Books

First edition of Mirabeau's own abridgement of his and Quesnay's Philosophie rurale (1763), the first textbook of the physiocratic school. The Philosophie rurale presented "perhaps the most complete and magisterial account of the views of the Physiocratic school" (Higgs, p. 57). The Eléméns condenses the work into a more manageable textbook format, aiming at a broader dissemination and understanding of the system. Importantly, the Eléméns contains as a folding plate the Tableau économique, first published in 1758 in a minute number of copies and reproduced in Mirabeau's L'Ami des hommes in 1760 and in the Philosophie rurale. The Tableau économique is cited as the earliest attempt to visualize a comprehensive model of the economic system, illustrating the flow of goods and money and the interdependence of the agricultural, manufacturing, and commercial sectors. It is credited as "the most important and famous work of Physiocracy and has often been regarded as a summary of the entire corpus of Physiocratic economics" (New Palgrave, IV, p. 23). Provenance: 19th-century bookplate of Isaac Iselin to the front pastedown; 20th-century note of authorship to front free endpaper; half-title with 20th-century library stamps of the Basel section of Schweiz Vereinigung für Sozialpolitik (noted as bequeathed by the Austrian labour economist Stephan Bauer, 1865-1934) and of the political science seminar of the University of Basel. Duodecimo (162 x 89 mm). Contemporary vellum, spine lettered in gilt, red sprinkled edges. Engraved folding Tableau économique at rear. Slight browning, half-title loosening a little, short closed tear to inner margin of table. A very good copy. Einaudi 3948; Goldsmiths 10275; Higgs 3977; INED 3197; Kress 6477. Henry Higgs, The Physiocrats, 1963.