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84 KEYNES, John Maynard. The General Theory of Employment Interest and Money. London: Macmillan and Co., Limited, 1936 one of the defining books of the century First edition of perhaps the most significant economics book of the 20th century. The General Theory was written in the aftermath of the Great Depression, when the old economic order was widely seen to have failed. Keynes’s system of controlled capitalism defined much of the 20th century, as it was embraced by the political left and right alike across Western Europe and the United States. Keynes’s theories became the near-undisputed economic orthodoxy of the decades following the war, until the counter-attack of the monetarist and neoliberal schools undermined his hegemony. Octavo. Original blue cloth, spine lettered in gilt, double rules to spine gilt and to covers in blind. Very light sunning to spine, minor toning to endpapers, a few spots to edges, a few pencilled sidelines and one instance of ink underlining to p. 129, central leaves a little creased at top fore corner, slight separation between gatherings W and X. A very good copy. ¶ Moggridge A10.1; Printing and the Mind of Man 423. £1,850 [154434]
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85 KING, Charles. The British Merchant; or, Commerce Preserv’d. London: printed by John Darby, 1721 “indispensable to the historian of commerce” First collected edition of King’s periodical, presenting a valuable compilation of contemporary merchant opinion, and a clear statement of the mercantilist, anti-free trade doctrine which dominated British economic thought prior to Adam Smith. Originally printed as a twice-weekly paper in 1713–14, The British Merchant rallied opposition against the eighth and ninth commercial articles of the Treaty of Utrecht, which proposed a relaxation of duties on French imports to create a more open trade with France. It was the principal publication in response to Defoe’s Mercator , which supported the treaty, and
presented a protectionist, mercantilist theory of trade, against the notion that free trade would benefit both sides. The British Merchant ceased publication once parliament voted down the disputed articles, thus prompting the collapse of that part of the treaty. The influence of the periodical was substantial and long lasting. “It enjoyed at the time a large share of popularity, and was for a while referred to as a work of authority. And it continues to deserve attention from the full exposition which it gives of the opinions and reasonings then current on commercial affairs, and which led the parliament and people to reject a measure which would have been productive of great immediate and of still greater permanent advantage” (McCulloch, p. 142). “ The British Merchant enjoyed unique authority during the forty years following its publication, and its statistics on British commerce, the extent of markets, price of labour, and kindred subjects render it indispensable to the historian of
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