The first english edition of Necker's Du pouvoir exécutif dans les grands états. The Genevan-born Necker (1732-1804) served as both Controller-General of Finances and Chief Minister to Louis XVI during the waning days of the French Monarchy. A liberal-minded reformer, Necker attempted an overhaul of the French tax system and famously released the Compte rendu, a report on the state of France's finances, to the public in 1788. His dismissal from office is widely understood to have been the catalyst for the storming of the Bastille in 1789. In his Essay on the True Principles... Necker embarks on an analysis of the role of executive power in government, rejecting the Rousseauian idolization of legislatures as the embodiment of the "peoples' will". It is developed as both a critique of developments in France after the 1789, and an appreciative analysis of American and English constitutional models. References: ESTC T125828.

Tall Octavos, Two Volumes. In Good plus condition. Re-backed with paper spines and paper labels with black lettering, preserving contemporary boards. Boards have moderate wear and soiling overall, with moderate plus wear to edges and corners, and light fading to paper on spines. Text block shows moderate age-toning and light shelf wear to untrimmed edges, light plus foxing to free end and title pages. Ownership inscription of US Representative John Wiley Edmands appears on the front free end papers of both volumes. RW Consignment. Shelved in Case 7.