Traite du Grand Negoce – Blainville – 1698 | First edition Merchants Handbook

Nouveau Traité Du Grand Negoce De France Pour La Correspondance Des Marchands by Antoine de Blainville is a 1698 practical handbook for merchants. This book was designed for French tradesmen who were sailing to other European ports offering them methods for calculating and converting between currencies. It includes numerous woodcut engravings, charts, and tables for quick access.

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Nouveau Traité Du Grand Negoce De France Pour La Correspondance Des Marchands
• Author(s): Antoine Moitoiret de Blainville
• Illustrator(s): uncredited
• Publisher: Rouen, Chez Jean-B. Besongne
• Edition: First Edition. 1698.
• Format: (16mo), three parts in 1
• Binding: Full leather
• Size:  6.25in x 3.25in (16 cm × 10 cm)
• Collation:
  • “Nouveau Traite”: [10], 206pp
  • “Traite du Jauge Universel”: 144pp
  • “Jauge de la marine et de la navigation”: 46, [1]pp
• Illustrations: in-text woodcuts throughout
• Contents Include:
  • Observations on the Gauging of Ships
  • methods for calculating and converting between currencies
  • Templates and forms for correspondence regarding bills of exchange, requests for goods, price inquiries, credit arrangements, and settling accounts
  • References to trade cities including Amsterdam, Genoa, Lisbon, Hamburg, London, Florence
• Provenance: handwritten figures inside front cover
• Reference(s): Goldsmiths’-Kress no. 03518.11

Condition:

Good. Full leather. Hinges and text block strong, though leather is pulling away slightly from spine; some staining on covers and pages

Why Collect This?

• Rare first edition account of a French merchant manual
• Woodcuts, tables, and charts throughout

Item Number: # 29083