List May 2026

The foundation of the Bank of England

[Bank of England]
An act for granting to their Majesties several rates and duties upon tunnage of ships and vessels, and upon beer, ale and other liquors, for securing certain recompences and advantages in the said Act mentioned, to such persons as shall voluntarily advance the sum of fifteen hundred thousand pounds towards carrying on the war against France [caption title]. Anno regni Gulielmi et Mariae, regis & reginae Angliae, Scotiae, Franciae & Hiberniae, quinto & sexto. At the Parliament begun at Westminster the twentieth day of March, anno Dom. 1689 ... And from thence continued by several prorogations and adnournments to the seventh day of November, 1693 ...
London, printed by Charles Bill, and the executrix of Thomas Newcomb, deceas'd, printers to the King and Queens most excellent Majesties. 1694.
Folio (27,4 x 17,3 cm). [II]p.,p.323-378, without the last blank. Finely printed in a black letter on fine paper, with ample margins. (#35103)
€ 1500

This ‘Tunnage'or ‘Ways and Means' Act provided for the foundation of the Bank of England, one of the first central banks in the world. England urgently needed to raise money to continue the costly war against France. Because of its poor credit status the government was struggling to borrow at affordable rates. A group of merchants and financiers, including William Paterson and Michael Godfrey, proposed creating a bank that would lend a large sum to the government. In return they would receive a royal charter and the right to operate as a joint-stock bank. They raised 1.2 million pounds for the state and the Bank of England was officially established by the present Act of Parliament. Thus incorporated as a private institution with special privileges, the Bank's charter was later interpreted to mean the prohibition of other joint stock banks until the nineteenth centuty.
Here issued as part of a through-paged set and although it seems likely that this Act has first been published as a separate publication, we were unable to locate such a version. The present version is rare as well, with copies found in Huntington, National Maritime Museum, and University of London Senate House only.
*Goldsmiths'-Kress no. 21852.17

BAUDEAU, Nicolas (1730-1792)
Premiere introduction a la philosophie economique; ou analyse des etats policés. Par un Disciple de l'Ami des Hommes.
Paris, Didot, chez Didot, Delalain & Lacombe 1771 [at end: De l'Imprimerie de Didot, 1769].
XII (paginated [1]-8,[9],X-XII),497,[3 privilege]p. Contemp. calf, back richly gilt with red label, marbled edges, marbled endpapers, light rubbing. Kept in a custom brown calf box. First and last leaves with some scattered foxing. (#20207)
€ 2250

First edition. The major book of the author and one of the major textbooks of Physiocracy. The abbé Nicolas Baudeau began as an enemy of Physiocracy, but in 1766 became an adherent of Quesnay and Mirabeau and 'from then on proved a most useful popularizer and controversialist as well as an efficient editor'.
*Einaudi 349. Kress S.4657. Mattioli 232. Higgs 5158 ('The best of his works'). INED 291. Schumpeter p.225.

BERNOULLI, Daniel II (1751-1834)
Specimen inaugurale de usu medico tabularum baptismalium, matrimonialium et emortualium quod favente supremo numine auctoritate et consensu gratiosi medicorum ordinis in alma Universitate patria pro summis in medicina honoribus privilegiisque doctoralibus rite consequendis publico eruditorum examini subjicit Daniel Bernoulli Joh. fil. Basileensis ad diem XIV. Junii MDCCLXXI.
Basileae, typis Joh. Henr. Deckeri 1771.
Small 4to. 28p. With folding plate. Disbound. (#39438)
€ 500

First edition. Doctoral dissertation of the Swiss mathematician Daniel Bernoulli, a pioneering work on the application of demographic statistics (baptism, marriage and death) on the medical sciences. He refers to the works of a.o. Kersseboom, Montmort, Süssmilch and Deparcieux.

[BRISSOT DE WARVILLE, Jacques Pierre (1754-1793)]
Un defenseur du peuple a l'empereur Joseph II. Sur son réglement concernant l'émigration, ses diverses réformes, &c.
Dublin 1785.
[II],51p. Uncut in later dark grey wrappers. Stamp on title. (#40046)
€ 350

First (only) edition. One of Brissot's earliest political pamphlets in which he defended the right of the people to revolt against their rulers if their rights and freedom are violated. It is directed against certain policies of the Emperor Joseph II of the Holy Roman Empire, notably his regulation on emigration and some other administrative reforms. Brissot here defends liberal and enlightened ideas on political and social freedom. The publication of this pamphlet forced its author to retire to London once again. He there became acquainted with abolitionist agitators and found the inspiration for the founding of the Société des Amis des Noirs.

BROUWER, Luitzen Egbertus Jan (1881-1966)
Wiskunde, waarheid, werkelijkheid.
Groningen, P.Noordhoff 1919.
[IV],12,24,29 pages. Orig. printed wrappers. (#23608)
€ 175

First edition. A combination of an article first published in 1908 in a philosophical journal (‘De onbetrouwbaarheid der logische principes'), with two hitherto unpublished lectures held in Amsterdam in 1909 (‘Het wezen der meetkunde') and 1912 (‘Intuitionisme en formalisme').

Of great influence on the making of the American constitution

BURLAMAQUI Jean Jacques (1694-1748)
Principes du droit naturel. [With:] Principes du droit politique.
A Geneve, chez Barrillot 1747-1751.
2 volumes. 4to. XXIV,352; [II],IX-XII,380p., thus complete. Scattered staining, repairs to lower margins of first two quires and marginal worm track in last three quires of first volume, second volume mildly browned and with contemporary marginal annotations on a limited number of pages. Contemp. vellum, gilt backs with red and green label, yellow and green sprinkled edges. (#38908)
€ 1750

First edition of both volumes. Particularly the second volume is extremely rare in this posthumously published original edition. It was clearly issued as a second volume to the first work, with a caption title Table des chapitres contenus dans ce second volume. Both works were many times reprinted, mostly as separate works in two octavo volumes, and translated into several languages.
Burlamaqui was an ardent advocate of freedom of conscience and tolerance. His works exercised great influence on the making of the American constitution. ‘His understanding of checks and balances was much more sophisticated and practical than that of Montesquieu, in part because Burlamaqui's theory contained the seed of judicial review ... He was the first philosopher to articulate the quest for happiness as a natural right, a principle that Thomas Jefferson later restated in the Declaration of Independence.'
Burlamaqui was professor of law at the university of Geneva and a member of the council of state of the city. He was also the eminent editor of works of Grotius and Pufendorf.
*En français dans le texte 15.

One of the major books in the history of probability theory

DEPARCIEUX, Antoine (1703-1768)
Essai sur les probabilités de la durée de la vie humaine; d'où l'on déduit la manière de déterminer les rentes viageres, tant simples qu'en tontines: précédé d'une courte explication sur les rentes à terme, ou annuités; et accompagné d'un grand nombre de tables.
Paris, Guerin 1746.
[VI],[2 approbation, errata, avis au relieur],132p. (including a table on p.102), 22 tables (table 3 on 3 pages, table 4 on 2 pages, tables 6-13 double-page, tables 16-21 half-page), [1 privilege du roi]p. Bound with two additional pieces. (#29011)
€ 2000

Together 3 works in 1 volume. 4to. Contemp. calf, rubbed, extremities worn, joints cracked but holding, gilt back with red label, red edges, marbled endpapers. Small corner (2 cm) of half title torn away. Small armorial blank stamp ('Charles Anderson') in corner of first blank and half-title. The usual light browning. A very good copy with ample margins.
First (only) edition, with the Objections and Addition, rarely found together. The Essay on the probabilities of the duration of human life is one of the major books in the history of statistics and probability theory. Deparcieux had studied various schemes for life insurance, including that developed by the Neapolitan banker Lorenzo de Tonti, whereby upon the death of a participant his share (or only its dividends) is distributed to the remaining members. For the construction of mortality tables Deparcieux studied the life expectancy of members of restricted groups like religious communities, in order to exclude the effects of migration. His tables were used in France for decades.
Deparcieux was a scientist and mathematician, member of the French Academie des Sciences and professor at the Collège de France. He was also a mechanical engineer with particular interest in hydrodynamics and as such best known for his project for the supply of water for Paris, the Canal de l'Ourcq, carried out during the Empire.
Followed by: Objections faites à M. Deparcieux ... sur son Livre des probabilités ... avec les réponses à ces objections [drop title]. [No place or date, privilege at end dated 1746.] 16p.
Followed by: Addition à l'Essai sur les probabilités de la durée de la vie humaine ... par M.Deparcieux. Paris, H.L.Guerin & L.F.Delatour 1760. 32,[3]p., including 4 tables.
*Kress 4801 and 4801a. Einaudi 1529. INED 1346. McCulloch p.246.

DIEBOLD, John (1926-2005)
Automation. The advent of the automatic factory.
Princeton, New Jersey, Toronto, New York, London, D. Van Nostrand Company [1952].
[X],181p. Orig. cloth with clipped jacket with loss of one word, minor tear (1,5 cm) at top. (#13083)
€ 450

First edition. A pioneering work on automation and the ‘possibilities, limitations and social and economic consequences of the revolutionary new machines of the electronic age and what they will mean in terms of jobs, cost of goods and services, standards of living and increased leisure time'.
It was Diebold's first book, based on his studies at the Harvard Business School. ‘Owing to independent research and ever-persistent curiosity about the whole field of technology, he originated many of the concepts of data processing and utilization that are accepted today in both automation and management. This book was reissued unchanged on its 30th anniversary as a "management classic" by the American Management Association. He is credited with coining the word automation in its present meaning, and had much to do with introducing it to general usage.'

Edelmann, Johann Christian. - [HARENBERG, Johann Christoph (1696-1774)]
Zwey Religions-Spötter Celsus und Edelmann, nach der Aehnlichkeit und Unaehnlichkeit ihres Lehrbegriffs, und der Ungleichheit beyder mit dem Inhalte der christlichen Lehre des Origenis, als eine eigne Abhandlung erwogen und dargestellet, mithin zur Rettung der Wahrheit und Befestigung der christlichen Religion in der Form eines Sendschreibens herausgegeben von J.C.H.
Leipzig 1748.
72p. Contemp. boards. Browned, outer margin of title cut short with loss of a few letters. Stamp on title. Bound with another work. (#36630)
€ 350

First (only) edition. An attack on Johann Christian Edelmann's popular Spinozist writings by the Braunschweig Probst and orientalist Johann Christoph Harenberg. ‘Harenberg denounces him as a blasphemer like Celsus ... stating that Edelmann's writings do not contain anything new but are merely the warmed-up statements and opinions of Spinoza presented with more insolence, passion and vulgarity.'
*F.Bamberger, Spinoza & anti-Spinoza literature 427. Spinoza-Bibliografie 412.

Bound with: [MEHLIG, Johann Michael] Das erste schlimmste Buch, oder historisch-critische Abhandlung von der religionslästerlichen Schrift De tribus impostoribus. Chemnitz, bey Johann Christoph Stössel 1764. [XII],100p.
First (only) edition. The author's name appears at the end of the preface as ‘Diac. zu St. Jacobi', no further information about him found.
*Spinoza-Bibliografie 799.

ELINK STERK Jr., Augustus (1796-1875)
De belastingen, vooral die van den handel, in verband beschouwd met het algemeen volksbelang.
Delft en Amsterdam, B.Bruins en T.B.Groebe 1828.
XXII,[2],249p. Orig. embossed green cloth. Some pencil striping and marginal annotations on a limited number of pages. (#14996)
€ 375

First edition, rare. A remarkable argument for freedom of industry and trade, in refutation of the numerous protectionist pleas of the author's contemporaries, a.o. is mentioned Pieter Vreede, 'fascinating because of the argumentative style' (Overmeer).
The author was a senior official in the Ministry of Finances and elected member of the Provincial Estates of South Holland. He wrote on a wide range of topics related to his professional work as well as to more literary and historical subjects. A second edition appeared 1844.
*Handel in theorie en praktijk 1775. Overmeer p.396. WorldCat locates only 1 copy of this first edition (IISG Amsterdam).

ENGELS, Friedrich (1820-1895)
`Das Fest der Nationen in London. (Zur Feier der Errichtung der franzözischen Republik, 22. Sept. 1792.)` [In:] Rheinische Jahrbücher zur gesellschaftlichen Reform. Herausgegeben unter Mitwirkung Mehrerer von Hermann Püttmann. Zweiter Band.
Belle-Vue, bei Constanz, Verlagsbuchhandlung zu Belle-Vue 1846.
VIII,326,[1]p. Contemp. marbled boards, back with red label, rubbed. Mild foxing as may be expected. (#28676)
€ 1250

First printing of Engels' article issued on the occasion of the celebration of the French Republic. It occupies pages 1 to 19 of the second and last volume of the Rheinische Jahrbücher zur gesellschaftlichen Reform, an important but short-lived German pubication of socialist tendency. Among the other contributors to the present volume were Karl Grün (`Theologie und Sozialismus`) and Moses Hess (`Die Verhandlungen der gesetzgebenden Staatskörpers der Republik Waadt über die soziale Frage`).
*Draper 277.

FAURE, Philippe (1823-1856)
Journal d‘un combattant de Février. Précédé d'un fragment sur l'auteur, par Pierre Leroux, et des discours prononcés sur la tombe de Philippe Faure; suivi de notes historiques et de témoignages de la main de Lamennais, de Madame Adèle Victor Hugo, de Victor Hugo, de Louis Blanc, de Kossuth, de Ledru-Rollin, de Saffi, de Herzen, de Berjeau, de Greppo, de Bru, de J.Harney, d'Alphonse Bianchi, d'Alfred Talandier, et d'autres amis de Philippe Faure. Publié à Jersey par Auguste Desmoulins.
Jersey, C. Le Feuvre 1859.
VIII,256p. Conemp. half calf, gilt back, marbled sides, endpapers and edges. Name on half-title. Foxing to first and last leaves. (#32383)
€ 350

First (only) edition. A day-by-day account of the revolution of February 1848 written in the form of letters to the journal L'Eclaireur du Centre. Philippe Faure was a socialist journalist and close friend of Pierre Leroux and a moderate supporter of the revolution. It was annotated by his other friend Auguste Desmoulins (1823-1891), son-in-law of Pierre Leroux. After the revolution he took refuge in Jersey where he kept close contact with a.o. Victor Hugo and died at an early age.
*Maitron II, p.172-173 (Faure) and II, p.75-76 (Desmoulins).

An anntisemitic revolt in early 17th century Germany

[Fettmilch uprising]
Erklärung der Keys. Mayestet Subdelegirten, auff der Burgerschafft zu Franckfurt gethanen Vorschlag. [And:] Copia Erinnerung und VerwarnungsSchreiben, der Aussschreibenden und Adiuncten der Wetterawischen Einigungs Verwandten, Graven und Herrn an Burgermeister, Rath, und gemeine Zünfften dess Heiligen Reichs Statt Franckfurt am Mayn.
[Both:] Gedruckt zu Franckfurt am Mayn, bey Johann Bringern 1614.
2 pieces. 4to. 6; 6p. Backs reinforced with paper strip, first piece with partly underlaid title, a few marginal chips without loss. (#27990)
€ 750

Two very rare pamphlets on the so-called ‘Fettmilch uprising'. The Fettmilch Uprising (1612–1616) was a political and antisemitic revolt in Frankfurt am Main, then a Free Imperial City of the Holy Roman Empire. It began as a guild rebellion against the city's patrician ruling elite. Guild members, led by baker Vincenz Fettmilch, demanded financial transparency, lower taxes, and greater political participation. Economic hardship and resentment towards the governing council fueled unrest. The movement soon turned violently antisemitic. In 1614, rebels attacked Frankfurt's Jewish quarter (the Judengasse), looted homes, and expelled the entire Jewish community from the city. Anti-Jewish hostility was tied to broader economic grievances, with Jews accused of usury and unfair economic influence.
Emperor Matthias intervened, placing Frankfurt under imperial ban. In 1616, imperial forces restored order. Fettmilch was arrested and executed, and other rebel leaders were punished. The Jewish community was allowed to return under renewed imperial protection, and their legal status within the empire was reaffirmed. The uprising illustrates the volatile mix of urban political conflict, economic crisis, and antisemitism in early 17th-century Germany. It also demonstrated the emperor's role as protector of Jewish communities within the empire, just a few years before the outbreak of the Thirty Years' War.

HAYEK, Friedrich August von (1899-1992)
Law, legislation and liberty. A new statement of the liberal principles of justice and political economy.
London, Routledge & Kegan Paul [1973-79].
3 volumes. XI,184; XIV,195; XV,244p. Orig. black cloth with gilt-lettered blue backs, with dust jackets, volume 1 price clipped, volumes 2 and 3 price unclipped, back of jacket of volume 2 somewhat discoloured. (#12809)
€ 1250

First editions, first printings. Hayek's last major work of social philosophy and political economy, published simultaneously with the Chicago edition.
1. Rules and order. 2. The mirage of social justice. 3. The political order of a free people.

HAYEK, Friedrich August von (1899-1992)
Profits, interest and investment and other essays on the theory of industrial fluctuations.
London, George Routledge [1939].
VIII,266p. Orig. red cloth, back lettered gilt, back faded, tiny signature at top of title. (#21078)
€ 750

First edition, first impression. 'The essays collected in this volume are a selection from the various attemps made in the course of the past ten years to improve and develop the outline of a theory of industrial fluctuations contained in two small books on Monetary theory and the trade cycle and Prices and production (author's preface).
*Gray B-4.

[HEYNITZ (or Heinitz), Friedrich Anton von (1725-1802)]
Essai d'économie politique.
A Bâle [Basel], chez les freres Decker 1785.
4to. [II],45p. With 4 very large folding tables. Title with fine engraved view. Printed within two-line borders. Contemp. half calf, gilt back with gilt-lettered red label, speckled boards, red edges, marbled endpapers. Fine copy. (#30752)
€ 1500

First edition. A rare book in which the author sketches the economy of a (fictitious) state, its population and its distribution among the various classes, its agricultural production and needs to feed the population, the income and expenditure of the various classes and of the state, etc. Apart from a treatise on mineral production in Prussia this is his only work.
The author was a mining engineer and acquired fame as the reformer of the mining industry in Saxony and Prussia. He was one of the founders of the Bergakademie (Technical University) of Freiberg, the oldest university of mining and metallurgy in the world.
A German edition (Tabellen über die Staatswirthschaft eines europäischen Staates der vierten Grösse, nebst Betrachtungen über dieselben) was published the next year.
*INED 2239. Not in Kress, Goldsmiths', Einaudi, Mattioli or Humpert.

'It is the principle here that it is not essential that the people are in large numbers, but that it is of capital importance that they are happy‘

[JAUNEZ-SPONVILLE, Pierre Ignace (1750-1805)] & Nicolas BUGNET (1749-1822)
La philosophie du Ruvarebohni, pays dont la découverte semble d'un grand intérêt pour l'homme, ou récit dialogué des moyens par lequels les Ruvareheuxis, habitans de ce pays, ont été conduits au vrai et solide bonheur; par feu P. J. J.S** et Nicolas Bugnet. [As usual followed by:] Nicolas BUGNET, Catéchisme social ou exposition familière des principes posés par feu M. P. I. J.** S.**, dans un ouvrage inédit, auquel il est donné pour titre: Recherches sur la nature des êtres sensibles.
[Paris], de l'imprimerie de Le Normant [1809]-08.
3 volumes in 2. 12mo. VIII,9-283; 222,[5], 6,11-72,[4 errata],4[publ.cat.]. Contemp. half calf, backs richly gilt decorated, marbled sides and edges. Bookplate (‘F. Lachèvre') to front pastedown of first volume with some annotations. (#32367)
€ 4500

First edition. Very rare since most copies were seized and destroyed by the police, with only two copies located in WorldCat.
The most famous utopia of the Napoleontic era. It is however not only an imaginary voyage but also a political attack against France (‘Narcef'), the French (‘Inarçafs') and Napoleon (‘Ponelano'). It is written in the form of a dialogue between an inhabitant of an unidentified country named Ruvarebohni (an anagram of ‘Vrai bonheur') and a foreign visitor. It contains numerous ideas that foreshadowed those of the utopian socialists of the following decades.
The second work, Bugnet's Catéchisme, occupies the second half of the second volume and has an own title-page and pagination. The publisher's name appears only on the verso of the title of the first work. The second work has the publisher's name on title, it had been published separately already in 1808. The next year Bugnet finished the whole work after the manuscripts left by his close friend Jaunez-Sponville.
A new edition appeared 1881 edited by Carle de Rash (pseud. for Charles Read) ‘d'après un exemplaire échappé au pilon de la Haute Police Impériale'. The absence of the two leaves (p.7-10) from the second work is correct and explained in the errata.
*INED 2353. Maitron II,p.375. WorldCat locates copies in the BnF and BL only.

KRUG, Leopold (1770-1843)
Betrachtungen über den National-Reichthum des preussischen Staats, und über den Wohlstand seiner Bewohner.
Berlin, bei Johann Friedrich Unger 1805.
2 volumes. XXXII,487; [II],709p. With folding table. Modern half cloth, marbled sides, gilt backs. Small name stamp (‘Prittwitz') on title and blackened stamp on verso of title of second volume only. A very fresh set. (#24164)
€ 600

First edition. A valuable work for the economic and population history of Prussia with a wealth of statistical data. A theologian by education Krug was appointed privy Registrator which gave him access to Prussian state archives. From 1805 to 1834 he was director of the Preussischen Statistischen Bureau, the first institution of that kind in Europe.
Roscher described the present work as ‘one of the first attempts towards a comprehensive statistical work'. Palgrave writes that ‘Krug's opinion that all indirect and personal taxation is ultimately borne by land, and his rejection of such taxes, allows him to be numbered amongst the last followers of the physiocrats'.
*Humpert 7705. Kress B4931. Palgrave II, p.513-4.

[LA PEYRERE, Isaac de (1596-1676)]
Praeadamiten, of oeffening over het 12, 13, en 14. vers des vijfden capittels van den brief des apostels Pauli tot den Romeynen. Waer door geleert wort: datter menschen voor Adam geweest zijn. [Bound with:] [LE PRIEUR, Philippe (-1680), also attributed to Jean MABILLON] Opmerkingen over 't boek der Praeadamiten. In welke den schrijver wederleyt wort, en vast staende gehouden wordt, dat Adam den eersten mensch geweest is. Door Eusebius Romanus.
[No place, no printer, Gedruckt in 't jaer 1661.
2 volumes in 1. 12mo. [VIII],78,[16]p.,p.97-508, [XII],96p. With folding map of the Holy Land (chip of 3x30 mm at outer margin). Contemp. vellum, mildly dust-soiled. (#32781)
€ 900

First and only Dutch edition of both works. An early criticism of the bible asseerting that human beings existed before Adam. It caused a great rumour and was immediately forbidden and its author accused of heresy. La Peyrère was a French calvinist theologian of Marrano background. The first work originally appeared in Latin in 1655. The second work, a refutation of the first, originally appeared in Latin in 1656.
Spinoza had a copy of the Latin edition in his library (Servaas van Rooijen 4to 28).

Law, John.
Collection of 7 legal documents on the système of John Law, and the Banque générale, mostly dealing with the value of the paper money issued by the Bank.
All but one without name of place and printer and undated, but between 1716 and 1766.
Alle are in 4to, most have woodcut vignettes and/or decorated initials. They are untrimmed and disbound, with a few exceptions bright and clean. Some have a printed number at head, some a manuscript number. (#25344)
€ 250

1. Déclaration du Roi, donnée à Paris le 25 de Juillet 1716. Sur les endossemens des billets de la Banque générale. [At end:] Réimprimé à Grenoble, chez André Giroud 1766. 3p.
2. Arrest du Conseil d'estat du Roy. Du premier Decembre 1719. Concernant les billets de Banque. 4p.
3. Arrest du Conseil d'estat du Roy, pour la diminution des espèces & matieres d'or et d'argent, & qui ordonne que les billets de Banque auront cours dans tous le Royaume. Du 20. Janvier 1720. 3p.
4. Arrest du Conseil d'estat du Roy, concernant les monnoyes. Du troisiéme Fevrier1720. 4p.
5. Arrest du Conseil d'estat du Roy; du 9. Fevrier 1720. Qui proroge le cours des espèces d'or et d'argent. 4p.
6. Arrest du Conseil d'estat du Roy, concernant les billets de Banque, les actions de la Compagnie des Indes, le cours des espêces, & le prix des matieres d'or et d'argent. Du cinquiéme Mars 1720. 4p.
7. Declaration du Roy. Donnée à Paris le 11. Mars 1720. Pour abolir l'usage des especes d'or au premier May prochaine; & pour indiquer les diminutions sur lesdites especes ... 8p.

LEPORIZZI, Galliano.
Metodo pratico per ragguagliare i cambj di tutte le piazze d'Europa all' uso degli scrittorj dei banchieri, o sieno negozianti di cambj. Edizione seconda.
Venezia, apppresso Gio: Battista Novelli 1766.
Folio (34 x 22 cm). [VIII],244p. Contemp. vellum, rubbed and little worn, back renewed, red sprinkled edges. (#24379)
€ 750

Second edition. A manual for the calculation of exchange rates between all major European cities. Written for the use of bankers and money changers by a Venice merchant. First published the previous year with a third edition in 1768.
*Goldsmiths' 10116 (1765). Riccardi I/2,c.33 (1765). Not in Kress, Einaudi or Mattioli.

[MAFFEI, Francesco Scipione (1675-1755)]
Dell' impiego del danaro. Libri tre.
In Verona, presso Giannalberto Tumermani 1744.
4to. XXII,[2],332[=336]p. With engraved title-vignette, engraved initial and headpiece. Uncut in contemp. carta rustica, somewhat worn and soiled, small library ticket to front board. Small stamp on title, last 30 pages with small worm track in upper margin not affecting text. (#29989)
€ 1000

First edition. Maffei was an Italian writer and philosopher, and pioneer in the study of Etruscan antiquities, one of the leading Italian intellectuals of the early Enlightenment. Born in Verona, then part of the Republic of Venice, Maffei was educated in literature and law. He served in the military during the War of Spanish Succession, and in the 1730's travelled in various European countries. The present volume is his only contribution to political economy.
‘[Maffei here] deals in a striking manner, though without much novelty in argument, with the question of interest, and endeavours to reconcile the church doctrine hostile to usury with the varying requirements of commerce, maintaining that to receive compensation for the loan of money is opposed neither to morality nor to the Gospel. This book of Maffei's aroused against its author much angry feeling and recrimination ... Ultimately it caused the author's banishment by the Venetian government.' (Palgtave II,p.662)
*Kress 4716. Kress, Italian 251. Einaudi 3603. Mattioli 2189. Goldsmiths does not have this first edition..

MANZONI, Renzo (1852-1918)
El Yèmen. Tre anni nell'Arabia felice. Escursione atte dal Settembre 1877 al Marzo 1880.
Roma, tipografia eredi Botta 1884.
4to. [VIII],VI,[2],446p. With portrait, numerous wood-engraved ills in the text and on plates (3 folding, 7 double-page), a folding coloured plan and 2 folding coloured maps. Orig. printed wrappers, some staining, back covered with decorated paper. Scattered foxing. Presentation copy, inscribed on the title: ‘Il epregio amico Colonelle/ Raffaele Parisi/ Renzo Manzoni/ Roma 26 Settembre/ 1916'. (#24806)
€ 750

First (only) edition. A richly illustrated and very detailed account of the author's travels through Yemen. It is considered a work of great scientific importance, rich in accurate observations on the conditions of the country and its inhabitants, until then only rarely and superficially visited by Europeans. The illustrations are after photographs taken by Manzoni.
A reprint edition of this appeared in 1991 with a slightly different title (El Yemen. Un viaggio a Sana'a 1877-1878).

MARPERGER, Paul Jacob (1656-1730)
Beschreibung der Banquen. Was und wie vielerley derselben seyn, als nehmlich Land-, Lehn- und Deposito- Wechsel- und Giro- oder kauffmännische Ab- und Zuschreib- wie auch Billets- oder so genannte Müntz- Zettels- und Actien- Banquen. Wo die vornehmste derselben anzutreffen, mit was vor Statutis und Verordnungen einige darunter verstehen seyn, und wie hoch dem Pubolicum daran gelegen, dass in allen grossen Residentz- Reichs- und Handels- Städten, ja auch in gantzen Ländern und Provincien dergleichen Banquen, zu Beförderung der Commercien, und Nutzen der Einwohner, angeleget würden; wobey zugleich von dem Recht der Banquen und Banquiers gehandelt, in der summarischen Wiederholung aber ein gewisses Wechsel-Project examiniret, und endlich die sicherste und beste Ordnung, das Financien-Wesen eines Landes oder Republic auf guten Fuss zu setzen, gezeiget wird.
Halle und Leipzig, bey Felix du Serre 1717.
4to. [XVIII],408,[14]p. Modern blind-tooled calf, back gilt-lettered. Seriously browned, some marginal staining, remnants of a stamp on title. (#30350)
€ 3500

First edition. The first comprehensive work in German on banking. The author treats the rules and customs of the German and Austrian banks (Hamburg, Leipzig, Nuremberg and Vienna) as well as those of foreign banks (Amsterdam, Venice, Genoa. London and Stockholm).
Marperger was an experienced business man and a prolific writer of works on commerce, considered as the founder of modern German business literature.
It was apparently not a great commercial success because in 1723 the remaining copies of Du Serre's edition were offered by the publisher Johann Christian Martini, with a newly printed title page.
*Kress 3027. Humpert 6788.

Only 1 copy in WorldCat

[MARX, Karl (1818-1883)]
Der Londoner deutsche Arbeiter Bildungsverein hat im Einverständniss mit einem Agenten der polnischen Nationalregierung das unterzeichnete Comité beauftragt, eine Geldsammlung für Polen unter den deutschen Arbeitern in England, Deutschland, der Schweiz und den Vereinigten Staaten zu veranstalten ...
[London, Deutscher Arbeiter Bildungsverein November 1863.]
Broadside 12,5 x 21,5 cm. (#16789)
€ 2500

A call to the workers in England, Germany, Switzerland and the United States to support the Polish insurgents. In 1863, the January Uprising, the longest and largest Polish national uprising of the 19th century, began in Russian-occupied Poland. The uprising, which began on January 22, 1863, was a response to the forced conscription of young Poles into the Russian army. It resulted in fierce guerrilla warfare, but was brutally suppressed by the Russians in 1864.
It was issued by the German Workers Educational Association, an organisation of German workers and craftsmen in London, established in 1840 by Karl Schapper and others. Marx and Engels were active members. It is signed at end by members of the Committee of the Association Bolleter, Berger, Eccarius, Krüger, Lessner, Limburg, Linden, Matzrath, Tatschky, Toups and Wolf, who all would become active members of the First International.
But it was written by Marx. ‘Der von Marx verfasste Aufruf erschien Anfang November 1863 als Flugblatt, unterzeichnet vom Polenkomitee des Vereins, dem auch Wilhelm Wolff angehörte, der zur Täuschung der Polizei von Manchester aus den Versand besorgte.' (MEGA II/12, p.718)
‘After the Polish uprising (January), Marx planned to publish a manifesto on Poland. From August onward, he had numerous contacts with Polish officers who had taken refuge in London (Colonel Lapinski, etc.) with a view to forming a German legion to aid the insurgents. In September he held talks with the leaders of the German Workers' Association in London to organize material and moral support for Poland. At the end of October, he drafted a proclamation on behalf of this Association, denouncing the complicity of the German bourgeoisie in the massacres perpetrated by the Russians in Poland, and urging the German working class to inscribe on its flag the restoration of Poland.' (Rubel)
This was reprinted by D.Riazanov in the Archiv für die Geschichtedes Sozialismus und der Arbeiterwegung VI, 1915, p.209-210.
*Rubel 612 (quoting it in French as Proclamation en faveur de la Pologne, with a long note). The only copy we could record (WorldCat) is in NUKAT, Union Catalog of Polish Research Libraries.

MENASSEH BEN ISRAEL (1604-1657)
De creatione problemata XXX: cum summarijs singulorum problematum, & indice locorum Scripturae, quae hoc opere explicantur.
Amstelodami, Typis & sumptibus auctoris [Amsterdam, by the author] 1635.
Small 8vo (15x9,5 cm). [XVI],156,[2]p. Contemp. vellum. Mild browning. Stamp on title and verso. Bookplate of Karin Figala. (#32556)
€ 2000

First edition. Printed in his own press, the first Hebrew printing press in Amsterdam founded by Menasseh Ben Israel in 1626, ‘a turning point in the history of Hebrew printing'.
On the title as printer's mark the well-known magic square, divided into 9 squares in which the consonants are arranged in such a way that the same three Psalm words can be read both horizontally and vertically (Psalm 85 vs 11 ‘Veritas e terra orietur/ Truth shall spring out of the earth').
Previously part of the collection ‘Museum Rem. Faesch Basil', founded by the Swiss jurist and art collector Remigius Faesch (1595-1667), stamp on title verso and ex-dono inscription on first blank dated 1647. Karin Figala (1938-2008) was an Austrian historian of chemistry and alchemy and professor at the University of Munich.

MERCADO, Thomas de (c.1520-1575)
Tratos y contratos de mercaderes y tratantes discididos y determinados.
En Salamanca, por Mathias Gast, ano de 1569.
[XIV],249 (=248, lf 209 skipped in foliation), [14]lvs. Contemp. limp vellum, recased with new endpapers and ties. Two minor repairs on title, vague staining in the beginning. Quite a bit of marginal annotations and some striping in a contemporary (?) hand. (#29470)
€ 7500

First edition. One of the most important economic works of sixteenth century Spain. A treatise on commerce and trade in all its aspects, translated as Deals and contracts of merchants and traders. It treats commercial contracts, currency exchange, credit arrangements, banking practices, maritime insurance, etc. It contains numerous details about trade fairs, the trade with the Spanish colonies and the slave trade, the treatment of slaves in Cape Verde, etc.
Mercado analyzed the enormous influx of silver from the Americas into Spain, concluded that inflation in Spain was mostly caused by silver flooding in the economy, and thus anticipated in a sense the quantity theory of money.
Mercado was born in Seville but moved to Mexico as a young man (though other sources say he was born in Mexico), where he entered the Order of Preachers. He studied at the Dominican convent in Mexico where he received instruction from professors from the University of Salamanca, and in 1558 took Holy Orders. He was a professor at the Dominican Convent in Mexico from 1558 to 1563. He returned to Spain to complete his studies at the University of Salamanca. Mercado then resided in Seville for two years, returned to Salamanca to finish his studies and then published his present work, commissioned by the merchants of Seville. He returned to Seville to teach at the College of Santo Tomás. There he received a master's degree in theology and published two works on logic. In 1574 he embarked for Mexico, for unknown reasons, and during the voyage he fell ill and died in January the next year.
An expanded second edition, with a slightly different title was published in Sevilla in 1571, and again in 1587. An Italian translation appeared in Brescia in 1591.
*Colmeiro 279. Both Kress and Goldsmiths' have the second edition of 1571 and the Italian edition only.

METELERKAMP, Rutger (1772-1836)
De toestand van Nederland in vergelijking gebragt met die van enige andere landen van Europa.
Rotterdam, bij Cornel en Van Baalen 1804.
2 volumes in 1. VI,251; VIII,298p. With 17 folding tables. Contemp. half calf, back with red and green label, sprinkled boards. Two old stamps on title of first volume. Signed by the author at the end of the preface. (#15489)
€ 375

First edition. An important source for the knowledge of the economic condition of the Netherlands at the beginning of the nineteenth century. An announced third volume has never been published. An (abridged) French translation appeared in 1807.
The author had studied law in Leiden. He was a man with enlightened ideas, but as the son of a regent from the patrician class he could not hold public office during the French occupation. This enabled him to travel several years to study the economic condition in various European countries and to write the present work. He was a good friend of Count Hogendorp, who in 1813 appointed him secretary of the committee charged with drafting the constitution. He was a Member of Parliament from 1815 to 1822 and State Council from 1828 until his death.

MILL, John Stuart (1806-1873)
J. Stuart Mill's staathuishoudkunde, door Mr. Jacques Oppenheim, secretaris der gemeente Groningen.
Groningen, J.B.Wolters 1875-76.
2 volumes. [IV],459; [IV],464p. Contemp. half calf, backs richly gilt, marbled endpapers, minor defect at top of upper joint of volume 2. Stamp and library marking to titles, same stamp on a few other pages. (#21767)
€ 600

First Dutch edition. Despite its misty title page this is virtually a translation of Mill's seminal Principles of political economy. The translator Jacques Oppenheim (1849-1924) was at the time secretary of the city of Groningen and in 1885 became professor of law at the University of Groningen. He was an authority in the field of administrative law and became also known for his many merits for the Jewish community. This seems to be his only contribution to economics.
*BWN I,p.434. Butter p.151,18.

MISES, Ludwig von (1881-1973)
Geldwertstabilisierung und Konjunkturpolitik.
Jena, Verlag von Gustav Fischer 1928.
[IV],84p. Orig. printed orange wrappers, partly loosening. Small stamp (‘Deutsche Weltwirtschaftliche Gesellschaft e. V.') below the imprint and at top of the upper wrapper, remainders of a label at foot of back. (#24235)
€ 350

First edition. ‘In the 1920s, von Mises fully developed his cycle theory, elaborating it in his Geldwertstabilisierung und Konjunkturpolitik and applying it, in Die Ursachen der Wirtschaftskrise (1931), to the great depression which began at this time and which he had anticipated. His theory aroused wide-spread interest on the Continent and in England as an explanation of the unexpectedly severe depression. The policy conclusions he drew from the theory were especially thought-provoking: strict laissez-faire and reduction of government expenditure; hard money and abstention from any inflation; and freedom for market forces to complete their adjustments as quickly as possible, without artificial propping up of wage rates, stimulation of consumption, or preservation of unsound investments and firms.'
*IESS XVI,p.380.

MISES, Ludwig von (1881-1973)
Kritik des Interventionismus. Untersuchungen zur Wirtschaftspolitik und Wirtschaftsideologie der Gegenwart.
Jena, Verlag von Gustav Fischer 1929.
IV,[2],136p. Orig. printed orange wrappers. Small stamp (‘Deutsche Weltwirtschaftliche Gesellschaft e. V.') below the imprint and at top of the upper wrapper, remainders of a label at top of back. (#33524)
€ 350

First edition. A strong plea against interventionism in economic life, either in the form of communism, socialism or fascism, or in any other form of a controlled economy. 'If socialism could not calculate, and state interventionism only creates problems in the name of solving them, then the only viable and truly prosperous economy is laissez faire.' An English translation under the title A critique of interventionism appeared in 1977.
*New Palgrave III,p.480.

MüLLER, Adam Heinrich (1779-1829)
Die Elemente der Staatskunst. Oeffentliche Vorlesungen, vor Sr. Durchlaucht dem Prinzen Bernhard von Sachsen-Weimar und einer Versammlung von Staatsmännern und Diplomaten, im Winter von 1808 auf 1809, zu Dresden, gehalten.
Berlin, J.D.Sander 1809.
3 volumes. Small 8vo. XXVIII,298; [II],375; [II],328p., volume 2 p.367-368 and volume 3 p.324-325 omitted in the pagination but thus complete. With 3 folding tables. Contemp. marbled boards, black backs gilt decorated with red labels. Small old circular stamp in corner of front free endpapers. A very nice set. (#28783)
€ 2500

First edition of the main work of the author, a series of lectures held at Dresden. Adam Müller was a diplomat in Austrian service, an ardent opponent of the ideals of the Enlightenment and one of the intellectual voices of the post-Napoleonic restoration, and the most important political economist of the German Romantic school. Müller defended a system of organic unity of society and the state and hence rejected the economic individualism of Adam Smith.
*Kress B.5552. Humpert 1059. Not in Goldsmiths' or Einaudi. New Palgrave III,p.561. At length: J.Baxa, Adam Müller, p.100-109.

NACHOD, Oskar (1858-1933)
Die Beziehungen der Niederländischen Ostindischen Kompagnie zu Japan im siebzehnten Jahrhundert.
Leipzig, Rob. Friese Sep.-Cto 1897.
XXXIV,444,CCX,[1]p. Contemp. half cloth, back lettered gilt, marbled sides. Vague remainders of a label on the back, stamp on front free endpaper only. (#19336)
€ 350

ORESME, Nicolas (c.1320/5-1382) & Nicolaus COPERNICUS (1473-1543)
Traictie de la première invention des monnoies de Nicole Oresme. Textes français et Latin d'après les manuscrits de la Bibliothèque Impériale et Traité de la monnoie de Copernic. Texte latin et traduction française publiés et annotés par M.L.Wolowski.
Paris, Librairie de Guillaumin 1864.
Large 8vo. LXXII,CXXXIX,[1],83,[1]p. Contemp. half cloth, marbled sides and endpapers. Scattered foxing, a few pages a bit heavier. (#28776)
€ 900

First edition thus. Oresme's famous treatise on money Tractatus de origine, natura, jure et mutationibus monetarum was written about 1350. It was the first treatise entirely devoted to economics. It is here translated into French, preceded by a translation of Wilhelm Roscher's lecture of 1862 Un grand économiste français du quatorzième siècle, a biographical sketch of Oresme by Richard Séguin, and a study of Oresme's work by the translator Louis Wolowski. This is followed by the original Latin text of 1528, together with a French translation, of Copernicus' treatise on money Monete cudende ratio, preceded by a lecture on that work by Wolowski.
*Einaudi 4141. Mattioli 2622.

PINTO, Isaac de (1717-1787)
Der Jude für die Religion, oder Kern der Beweisgründe wider die Materialisten, nebst neuen Anmerkungen über die natürliche Beschaffenheit unserer Kenntnisse, das Daseyn Gottes, und das Unkörperliche Wesen und die Unsterblichkeit der Seele. Aus dem Französischen des Herrn J. von Pinto, Mitglied der portugiesischen Synagoge, übersetzt.
Frankfurt und Leipzig, bey den Gebrüdern van Düren 1776.
Small 8vo. 19,[V contents and advert.],164p. Contemp. vellum, back with label, red edges. Stamps on title. (#37074)
€ 1250

First (only German) edition. An apology of monotheistic religion and a fierce rejection of the atheism and materialism of the philosophers of his time, inspired by Hemsterhuis' Lettre sur l'homme et ses rapports, yet also a plea for tolerance. The original French edition Précis des arguments contre les matérialistes was published in The Hague in 1774.
Isaac de Pinto was born into a wealthy Jewish family from Amsterdam and well educated, and became one of the most respected men of affairs of his time. He was an advisor to stadholder William IV and director of the East-India Company. He is now best remembered for his important contribution to economic theory Traité de la circulation et du crédit published in Amsterdam in 1771. He also got fame as a defendor of the rights of the Jews Apologie pour la nation juive (1762).

A major contribution to the theory of probability

POISSON, Siméon Denis (1781-1840)
Recherches sur la probabilité des jugements en matière criminelle et en matière civile, précédées des règles générales du calcul des probabilités.
Paris, Bachelier 1837.
4to. [IV],IX,[3],415p. Contemp. boards, back with green label, rubbed. Some foxing throughout. (#34445)
€ 1000

First edition. Poisson's Research on the probability of judgments in criminal and civil matters is his major contribution to the theory of probability. Poisson was the principal successor to Laplace and he largely followed the latter's position. He is now best remembered for his emphasis to the 'law of large numbers', now called Poisson distribution.
*Stigler p.182-194.

Publicole françois.
Le publicole françois, ou memoire sur les moyens d'augmenter la richesse du prince par l'aisance des peuples.
A Paris, chez Morin au palais royal 1776.
12mo. [II],272,[2]p. With an engraved title. Contemp. calf, back richly gilt, red edges, marbled endpapers. Fine copy. (#37759)
€ 1250

First (only) edition. An anonymous analysis of the ideas of Sully, who had stressed the importance of agriculture, of Richelieu, who had neglected commerce and was chiefly interested in military power, and of Colbert, who had eased taxation and strongly promoted commerce. The author compares the economic conditions of France, Holland and England and concludes that despite its potential France was the least powerful. The author strongly stresses the importance of agriculture as the source of all prosperity and adds suggestions to advance agricultural and industrial production, with emphasis on the textile industry.
*INED 4738. Goldsmiths` 11388. Not in Kress, Einaudi or Mattioli.

A new Wealth of nations

RAE, John (1796-1872)
Statement of some new principles on the subject of political economy, exposing the fallacies of the system of free trade, and of some other doctrines maintained in the ‘Wealth of nations'.
Boston, Hilliard, Gray, and Co., 1834.
XVI,414p. Uncut in original drab boards, edges of boards and corners worn, rebacked with green cloth and printed label. A remarkably fresh copy. (#30037)
€ 7500

First edition. A highlight of classical economic theory, for a long time overlooked by economists. John Rae studied at the University of Aberdeen and emigrated to Canada after his father's bankruptcy. He lived a life full of misfortunes and distractions, in various countries working as a physician, school teacher, farmer, judge, notary public, etc. He occupied himself with the study of a great variety of subjects, like mathematics, biology, geology, medicine, history, etc. He however failed in about all his undertakings, with the exception of the present achievement in the field of economics which, in the words of Schumpeter, ‘surpassed in vision and originality the economists who were successful'.
It was quoted frequently by Mill in his Principles, yet remained largely unread, but after the appearance of a new edition in 1905 (with the new title The sociological theory of capital) it was hailed by great economists like Böhm-Bawerk, Wicksell and Irving Fisher.
Rae's knowledge of economic science was based solely on his study of Smith's Wealth of nations. ‘But this he had mastered in all its ramifications, premisses, and implications as only a kindred spirit can, and after having developed his own ideas in constant reference to it, he proceeded to erect a structure similarly conceived. For it is this that we must see in his work: another Wealth of nations or, more correctly, something that with ten additional years of quiet work, graced by an adequate income, could have grown into another - and more profound - Wealth of nations.'
*Kress C.3838. Goldsmiths` 28450. Einaudi 4618. Mattioli 2949. M.Blaug, Great economists before Keynes, p.197-198. J.Schumpeter, History of economic analysis, p.468-469. New Palgrave IV,p.39-40.

ROUSSEAU, Jean Jacques (1712-1778)
Discours sur l'oeconomie politique.
A Geneve, chez Emanuel Du Villard 1758.
IV,75p. With woodcut title-vignette and head- and tailpiece. Contemp. half calf, gilt back, marbled boards, sprinkled endpapers and edges, back heavily worn and partly loose(ning), corners little worn. Faint damp stain in upper left corner. A mediocre copy, though complete. (#30038)
€ 750

First separate edition. Originally published in 1755 in volume V of the Encyclopédie. ‘Rousseau wrote not as an economist, but as a political reformer. In so far therefore as he contributed to, and influenced, economic thought, it was chiefy due to the fact that in his day political economy was not differentiated from political philosophy... His one production purporting to be on the subject of political economy - the article so entitles in the Encyclopédie - is wholly occupied with a partial statement of his doctrine of politics, namely of the nature, object, and functions of government.'
*Dufour 68. Kress 5756. Goldsmiths' 9320. INED 3948. Tchemerzine-Scheler, V,p.533. Palgrave III,p.330

SAY, Horace (1794-1860)
Histoire des relations commerciales entre la France et le Brésil, et considérations générales sur les monnaies, les changes, les banques et le commerce extérieur.
Paris, chez Guillaumin 1839.
p.2-333,[2]p., wanting half-title. With 3 engraved plans (Rio de Janeiro, Bahia et la baie de Todos os Santos, environs des villes Pernambouc et d'Olinda), folding map of Brazil coloured in outlines, and coloured folding table of the exchange rates and commodity prices in Rio de Janeiro from 1808 to 1839. Wrappers made from a map of South America with title label. Scattered foxing. (#22453)
€ 350

First (only) edition. Horace Say was the son of Jean Baptiste Say. He here applies the liberal theoretical framework of his father to the real economic conditions of Brazil, a country he knew from his own experience. Say elaborates on the history and geography of Brazil, its political development in the beginning of the nineteenth century, its finances, money, agricultural production, population, slavetrade, etc.
*Sabin 77353.

SAX, Emil (1845-1927)
Grundlegung der theoretischen Staatswirthschaft.
Wien, Alfred Hölder 1887.
XXIV,574,[1]p. Modern half cloth, upper wrapper (somewhat stained) laid down to front board, new endpapers, no back title. (#29386)
€ 750

First edition. Sax was professor of economics in Prague from 1879 to 1893. He was mainly concerned with the economics of transport and taxation and extended the marginal theory of value to these subjects.
‘Sax holds a peculiar place within the older Austrian school. He shares its basic ideas according to which ‘'value‘' virtually opens the way to the explanationc of all economic problems. However, in methodological matters, in the conception of economics, and in the interpretation of the value phenomenon itself, he went his own way. For Sax ‘'value‘' is not the rationally perceived significance of a commodity for the welfare of a person, but an emotional relationship between the person and the world of goods. His conception of economics is based on the distinction between individualism and collectivism.'
*New Palgrave IV,p.248.

SCHUMPETER, Joseph (1883-1950)
Okonomie und Psychologie des Unternehmers. Vortrag ... in der 10. Ordentlichen Mitgliederversammlung des Zentralverbandes der deutschen Metallwalzwerks- und Hütten-Industrie E.V. am 22. Mai 1929 in München.
[Leipzig 1929.]
15,[1]p. Orig. printed green wrappers, minor surface wear to lower inner corner of upper wrapper. Bookplate of Harald Jürgensen. (#32528)
€ 225

First separate edition. A speech on entrepreneurship, also printed in the Industrie und Handels-Zeitung of 1929, and included in the Aufsätze zur Tagespolitik of 1993. Not translated into English.
*Stevenson 91. Schneider p.86.

Trade of England revived.
The trade of England, revived: and the abuses thereof rectified, in relation to wooll and woollen-cloth, silk and silk-weavers, hawkers, bankrupts, stage-coaches, shop-keepers, companies, markets, linnen-cloath. Also what statutes in force may be injurious to trade and tradesmen, with several proposals. Humbly offered to this present parliament.
London, printed for Dorman Newman, at the Kings Arms in the Poultrey 1681.
4to. [II],62 (=63, p.62 and 63 misnumbered). Upper margin of title cut short, affecting the word ‘The', outer margin of last pages frayed. Modern marbled boards. Browned as may be expected. (#38167)
€ 450

Reissue of a pamphlet published in 1678 The ancient trades decayed repaired again (Wing A3075), with a newly printed title and A2 cancelled.
‘Now the end of this treatise is to shew, that the reason [for the decay of trade] is not from the total defect or want of trade, but from the irregularity or disorder thereof, it being quite out of the channel in which it was wont formerly to run. And this hath hapned through a neglect of a due execution of those laws that are in force concerning trade (p.1).'
*Wing T2004. Kress S.1533. Goldsmiths' 2424.

VICO, Giambattista (1668-1744))
Principj di scienza nuova ... d'intorno alla comune natura delle nazioni. In questa terza impressione dal medesimo autore in un gran numero di luogho corretta, schiarita, e notabilmente accresciuta.
In Napoli, nella stamperia Muziana. A spese di Gaetano, e Steffano Elia 1744.
2 volumes in 1. [XVI],376, [2 title],379-526 (=516, p.441-450 skipped in pagination),[4]p. With engraved portrait, frontispiece and title vignette, and large folding table. Contemp. vellum, back with tiny black spots, minor wear to corners. Some quires mildly browned, title with minor paper flaw. (#30608)
€ 2750

Third and best edition. First published in 1725, with a revised second edition in 1730. The Principles of a new science regarding the character of nations is one of the greatest works in the history of ideas, ‘the vehicle by which the concept of historical development at last entered the thought of western Europe‘. ‘The concept of a history of human ideas, the principles of a universal history and its philosophical criticism, a recognition of the importance of social classes, all begin with Vico. Many twentieth-century notions of anthropology, comparative law, literature, religion and linguistic philosophy can be found in the pages of this book.‘
*Printing and the mind of man 184.

Western economics introduced into Japan

VISSERING, Simon (1818-1888)
Handboek van praktische staathuishoudkunde.
Amsterdam, P.N. van Kampen 1860-1865.
2 volumes. VIII,[2],568; VII,454p. Contemp. half cloth, gilt backs, marbled sides, endpapers foxed. (#14624)
€ 1500

First edition, rare. The first comprehensive textbook on economics in the Netherlands, praised for its clarity and applicability, though criticized for its lack of theoretical basis. It was reprinted several times. Vissering was professor of economics in Leiden from 1850 to 1879 and liberal minister of finance from 1879 to 1881. He was a strong proponent of free trade.
In 1862 the Japanese government sent two young compatriots, Tsuda Mamichi (1829-1903) and Nishi Amane (1829-1897), to the Netherlands to study economics and political science. They were put in the care of Vissering with whom they developed a close friendship. Vissering, who was conscious of the long-standing friendship between Japan and the Netherlands through Dejima ‘felt that the students' desire for knowledge would make them likely future participation in Japan's modernization'. Both indeed would play an important role as legal scholars and politicians in the Meiji government. Vissering also introduced them to Freemasonry, of which they became the first Japanese adherents.

The foundation of the modern theory of general economic equilibrium

WALRAS, Léon (1834-1910)
Eléments d'économie politique pure ou théorie de la richesse sociale.
Lausanne, imprimerie L.Corbaz, Paris, Guillaumin, Bale, H.Georg 1874[-1877].
2 parts in 1 volume. VIII,208p, p.[209]-407. With 15 figures on 3 folding tables (table 3 loose). Early twentieth-century half cloth, little rubbed and slightly stained, back with gilt-lettered label, marbled sides, new endpapers, nr in ink on front free endpaper. (#30902)
€ 20000

First edition, rare particularly with the second part published in 1877. Walras' most important book in which he exposed the general equilibrium theory. The first part deals with the theory of exchange, the second with the theory of production.
‘Jevons' Theory of political economy (1871) was not well received when it appeared, but it was read. Menger's Principles of economics (1871) was both read and well received, at least in his own country. But Walras' two-part Elements of pure economics (1844-77) was monstrously neglected everywhere despite his infatigable efforts to get the book noticed. That was in part because Walras set himself a task that went beyond Jevons and Menger, his co-discoverers of marginal utility theory, namely, to write down and solve the first multi-equational model of general equilibrium in all markets. In addition, Walras went far beyond Jevons in employing a mathematical model of exposition, and this was enough to scare off most of his contemporary readers. But wheras Jevons and Menger are now regarded as historical landmarks, rarely read purely for their own sake, posthumous appreciation of Walras's monumental achievement has grown so markedly since the 1930s that he may now be the most widely-raed nineteenth-century economist after Ricardo and Marx.'
A second edition revised and enlarged edition appeared 1889.
*Einaudi 5965. Mattioli 3796. M.Blaug, Great economists before Keynes, p.262.

WALRAS, Léon (1834-1910)
Etudes d'économie sociale (Théorie de la répartition de la richesse sociale).
Lausanne, F.Rouge & Paris, F.Pichon 1896.
VIII,464p. With 3 plates (1 folding). Contemp. half cloth, marbled sides, back with gilt-lettered label. Bookplate of Harald Jürgensen to front pastedown. (#18918)
€ 3000

First edition. One of Walras's major contributions to his socio-economic ideas, divided into chapters as follows: ‘Recherche de l'idéal, Propriété, Réalisation de l'idéal social. Impot'.
Harald Jürgensen was professor of economics at the University of Hamburg from 1960 to 1990 and founder of the Institut für Europäische Wirtschaftspolitik.
*Einaudi 5970. Mattioli 3800.

WALRAS, Léon (1834-1910)
`Méthode de conciliation ou de synthèse.` [In:] La revue socialiste, douzième année, no 136, tome 23, p.385-406.
Paris, Avril 1896.
Orig. printed wrappers, a few marginal tears. (#14186)
€ 250
First printing. Written as early as 1868, and used for a series of lectures held in Geneva in 1872 on L'Exposition et la conciliation des doctrines sociales, and hitherto unpublished. It was intended to form a part of his Etudes d'économie sociale, to be published later that year.