The documents themselves. We link and quote — that is citation, and it needs no licence.
OPEC Founding Treaty (1960)
legal_document · 1960 · OPEC founding members · United Nations Treaty Series
The full treaty text establishing OPEC as an intergovernmental organization of oil-exporting nations.
The actual legal document that created OPEC in 1960.
Wikipedia: Samuel Kier
encyclopedia_entry · Ongoing · Wikipedia contributors · Wikipedia
Biographical reference on the early petroleum marketer who preceded the commercial oil industry.
Background on the man who tried to sell oil as medicine before the oil industry existed.
Yale Energy History: Oil Shocks of the 1970s
academic_publication · Ongoing · Yale University · Yale University
Academic analysis of the 1970s oil crises and their lasting impact on global energy markets.
Academic research explaining the 1970s oil crises that reshaped the global economy.
Oil Industry Photographs Collection
photo_archive · 1860s-1880s · John A. Mather / Harvard Business School · Harvard Business School, Baker Library
Digitized photographic archive of the earliest Pennsylvania oil boom.
A photo archive of the earliest days of the American oil industry.
Library of Congress: First Oil Well Photograph
photo_archive · c. 1861-1865 · Library of Congress · Library of Congress
Digitized historical photograph of the Drake oil well site.
A photo from the Library of Congress showing the very first commercial oil well.
Where this money travelled
Zane's crude oil market was born in a Pennsylvania forest and grew into a globe-spanning commodity fought over from Texas to the Middle East.
Titusville, Pennsylvania41.6297, -79.6759
Baku, Azerbaijan40.4093, 49.8671
Spindletop, Texas30.0663, -94.1266
Baghdad, Iraq33.3152, 44.3661
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania40.4406, -79.9959
What we don't know
The page no competitor will build.
- 5 of 5 objects on this page are cited but not shown — either the rights are not cleared, or we could not verify that an available image really depicts the object. We would rather show you nothing than show you the wrong thing.
- 1 source(s) here are Wikipedia — a tertiary source. It is a pointer, not our evidence. These are being replaced with the primary documents Wikipedia itself cites.
- 2 link(s) on this page are currently unreachable and are being replaced.
