Cantillon, Richard

12mo (168 x 100mm.), half-title, printed on French paper, contemporary half calf, small monogram (TR?) stamped on upper cover, head of spine slightly chipped

Goldsmiths 8989

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate
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First edition. A fine crisp copy of this significant text in the literature of economics, published both posthumously and anonymously. Cantillon (c. 1680-1734) was an Irish economist and banker active in France, where he made a fortune from John Law's Mississippi system, selling out before the bubble burst as he distrusted the theory behind Law's scheme.

"Cantillon's Essai is notable for its model building, its analysis of market forces and the role of the entrepreneur, its outline of the circular flow of income, and its monetary theory. Cantillon was the first real model builder in economics... While never mentioning either Law or the Mississippi system by name, the final paragraph of the Essai suggests that part of Cantillon's motivation in writing his book was to provide an intellectual refutation to Law's system" (Antoin E. Murphy in ODNB).

Cantillon was supposedly killed by his French cook and his body burned in a fire at his London house; however, the body was not found and it was thought that he might have faked his death in order to escape various lawsuits relating to his banking activities.