Economics
-
GALBRAITH, John Kenneth. A Theory of Price Control.
Cambridge : 1952
First edition, first printing, of the author's first major work. Drawing on his experience as head of the Office of Price Administration (OPA), Galbraith argues that price control is an overlooked but necessary part of all anti-inflation policies, and that "the theory of control is fated to become one of the expanding universes of economics" (Foreword,... Learn More£200.00Stock Code: 142104
-
FRIEDMAN, Milton. A Theory of the Consumption Function.
Princeton : 1957
First edition, first printing, of what is perhaps Friedman's most significant academic work, in which he argued against the Keynesian use of government policy to regulate the economy. This work resolved several paradoxes regarding the relationship between the wealth and spending habits of consumers and it remains a foundational work in economics. Learn More£2,000.00Stock Code: 141286
-
ROBBINS, Lionel - BOULDING, Kenneth E, & W. Allen Spivey. Linear Programming and the Theory of the Firm.
New York : 1960
First edition, first printing, presentation copy to the British economist Lionel Robbins, with the typed presentation note inscribed "presentation 9 Jan '61" loosely inserted.
A nice association: Robbins, along with Keynes, was the leading British economist during the inter-war period; at the London School of Economics, he "dominated the economics... Learn More£75.00Stock Code: 142257
-
ROBBINS, Lionel - RUEFF, Jacques. L'Age de l'inflation.
Paris : 1963
First edition, first printing, presentation copy to the British economist Lionel Robbins, inscribed by the author on the half-title "à Lionel Robbins, ton amis Jacques Rueff".
A nice provenance: Robbins, along with Keynes, was the leading British economist during the inter-war period; at the London School of Economics, he "dominated the economics... Learn More£125.00Stock Code: 142269
-
ROBBINS, Lionel - ÅKERMAN, Johan Henrik. Economic Progress and Economic Crises.
London : 1931
First edition in English, first published in Swedish in 1931; the copy of the British economist Lionel Robbins, with his ownership signature to the front free endpaper and a few pencilled annotations to the text.
A nice association: Robbins, along with Keynes, was the leading British economist during the inter-war period; at the London School... Learn More£200.00Stock Code: 142315
-
ROYAL INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS. The Problem of International Investment.
London : 1937
First edition of this report which analyses "the movement of long-term capital between countries since the war and the lessons that are to be drawn from this experience" (Foreign Affairs, October 1937). Learn More£75.00Stock Code: 140979
-
ROBBINS, Lionel - ROBERTSON, Dennis Holme. Lectures on Economic Principles.
London : 1957-59
First editions, first impressions, the copies of the British economist Lionel Robbins, the second volume presented to Robbins by the author with the inscription "L.C.R. from D.H.R. 1958", along with his note of a misprinting on p. 79 which he attempted to correct.
A nice association: Robbins, along with Keynes, was the leading British economist... Learn More£175.00Stock Code: 142248
-
PETTY, Sir William. The Political Anatomy of Ireland.
London : 1691
First edition of this important statistical survey of Ireland, written, along with Petty's Observation upon the Dublin Bills of Mortality, during Petty's second long stay in Ireland. "It provides a wide survey of Irish institutions and government with much statistical evidence... The volume concludes with Verbum Sapienti, a short treatise in ten chapters... Learn More£8,500.00Stock Code: 131487
-
STIGLER, George J. Capital and Rates of Return in Manufacturing Industries.
Princeton : 1963
First edition, first printing, of the future Nobel Laureate's study of the stock of capital in American manufacturing and its rate of return. Learn More£100.00Stock Code: 142551
-
CITY OF LONDON. Ye Vampyres! A Legend of the National Betting-Ring, Showing What Became of It.
London : 1875
First edition, the anonymous author using an imaginary setting to condemn corruption in the City in the mid-1870s.
The real settings were easily discerned in the novel, with London as the city of Undone, and the stock exchange as the Vortex ("There were very many honourable men in Undone City who had long been sick and tired of the doings in... Learn More£500.00Stock Code: 143366
-
GALBRAITH, John Kenneth. A Life in Our Times. Memoirs.
Boston : 1981
First edition, signed limited issue, number 122 of 350 numbered copies signed by the author. Learn More£150.00Stock Code: 143421
-
HAYEK, Friedrich August von. Evolution und spontane Ordnung.
Zurich, : 1983
First edition of a speech on Evolution and Spontaneous Order, given by Hayek in 1983 at the invitation of the Hofmann Bank of Zurich, preceded by a 12-page account of his life and work, written by Kurt R. Leube. Learn More£200.00Stock Code: 143446
-
HAYEK, Friedrich August von. Freiburger Studien. Gesammelte Aufsätze.
Tübingen : 1969
First edition, comprising 17 essays written by Hayek during the six years he spent between 1962 and 1968 at the University of Freiburg, with an introductory article by Karl Friedrich Mayer of the Walter Eucken Institut, and a bibliography of Hayek's writings at the end. Learn More£650.00Stock Code: 143666
-
FISHER, Irving. The Stock Market Crash - and after.
New York : 1930
First edition, first printing, of Fisher's analysis of the reasons for the 1929 crash, with a detailed discussion of the ensuing effects. "When the 1929 slump occurred, Fisher was over 60 years old; yet he tackled the very difficult theory of economic fluctuations. He finally reached the conclusion - which contains a large element of truth - that business... Learn More£750.00Stock Code: 143732
-
DEFOE, Daniel. A Tour Thro' the whole Island of Great Britain, Divided into Circuits or Journies.
London : 1724-25-27
First edition. Defoe's Tour is the first and best known of a series of respected books written by him on broadly economic subjects.
A Tour "has been lauded by the most eminent historians as a prime source of understanding for Britain", both in the 18th century and in "the birth of the modern on a global scale" (Pat Rogers, The Text of Great... Learn More£4,750.00Stock Code: 143795
-
MEREDITH, William. Historical Remarks on the Taxation of Free states, in a Series of Letters to a Friend.
London : 1778
First edition, revised second printing, of this rejection, during the American Revolutionary War, of the British taxation of the American colonies, based on the precedent of antiquity.
Two printings are distinguished, this second printing from substantially the same setting of type as the first, but with some textual revisions and with an additional... Learn More£3,000.00Stock Code: 143959
-
SCHUMPETER, Joseph Alois. Business Cycles.
New York and London : 1939
First edition, first printing, of one of Schumpeter's most significant contributions to economic theory, among the seminal texts of business cycle literature.
Once again Schumpeter placed the entrepreneur at the centre of events, perhaps why it "met with a less-than-enthusiastic reception. The monumental nature of this study, which included... Learn More£5,250.00Stock Code: 143901
-
VEBLEN, Thorstein. The Theory of the Leisure Class.
New York : 1899
First edition of the Norwegian-American professor's first published book, his most successful work. Veblen's thesis was a serious economic analysis of contemporary America, but after William Dean Howells gave the book a rave review as a social satire, it became a best-seller. "Into it he poured all the acidulous ideas and fantastic terminology that... Learn More£5,750.00Stock Code: 143903
-
KEYNES, J. M. The Collected Economic Writings.
London : 1971-1989
First complete edition of Keynes's collected writings, published by the Royal Economic Society "as its memorial to Lord Keynes, who for thirty-two years was its secretary and editor of its Economic Journal." This definitive edition of the works of the most influential economist of the 20th century contains all Keynes's published writings, including... Learn More£3,500.00Stock Code: 144080
-
PECORA, Ferdinand. Wall Street under Oath:
New York : 1939
First edition, first printing, of Pecora's account of his role as chief counsel in the Senate hearings on the role of Wall Street in the 1929 Crash.
American lawyer Ferdinand Pecora (1882-1971) served as chief counsel to the Banking and Currency Committee; his importance for the committee's work investigating banking and securities fraud was... Learn More£1,750.00Stock Code: 143991
-
ROTHBARD, Murray. The Logic of Action. One [and] Two.
Cheltenham : 1997
First edition, first impressions, of both volumes, a collection of the articles of the leading libertarian philosopher Murray Rothbard, published two years after his death. Learn More£200.00Stock Code: 144723
-
MISES, Ludwig von. Human Action.
New Haven : 1949
First edition, first printing, of Mises's magnum opus.
"A comprehensive and systematic treatise on economics, social philosophy, and the social sciences, this was Mises' major economic treatise, his magnum opus. A survey of the science of human action, its epistemology (methodology), its theories derived by reasoning logically from a priori axioms,... Learn More£1,500.00Stock Code: 144767
-
ROTHBARD, Murray. For a New Liberty.
New York : 1973
First edition, first printing, of the work that has been heralded as the manifesto of the libertarian movement, rejecting all the common defences of the right and necessity of government force, and instead defending an anarchic society with capitalism as its foundation. The publication inspired a generation of New Right thinkers and politicians. Learn More£500.00Stock Code: 144769
-
ROTHBARD, Murray. Power and Market: Government and the Economy.
California : 1970
First edition, first printing, the copy of the American libertarian Percy L. Greaves (1906-1984), with his ownership blindstamp to title page, his original receipt loosely inserted, and his extensive pencilled marginalia to the first 18 pages. Greaves ran as presidential candidate for the American Party in 1980, and authored several books on libertarian... Learn More£275.00Stock Code: 144771
-
MISES, Ludwig von. Epistemological Problems of Economics.
Princeton, New Jersey, Toronto, London, and New York : 1960
First edition in English of von Mises's Grundprobleme der Nationalökonomie, originally published in 1933. From the library of the American libertarian Percy L. Greaves (1906-1984), with his original purchase invoice from the Conservative Book Club, and a note from the Club saying it was the last copy. Greaves ran as presidential candidate for the American... Learn More£550.00Stock Code: 144780
-
MOORE, Thomas. Odes Upon Cash, Corn, Catholics, and Other Matters.
London : 1828
First edition of Moore's collection of satirical odes on political and economic matters, gathered from their original publication in the Times; from the collection of the distinguished book collector Eric Quayle, with his booklabel to front pastedown. Learn More£300.00Stock Code: 144921
-
GOUGE, William. The Curse of Paper-Money and Banking,
London : 1833
First UK edition, and first under this title, published in the US the same year as the second part of A Short History of Money and Banking in the United States.
Gouge (17961863) "was an uncompromising opponent of banks, paper money and corporations. Banking, he affirmed, simply takes loanable money out of the hands of the owners and places it... Learn More£625.00Stock Code: 144927
-
KEYNES, John Maynard. The General Theory of Employment Interest and Money.
London : 1936
First edition, first impression, 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 argued that government must intervene in the economy, directing wages, investment, and demand, in order... Learn More£1,850.00Stock Code: 142963
-
KEYNES, John Maynard. How to Pay for the War.
London : 1940
First edition, first impression, the uncorrected version, of Keynes's most successful essay in persuasion, the application of his General Theory to wartime economy. A corrected version, issued in orange printed boards, was published a few months later. "Apart from suggesting ways of adding greatly to the financial resources of the government, this inaugurated... Learn More£100.00Stock Code: 145019
-
FRICKE, Johann Heinrich. Grundsätze des Rechts der Handwerker.
Göttingen & Kiel : 1771
First edition, a guide to the legal rights and restrictions of the German craftsman, by Johann Heinrich Fricke (1740-1775), professor of law in Kiel. Fricke writes such legal guides are often unintelligible to the non-specialist, and hopes his own will be clearer. A second edition followed in 1778, a third in 1802. Learn More£350.00Stock Code: 145655
-
DEFOE, Daniel (attrib.) Taxes no Charge:
London : 1690
First edition of this defense of the economic benefits of taxation, generally attributed to Daniel Defoe. The method of raising taxes in antiquity and modernity across Europe is surveyed, and the benefits and disadvantages of certain taxes analyzed. The author holds that taxation is in both the public and the private interest, improving trade, employing... Learn More£1,000.00Stock Code: 143570
-
FRIEDMAN, Milton, & Paul A. Samuelson. Milton Friedman and Paul A. Samuelson discuss The Economic Responsibility of Government.
College Station, Texas : 1980
First edition, first printing. The booklet prints the speeches and discussion between the two economists - the free-market Friedman and the Keynesian Samuelson - on the role of government in an economy. The event was held in March 1980, at the Center for Education and Research in Free Enterprise at Texas University. Learn More£100.00Stock Code: 145842
-
VINER, Jacob. The Long View and the Short.
Glencoe, Illinois : 1958
First edition, first printing, of this collection of articles from across the prominent economist's career, published to mark his 65th birthday.
The publication was significant, bringing to notice an earlier article which had been overlooked: "His leading contributions to microeconomic theory are found in two articles published relatively early... Learn More£300.00Stock Code: 145845
-
CHURCHILL, Winston S. Liberalism and the Social Problem.
London : 1909
First edition, first impression, of this uncommon title which collects speeches by the young Churchill during his Liberal phase, addressing such then-pressing issues as the conciliation of South Africa, imperial preference, labour exchanges, and unemployment insurance. Learn More£1,000.00Stock Code: 145881
-
KEYNES, John Maynard. The Means to Prosperity.
New York : 1933
First US edition, first printing, published in the UK the same year.
The Means to Prosperity originally appeared as four articles in The Times between 13 March and 16 March 1933. Keynes wrote these articles, which are here presented in an expanded form, as a result of the decision in 1932 to hold a full-scale international economic conference... Learn More£100.00Stock Code: 145931
-
STIGLER, George J. Trends in Output and Employment.
New York : 1947
First edition, first printing, of Stigler's study of output per worker from 1899 to 1939, finding a tripling in output and a decline in weekly work hours. Learn More£75.00Stock Code: 146022
-
PIGOU, Arthur Cecil. Keynes's 'General Theory'.
London : 1950
First edition, first impression, of the economist's critical commentary of Keynes's magnum opus. Intended as an objective and considered appraisal, it was "by no means the recantation that Keynesians have taken it to be" (ODNB). It was first delivered to Economics and Politics students as a series of two lectures at the University of Cambridge in November... Learn More£100.00Stock Code: 146023
-
WAGEMANN, Ernst. Economic Rhythm: A Theory of Business Cycles.
New York : 1930
First edition in English, first printing, of Wagemann's Konjunkturlehre, first published in German in 1928. Wagemann (1884-1956) was the founder of empirical business cycle research in Germany, here bringing the results of many German studies into a general hypothesis about the fluctuations of business. Learn More£100.00Stock Code: 146067
-
TANNAN, Mohan Lal, & Khushal T. Shah. Indian Currency and Banking Problems.
Bombay : 1917
First edition, first impression, presentation copy, inscribed by Tannan on the front free endpaper, "With the compliments of the author, M L Tannan". This is one of the earliest comprehensive works on Indian currency and banking, written for the educated layman and including sections on general monetary and banking principles, historical and modern... Learn More£675.00Stock Code: 82678
-
WHITWORTH, Sir Charles. Commerce de la Grande-Bretagne, et Tableaux de ses Importations et Exportations Progressives,
Paris : 1777
First edition in French, translated from the English edition of the previous year, originally titled State of the trade of Great Britain in its imports and exports, progressively from the year 1697: also of the Trade to each particular Country, during the above Period, distinguishing each Year. In two parts. With a preface and introduction, Setting... Learn More£1,000.00Stock Code: 83901
-
BAUDEAU, abbé Nicolas. Première Introduction à la philosophie économique; ou analyse des Etats policés. Par un disciple de l'Ami des Hommes.
Paris : 1771: Carlsruhe and Paris: Lacombe, 1772.
I: First edition of Baudeau's finest economic work, "a compendious statement of Quesnay's views which, for clearness as well as for certain touches of originality, is far superior to anything from the pen of Mirabeau, Du Pont de Nemours, or Le Mercier de la Rivière" (Cossa). Baudeau here brilliantly refutes the Abbé Galiani, whose Dialogues sur le... Learn More£8,500.00Stock Code: 84015
-
PIGOU, Arthur Cecil. Protective and Preferential Import Duties.
London : 1906
First edition, first impression. Pigou was a staunch freetrader, and "he was at that stage of his career prepared to appear on public platforms where his considerable powers of oratory were put to good effect. A pamphlet, The Riddle of the Tariff, appeared in 1903. A more technical treatment, leaning heavily on the standard Mashallian apparatus and... Learn More£450.00Stock Code: 84205
-
SMITH, Adam. Ricerche sulla Natura, e le Cagioni della Riccezza delle Nazioni …
Naples : 1790-1
Rare first Italian translation of the Wealth of Nations, probably the rarest of the 18th-century complete translations. No copy has appeared at auction since 1963. Learn More£22,500.00Stock Code: 85981
-
MANGOLDT, Hans Karl Emil von. Grundriss der Volkswirthschaftslehre.
Stuttgart : 1863
First edition of the major work of the greatest of the German classical economists of the 19th century. The Grundriss has been described as "a comprehensive but highly compressed work, which stands out not only for its path-breaking discussion of price formation but also for its liberal use of geometric diagrams, including the Marshallian cross of demand... Learn More£3,250.00Stock Code: 86347
-
[DUTOT, Charles.] Reflexions politiques sur les finances et le commerce.
The Hague : 1738
First edition of this important work, first written in the form of three letters to Melon in 1735 but not published until three years later. Little is known of Dutot, save that he was a cashier in the Compagnie des Indes, founded by Law, whose system the author examines favourably in the present work in which he also explains the reasons for its collapse... Learn More£2,250.00Stock Code: 87750
-
VEBLEN, Thorstein. Absentee Ownership and Business Enterprise in Recent Times. The Case of America.
New York : 1923
First edition of Veblen's most caustic work, a discussion of the need for advertising and salesmanship in modern business, with a sly dig at Christianity, where he describes Propaganda of the Faith as"quite the largest, oldest, most magnificent, most unabashed, and most lucrative enterprise in sales-publicity in all Christendom" (p. 319). This copy... Learn More£2,000.00Stock Code: 88082
-
CHURCHILL, Winston S. The People's Rights
London : 1910
First edition, first general paper wrappers issue, first state, with index, and just a single appendix; and p. 71 - section title for "The People's Trade" - misnumbered 1. "All issues of The People's Rights are extremely scarce" (Cohen) despite a print run of 40,000, this largely due to the low quality of the materials, and the cheap and clumsy method... Learn More£5,750.00Stock Code: 88138
-
SAVARY, Jacques. Dictionnaire universel de commerce:
Paris : 1723-30
First edition, complete with the supplementary volume, of the first commercial dictionary, produced by the two sons of Jacques Savary, author of Le Parfait Négociant. Savary wrote on commercial topics with considerable authority in that he made a large fortune through commerce. He suffered both politically and financially from the disgrace of Fouquet... Learn More£6,750.00Stock Code: 89895
-
HOLLANDER, Jacob H. (ed.) Economic Essays.
New York : 1927
First edition, first printing. Collects 17 papers written by, among others, Jacob H. Hollander, Benjamin M. Anderson, Thomas Nixon Carver, Richard T. Ely, and Edwin R. A. Seligman. Learn More£75.00Stock Code: 90286
-
SAX, Emil. Der Kapitalzins. Kritische Studien.
Berlin : 1916
First edition of Sax's "highly controversial and difficult treatise on the theory of interest" (ESS), published after a twenty-year silence. Emil Sax was an Austrian economist both in origin and theoretical background. He is often cited as one of the founders of modern theoretical public economics. Learn More£225.00Stock Code: 90687
-
CHERBULIEZ, Antoine Elisée. Riche ou pauvre. Exposition succincte des causes et des effets de la distribution actuelle des richesses sociales.
Paris & Geneva : 1840
First edition of a work to which Karl Marx devoted an entire chapter in his Theorien über den Mehrwert (Theories of surplus value), writing that this book, together with George Ramsay's Essay on the distribution of wealth, is the only one to have made the distinction (of great importance to Marx) between "constant" and "variable" capital (i.e. wage... Learn More£850.00Stock Code: 105364
-
BARING, Alexander. An Inquiry into the Causes and Consequences of the Orders in Council;
London : 1808
First edition. Learn More£300.00Stock Code: 106340
-
PAGE, William, (ed.) Commerce and Industry.
London : 1919
First edition, first impression, of the comprehensive history of Britain's economy prior to the First World War as recorded by Parliament, written to "afford some assistance to those interested in the reconstruction which necessarily follows the destructive agency of war". This copy was owned by economic historian Sir William James Ashley, who made... Learn More£375.00Stock Code: 107045
-
SAY, Jean-Baptiste. Cours complet d'économie politique pratique.
Paris : 1828-29
First edition of Say's lectures. Though Say ranks with Sismondi and Cournot in the originality of his contributions to economics, his reputation has suffered from his being put down primarily as an exponent of Adam Smith. Schumpeter, who calls his work "the most important of the links in the chain that leads from Cantillon and Turgot to Walras" offers... Learn More£1,500.00Stock Code: 107508
-
RAE, John. 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 : 1834
First edition, scarce and often overlooked, of "one of the highlights of classical economic theory" (K. H. Hennings in The New Palgrave). A native of Scotland, Rae (1796-1872) emigrated to Canada, and thence to America, where this, his only publication, was written. Originally intended as an appendix to a larger work on the Natural History and Statistics... Learn More£10,000.00Stock Code: 107939
-
GODWIN, William. Of Population.
London : 1820
First edition. Malthus's Essay on the Principle of Population (1798) was originally framed as a corrective to the utopian hopes of both Condorcet and Godwin, but by the time the Essay reached its fifth edition in 1817 Godwin was no longer mentioned and in danger of being forgotten. Godwin's long-meditated answer points to restrictions in the food supply... Learn More£1,250.00Stock Code: 108241
-
CAREY, Henry Charles. Principles of Social Science.
Philadelphia : 1858-1859
First edition. "Carey's economic views were sharply at variance with those of Ricardo and Malthus, and reflect the optimistic characteristic of American conditions favourable to economic expansion. The two leading themes of his writings were protectionism and harmony of interests The scope of Carey's optimistic belief in a harmonious order gradually... Learn More£450.00Stock Code: 108303
-
SRAFFA, Piero. Production of commodites by means of commodities;
Cambridge : 1960
First edition of Sraffa's attempt to perfect classical economics' theory of value, as originally developed by David Ricardo and others. "Production of Commodities is a peculiarly sparse book. The argument has been pared to the absolute minimum to sustain the propositions which Sraffa wishes to advance. Yet, the precision and logical elegance of the... Learn More£500.00Stock Code: 110667
-
VALDES, Ramon. Metodo de llevar y uniformar la cuenta y razon en las contadurias principales del reino, y tratado teorico-practico para las casas de comercio: Ordenado por Don Ramon Valdés, Oficial del Real Giro de la Tesorería general de S. M.
Madrid : 1817
First edition of a scarce work introducing a standard method of accounting for use by the main Comptrollers of the kingdom of Spain, with a theoretical and practical treatise for business houses, illustrated with examples, complete with the 4-page Adicion. Learn More£650.00Stock Code: 111621
-
MARX, Karl. Das Kapital. Kritik der politischen Oekonomie.
Hamburg : 1885
First edition of the second volume of Das Kapital, edited from Marx's manuscripts by Friedrich Engels. "Marx himself modestly described Das Kapital as a continuation of his Zur Kritik de politischen Oekonomie, 1859. It was in fact the summation of his quarter of a century's economic studies, mostly in the Reading Room of the British Museum. The Athenaeum... Learn More£1,750.00Stock Code: 111888