Money. Edited and with an Introduction by T. E. Gregory.

First edition in English of this handsomely produced study of monetary theory, by a leading politician and financier in early 20th-century Germany. The career of Karl Helfferich (1872-1924) spanned both Imperial and Weimar Germany: he served as secretary of the Treasury during the First World War and was a prominent leader of the right-wing Deutsch-Nationalen party in the 1920s. His decision, at the end of the 19th century, to write this monumental analysis of the history and theory of money was prescient, for monetary concerns would define much of his political contributions to Germany. He is particularly credited with helping end the catastrophic hyperinflation of the Weimar Republic's early years, a recognition tempered by the fact that his earlier decision to finance the German war effort through loans, rather than taxes, had stoked that inflation. The first edition of Helfferich's work was published in 1903; this translation is based on the sixth of 1923, which he revised in light of his wartime experiences. Mattioli 1607 (fifth edition). 2 vols, large octavo. Tables in the text. Original red cloth, spines lettered in gilt and ruled in blind, covers panelled in blind. With dust jackets. Contemporary ink signature of Harold James Kress (1901-1971), a lawyer with the AT&T Company, to front free endpaper of both vols. Light bumping and spotting, contents generally crisp; minor chipping, rubbing, and toning to unclipped jackets, loss to spine ends and lower outer front panel (vol. I), closed tears to upper margin of rear panel (vol. I) and front flap fold (vol. II): a very good copy in like jackets.…