Harvard University Press The Charles Ilfeld Company: A Study of the Rise and Decline of Mercantile Capitalism (Harvard Studies in Business History): A Study of the Rise and Decline of Mercantile Capitalism in New Mexico: 20

In a pioneering study of far western commercial enterprise from Santa Fe Trail days to the present, detailed company records reveal the merchants' solutions of monetary exchange, balance of trade, and transportation problems, in depression and prosperity. Finally, the author traces the defeat of mercantile capitalism by modern specialization. New materials give valuable insights into the history of economic development in the western hemisphere. An important book for economists and historians, its frontier stories will delight less specialized readers. From the Back Cover This book presents a picture of the changing structure of business enterprise in New Mexico from the days of the Santa Fe Trail to present times. By building upon an intimate analysis of the activities and policies of the Charles Ilfeld Company and its dominant personalities, it describes in some detail the transitions from budding to mature mercantile capitalism, and finally to industrial capitalism. In accomplishing these objectives Mr. Parish places great emphasis on the basic influence of environment in the structure and practices of business.