The London Private Banker : A Social History, 1660-1825

At the Restoration of 1660, there was no distinctive banking sector, and banking services were provided by a variety of traders, most notably the London goldsmiths.In the later seventeenth century, the first specialists appeared against a background of rapid economic change, and they were often attacked for their greed and self-interest.Historic associations with usury were slow to dissipate, but in the mid-Georgian period a more distinctive cadre of bankers had established itself, thanks to their pivotal role in the service of both landed and commercial elites.These private bankers provided core retail services to thousands of customers, and their premises became well-known sites within the metropolitan landscape.By 1800, the characteristics of the profession were well-developed, to the extent that its members were often seen as establishment figures by both critics and admirers, lauded or vilified in turn for their contribution to national prosperity or instability.The great financia