QUARITCH MODERN ECONOMICS SERIES I Böhm-Bawerk, Gossen, Mises, Hayek, Menger, Jevons, Walras, Edgeworth, Fisher, Commons, Veblen, Weber, Pantaleoni, Hobson… Bernard Quaritch Ltd – Autumn 2015 - [email protected] MODERN ECONOMICS SERIES I The inaugural issue of Quaritch’s Modern Economics Series gathers, among other things, remarkable copies of works which brought about one of the most important events in 19th and 20th century economics: what has been called the ‘marginal revolution’, while also exploring its impact on modern American economic thought. Böhm-Bawerk, Mises, Menger, Jevons, Walras, Fisher, Commons among others are represented here, in some cases with fine association copies. A particular mention ought to be reserved for this copy of Gossen’s momentous work, which in content preceded the ‘revolution’ by two decades: in the original wrappers and in fine condition. We hope to continue to illustrate the richness of the modern developments of economic thoughts in further issues of our series. Should you wish to register your particular interest with us, please do so by writing to us ([email protected]) and we will be sure to notify you of relevant new arrivals. MODERN ECONOMICS SERIES I A LITTLE-KNOWN PIONEER 1. AGAZZINI, Michele. La science de l’économie politique. Paris, London, Bossange, 1822 . 8vo, pp. xv, [1], 389, [1] + 13 plates, 1 engraved, 12 folding; a few small marks, short tear (without loss) at head of the half-title; a good copy in recent half morocco with marbled boards, spine gilt in compartments with gilt lettering. £750 First edition of Agazzini’s science of political economy , in which ‘les doctrines sont généreuses et élevées’ (Coquelin & Guillaumin). The book was published in Italian only five years later. A strongly independent thinker who, though liberal, did not subscribe wholesale to the Classical school of economic thought prevalent in his times, Agazzini proposes a view of economics as the science that refers to a complex body of interdependent phenomena. He pioneered the statement of such principles as that of substitution, of marginal productivity, of complementary utility . P. E. Saviani’s study of Agazzini’s works is the most complete tool on the subject, Agazzini having remained so far in relative obscurity. Einaudi 73; Goldsmiths’ 23362; Kress C.808. Not in Mattioli. 2. AMOROSO, Luigi. Principii di economia corporativa. Bologna, Nicola Zanichelli, 1938. 8vo, pp. [2] blank, [iii]–xix, 367, [1] blank; with 17 plates (14 printed in colour); pencil ownership inscription to the front flyleaf; very light spotting to a few plates and adjacent pages; else a very good copy, entirely uncut and unopened in the original printed wrappers. £150 First edition. A mathematician by training, Amoroso (1886–1965) was inspired by Pareto to develop the relationship between pure economics and physics. ‘He also saw analogies between Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle and economic phenomena’ ( The New Palgrave ). ‘During the Fascist period he was able, unlike some colleagues, to continue working in Italy. His Principii , written during this period, has discussions of money and equilibrium quite free from political implications and, in the third part, an economic theory of Fascism stated in analytical terms, which remains within the mainstream of economic science’ ( Who’s Who in Economics ). PRESENTATION COPY 3. BÖHM-BAWERK, Eugen von. Einige strittige Fragen der Capitalstheorie. Drei Abhandlungen. Vienna and Leipzig, Wilhelm Braumüller, 1900. 8vo, pp. [4], 127, [1]; a very attractive copy in contemporary half cloth; endpapers a little stained; ‘ Vom Verfasser ’ inscribed on the title page; endpapers with previous owner’s dedication and handwritten notes: ‘An H. Furuja (Oct. 1947) ← Seiichi Tobata Leipzig August 1928’ on the front pastedown, and ‘Zugleich S.S. 129 – 306 Eugen von Böhm- Bawerk: kleine Abhandlungen über Kapital und Zins, hrsg. Franz X. Weiss, 1926. Wien und Leipzig’ on the front free endpaper. £17,000 Presentation copy of the original offprint and first separate edition of this rare contribution on problems of capital theory, by one of most important leaders of the Austrian school of economics . Böhm-Bawerk’s thoughts on capital and interest also exerted great influence on American economists , particularly Irving Fisher. On the relationship between Böhm-Bawerk’s thought and modern economists, Hennings states that ‘the neoclassical part of his (Böhm-Bawerk’s) argument, in particular his analysis of intertemporal consumer behaviour, was taken up by Irving Fisher (1907, 1930) and developed into a theory of interest which is based on the notion of time preference and the concept of investment opportunities’ (in The New Palgrave, vol.1, p.257). Specifically in this work, ‘Böhm-Bawerk posed a problem which had not been seen before in its full importance: the role of the rate of interest in the choice of an optimal method of production’ ( ibid , p.258). ‘As civil servant and economic theorist, Böhm- Bawerk was one of the most influential economists of his generation. A leading member of the Austrian School, he was one of the main propagators of neoclassical economic theory and did much to help it attain its dominance over classical economic theory. His name is primarily associated with the Austrian theory of capital and a particular theory of interest’ ( ibid , p.254) Provenance: presentation copy from the author , then owned by the Japanese economist Seiichi Tobata (1899 – 1983), Professor of agriculture and economics at Tokyo University, recipient of the 1968 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service for his contributions to the modernization of Japanese agriculture. He is also famous for his translation and introduction of J. A. Schumpeter’s Theorie der wirtschaftlichen Entwicklung , History of Economic Analysis and other works in Japan. Afterwards in the ownership of Hiroshi Furuya (1920 – 1957, also spelled as Furuja), Professor of economics at Tokyo. He specialized in mathematical economics. 4. [CLARK, John Bates.] HOLLANDER, Jacob H., editor. Economic Essays contributed in honor of John Bates Clark. Published on behalf of the American Economic Association . New York, Macmillan Co., 1927. 8vo, pp. viii, [1] divisional title, [1] blank, 368; with a frontispiece portrait; a very fine copy in the original publisher’s cloth, very well preserved, spine lettered gilt. £100 First edition. The contributors include James Bonar, Richard Ely, Frank Fetter, Irving Fisher, Franklin Giddings, Charles Gide and Edwin R.A. Seligman. A useful bibliography of Clark’s writings (pp. 339–51) is also appended. This copy belonged to Vincent Lanfear , author of Business Fluctuations and the American Labor Movement, 1915–1922 (1924), with his ownership inscription to the verso of the frontispiece. VEBLEN’S FIRST BOOK 5. COHN, Gustav. The Science of Finance … Translated by T. B. Veblen. Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1895. Large 8vo, pp. xi, [1] blank, 800; embossed college library stamp to the title, deaccessioned ink stamps to the front flyleaves; tear to the final leaf repaired; a trifle shaken in the original publisher’s cloth, rubbed, upper board and spine lettered gilt, shelfmark at foot of spine. £550 First edition in English of Cohn’s System der Finanzwissenschaft (1889), published as No. I of the Economic Studies of the University of Chicago . This is also Thorstein Veblen’s first book (previously he had only published journal articles and reviews). His next book publication was the magisterial Theory of the Leisure Class (1899). ‘I do not hesitate to say that a reading of the proof-sheets has satisfied me (as far as I am a competent judge) of the excellence of the translation. I can therefore only express the hope that my book may in this new form meet as cordial a welcome beyond the sea as has already been accorded to many books of mine in the original’ (author’s preface). The translation was supposed to be a joint effort by the entire economics staff at the new University, but Veblen’s superior command of German meant that he did all the work. Dorfman, p. 519; not in Menger. MILESTONE OF INSTITUTIONALISM: A PURE CAPITALISTIC FRAMEWORK IS NOT FIT TO REPRESENT THE ECONOMY 6. COMMONS, John. The Legal Foundation of Capitalism, New York, Macmillan, 1924 . 8vo, pp. [1], x, [1], 394, [2]; a very good, clean and crisp copy in the original cloth, minimal spots to the cover; ownership inscription on the rear free endpaper. £4500 First edition of a major work of American economics , one of Commons’s three major treatises on economic theory, in which he developed ‘theories of the evolution of capitalism and of institutional change as a modifying force alleviating the major defects of capitalism’ ( The New Palgrave ). In Legal Foundations of Capitalism , ‘he sought to demonstrate the importance for economic theory of collective action in all its varieties. These included not only the state but also a host of voluntary associations, such as the corporation and the trade union; in fact, collective action conceptually embraced all institutions, since Commons defined an institution as “collective action in control of individual action”’ (IESS). ‘Although Commons’ institutionalism had different emphases from that of Thorstein Veblen, for example, in that Commons stressed reform of the capitalist framework, they shared a view of economics as political economy and of the economy as comprising more than the market’ ( The New Palgrave , vol.1, p.506). W. J. Samuels wrote ‘ Commons was one of the few American economists to found a “school”, a tradition that was carried forward by a corps of students, especially Selig Perlman, Edwin E. Witte, Martin Glaeser and Kenneth Parsons. Much mid-20th-century American social reform, the New Deal for example, drew on or reflected the work of Commons and his fellow workers and students’ ( ibid ., p.506). IESS (1924). ‘AN ENTHUSIASTIC VEBLENITE AND A STRONG RADICAL OF THE MIDDLE WESTERN TYPE’ (SCHUMPETER) 7. DAVENPORT, Herbert Joseph.