RICARD (Samuel). - Lot 125

RICARD (Samuel). L'Art de bien tenir les livres de comptes en parties doubles à l'italienne, avec une Table Alphabétique de l'Explication des Termes, qui sont le plus en Usage dans le commerce, tant en change qu'en Marchandise, que pour le Négoce Maritime [...]. Amsterdam, Paul Maret, 1709. In-folio, vellum, blue speckled edges (contemporary binding). First edition of this work by Samuel Ricard (1637-1717), a French economist who took refuge in Amsterdam, where he became a merchant bookseller and became a citizen in 1685 (Goldsmiths-Kress no. 04576.12.). Beautiful engraved intaglio frontispiece depicting the interior of a maritime warehouse exchange and accounting office. The author, who wrote an esteemed treatise on commerce in 1700, introduced a number of innovations to accounting, advocating the keeping of books for cash, bank, expenses, drafts and remittances, receipts and sales of merchandise, etc. He also suggested recording transactions in the accounts. He also suggested recording transactions in two different currencies. Our copy lacks the last part, entitled Grand livre ou livre de raison, with a special title page addressed to Amsterdam and dated 1704-1705 (41 leaves). Small paper loss at the lower corner of the frontispiece, without affecting the engraved subject.