[Review of Select Tracts and Documents Illustrative of English Monetary History, 1627–1730, edited by W. A. Shaw]

Friedrich August von Hayek: Review of Select Tracts and Documents Illustrative of English Monetary History, 1627–1730 (1936)

Hayek’s brief review welcomes the commercial republication of historical economic texts while distinguishing their scholarly value from the merits of their production and pricing. The occasion is the 1935 reprint of W. A. Shaw’s collection, originally edited in 1896, containing writings by Cotton, Robinson, Temple, “J. S.,” Newton, and Conduit, alongside extracts from the Domestic State Papers.

Hayek situates Shaw’s selection within the monetary debates of its original publication:

The date explains why the selection is largely guided by the light which the works included throw on the points at issue in the bimetallic controversy.

This historical framing qualifies the collection’s scope without diminishing its lasting usefulness. Hayek separates the controversy that shaped the selection from the enduring value of otherwise unavailable documents:

But as it includes a considerable amount of material, including some of Newton's reports made in his capacity of Master of the Mint, which have never been published in another form, the volume is undoubtedly of considerable permanent interest.

The review moves from approval of the expanding reprint market to an assessment of documentary significance, then closes with a reservation about access. Although Hayek praises the attractive production, he questions whether a less sumptuous, cheaper edition would better serve both scholars and publishers. His central judgment is practical: republication preserves valuable monetary evidence, but its scholarly benefit depends partly on affordability.