During the last century banks have played a major role in the economy. They have at the same time often been found the villains of the piece when there have been problems in the economy. What is it that banks do and how did it come about that they did it the way they did? This collection of texts from the mid-nineteenth century shows how the principle of banking in England came to be established and accepted in the period when British banks achieved their greatest stability. This set draws together rare material from 1870-1930 and range from monetary economics to straight banking theory. It will include classic works which set out with clarity how banks should behave. They show the range of activities covered and problems encountered by banks, and what the acceptable solutions to the latter should be. English banking theory changed little after a learning process in the first half of the nineteenth century. Some of the banks grew to be the biggest in the world and a banking system evolved that was probably the most stable in the world.