The Curious Case of Cantillon and his Essai

This post was written by Kelly Bennett, Business Reference and Research Specialist in the Science & Business Reading Room. 

The Business Section recently acquired a rare first printing of Richard Cantillon’s Essai Sur la Nature du Commerce en Général published in 1755. The title translates to the English, “Essay on the Nature of Trade in General,” and it is Cantillon’s only surviving piece of writing.

Richard Cantillon was an Irish-born banker who made his fortune, and several enemies, across early 18^th century Europe. When a fire consumed his London home in 1734, including a body found within, the initial reports pointed to a tragic accident. However, Cantillon’s friend and neighbor began to question how it was that the badly burned corpse had no head. Soon, the suspicion was that Cantillon had been murdered. Several of his servants were tried but ultimately acquitted. In his 1986 biography of Cantillon, Antoin E. Murphy suggested that Cantillon faked his own death to escape several high-profile lawsuits. A man, calling himself the “Chevalier de Louvigny,” appeared in the Dutch colony of Suriname shortly after the fire. He was known to be carrying a large amount of gold, along with rifles and a barrel of powder, which set off the suspicions of local officials. The man escaped the authorities, but not before abandoning documents related to Cantillon. The mysterious man was never apprehended.

Unfortunately, all of Cantillon’s writings were destroyed in the fire, with the exception of the Essai, which survived and circulated in an unpublished manuscript form for many years. It was finally published in 1755, more than 20 years after Cantillon’s death, likely in Paris. The book’s title page shows a London imprint. However, false imprints were not uncommon in 18^th century France, often being used by French printers to skirt pre-publication royal censorship and printing limits. According to author James Mitchell, the use of the French name, “Londres,” rather than the English, “London,” in a false imprint was common among Parisian printers at this time.

Primarily a work of theory, Cantillon’s Essai Sur la Nature du Commerce en Général covers various macroeconomic topics such as production, allocation of resources, monetary institutions, and foreign trade. Economic historian Anthony Brewer described the work as simple, clear and genius. Cantillon’s theories were highly influential to 18^th century economists and was foundational to the field of classical economics.

Cantillon’s Essai was purchased by the Library with funds from the Victor S. Clark Endowment, which supports the acquisition of rare books related to economic history. It is available for viewing in the Rare Book and Special Collections Reading Room, and you can find more Library resources about Richard Cantillon by searching the subject heading Cantillon, Richard, -1734 in the online catalog.

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