This collection of rare texts from the mid nineteenth century shows how the principle of banking in England came to be established and accepted in the period when British banks achieved their greatest stability.

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This is widely acknowledged as a scholarly and well-documented study of early banking in England. It bridges gaps in the early history of English banking and deals with the operations of the pre-Bank of England bankers, the evolution of English paper money and the remarkable transactions of the early directors of the Bank of England. Although the main body of the book concentrates on the 16th and 17th centuries, the volume includes a brief survey of English banking in the 18th and early 19th centuries.

The manner in which Britain, Germany and France have conducted business this century is analysed in this comparative study. It focuses on key companies and business elites and their performance at critical times.