Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Tulipomania \Tu`lip*o*ma"ni*a\, n. [Tulip + mania.]
   A violent passion for the acquisition or cultivation of
   tulips; -- a word said by Beckman to have been coined by
   Menage.

   Note: In Holland, in the first half of the 17th century, the
         cultivation of tulips became a mania. It began about
         the year 1634, and, like a violent epidemic, seized
         upon all classes of the community, leading to disasters
         and misery such as the records of commerce or of
         bankruptcies can scarcely parallel. In 1636, tulip
         marts had been established in Amsterdam, Rotterdam,
         Haarlem, Leyden, and various other towns, where tulip
         bulbs were sold and resold in the same manner as stocks
         are on the Stock Exchange of London. --Baird.