(MELON, J. F.)
Essai politique sur le commerce.
Amsterdam, Changuion, 1735.
8vo. In contemporary full sprinkled calf with five raised bands with richly gilt spine. Gilt frame to boards and edges of boards gilt. Small paper label pasted on to upper compartment of spine. Extremities with wear, boards with scratches and missing small part of the leather. Internally very fine and clean. (14), 251 pp.
This unoffical second edition was published the year after the first edition (1734) and a year before the official second edition (published in 1736). Here Melon discusses various economic principles and policies, focusing on the role of commerce and trade in the prosperity of nations: “"His Essai' is noteworthy not only because it constitutes the first systematic presentation of mercantilist doctrines to appear in France but also because it adumbrates the transition to physiocracy" (ESS X, 305). Melon's "Essai politique sur le commerce" is considered a significant work in the history of economic thought, particularly for its advocacy of free trade and its insights into the functioning of markets. It contributed to the development of liberal economic ideas that would later influence thinkers such as Adam Smith and the classical economists.
Order-nr.: 60740
DKK 7.500,00