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CANTILLON, Richard (d. 1734)]. Essai sur la nature du commerce en ge´ne´ ral . London [i.e. Paris?]: Fletcher Gyles, 1755.
CANTILLON, Richard (d. 1734)]. Essai sur la nature du commerce en ge´ne´ ral . London [i.e. Paris?]: Fletcher Gyles, 1755. 12º (165 x 93mm). Half-title. Contemporary mottled calf, sides with gilt-stamped arms of the duc de Liancourt [Olivier 647, fer 2], gilt spine with raised bands, red morocco label and repeated fleurons, red edges. Provenance : François-Alexandre-Fréderic de la Rochefoucauld, duc de Liancourt, (1747-1827; binding and engraved armorial bookplate). SCARCE FIRST EDITION OF ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL WORKS IN THE LITERATURE OF ECONOMICS; THE LA ROCHEFOUCAULD-LIANCOURT COPY IN A CONTEMPORARY ARMORIAL BINDING The imprint is false, and the work was possibly printed in Paris. A French banker of Irish extraction, Richard Cantillon was not only a theoretician but also a wealthy banker whose investments proved very profitable. His Essai was first known through manuscript copies; the first edition appeared posthumously. Roll has called it 'the most systematic statement of economic principles before the Wealth of Nations ' and Jevons stated that it is 'more emphatically than any other single work the cradle of political economy'. A superb copy bound at the time for François-Alexandre-Frédéric, duc de La Rochefoucauld-Liancourt, with his coat of arms gilt on sides and the armorial engraved ex-libris of the Bibliothè que de Liancourt . A philanthropist, traveller, and statesman, the Duke de La Rochefoucauld-Liancourt was one of the leading figures of the end of the 18th century. As a liberal, he participated in the French Revolution from the outset, remaining loyal to the King. He is famous for his answer to Louis XVI who had asked him on 14 July 1789 'Is it a revolt?': 'No, Your Majesty, it is a revolution'. He fled France and found refuge in England before travelling to the United States. He attempted to save the royal family. Back in France after the Revolution, he continued to promote his liberal ideas, helping the poor and creating a school. Two other copies with the coat of arms of the La Rochefoucauld family have appeared on the market in the last twenty years; they both came from the La Roche-Guyon branch of the family. This copy is the only one with the Liancourt ex-libris, stating its provenance. Palgrave I, 214-215 : 'The economic repute of Cantillon, for a time completely obscured by the glory of Adam Smith, can never have rested upon the popularity of his little book, now one of the scarcest works in economic literature'; the book was chosen among the 400 most influential books ever written in French in the 1990 exhibition at the Bibliothèque nationale, En franç ais dans le texte, no. 159; Soultrait 18 th century 15.