Histoire des Monts de Pieté Avec des Réflexions sur la Nature de des Établissemens

Padova: Padoue. Very Good. 1752. First Edition; First Printing. Hardcover. xii, 153 pages; Contemporary pattern-printed paper-covered boards backed with calf -- flat spine with dark red leather label lettered in gilt. Binding somewhat worn, with erosion at the head of the spine, and at the corners and edges of the boards. Old round institutional stamp on the title page, with somewhat smaller "redactio" stamp. Two old shelf mark notations on the title page; the round institutional stamp is repeated at the lower blank margin of p. 51. Still, a sound, complete and handsome copy of this scarce book on the history of the monts de pieté -- pawn-shop like establisments for lending money to the needy, secured by objects of value. Their history in Europe dates from the later Middle Ages times to the 20th century. In the original Italian concept, the "Monte di Pietà" depended on acquiring a monte, a collection of funds from voluntary (more-or-less) donations by the well-off who had no necessity of regaining their money quickly. The people in need would be able to come to the Monte di Pietà and give an item of value in exchange for a monetary loan. The term of the loan would last the course of a year and would only be worth about two-thirds of the value of the borrower’s item. A pre-determined interest rate would be applied to the loan and these profits were used to pay the expenses of operating the Monte di Pietà. The initial impetus behind the idea was to combat usury. In practice, in some cities at least, there was an element of anti-Semitism involved in the conception and capitalization, if not the day-to-day operation of these institutions. In England, there was a similar fund initiated in1361 by the Bishop of London, Michael Northburgh, who put up 1000 silver marks. There was to be no official interest charged, but some expenses of the institution were to be defrayed from its foundation capital. The money was literally kept in a vault in St. Pauls. The fund is reported to have been exhausted after operating for some time. A scarce and intersting contribution to the history of banking, pawnbroking, and usury. See Goldsmiths'-Kress library of economic literature no. 8726. OCLC: 23611578. .