A history of prices, and of the state of circulation, 1792-1856
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Bibliographic Information
A history of prices, and of the state of circulation, 1792-1856
Thoemmes, 2002
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Reprint. Originally published: London : Longman, Orme, Brown, Green, & Longmans, 1838-57
Description and Table of Contents
Description
Thomas Tooke (1774-1858), economist, began his working life in various businesses in St. Petersburg and London. He took no important part in any public discussion of economic questions until 1819, in which year he gave evidence before public committees of both Houses of Parliament on the resumption of cash payments by the Bank of England. As a follower of Ricardo, Horner and Huskisson, he was a strenuous supporter of the principles embodied in the report of the bullion committee of 1810. The first two volumes of the "History of Prices", dealing with the period from 1793 to 1837, were published in 1838. His conclusions as regards that period were that the high prices which ruled for the first thirty years were due to a relatively large number of favourable seasons, coupled with the obstructions to trade which were created by the war; while the lower range of prices in the subsequent years was attributable to a series of more prolific seasons, the removal of the adverse influences arising out of a state of war, and the consequent improvement in the processes of manufacture and industry. The "History of Prices" was completed in six volumes over a 20-year period.
Tooke was assisted by William Newmarch in the compilation of the monumental volumes 5 and 6 (covering 1848-56), and these are here published more manageably as three volumes. This unique work is an admirable analysis of the financial and commercial history of the period which it covers. It was a subject Tooke was well able to deal with, possessing as he did a rare combination of a wide practical knowledge of mercantile affairs with considerable powers of reflection and reasoning. Whatever may be thought of his conclusions, the value of his methods of investigation is beyond dispute. It is an essential and unique work for any research into economic or business history and prices within the Enlightenment and early Victorian periods.
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