INTRODUCTION

The unpublished papers and letters of Léon Walras constitute a mass of documents of great scientific importance and of deep human interest. Not only do they shed light on the inner workings of his mind as he developed his system of general economic equilibrium, but they also reveal the intimate personal trials and tribulations of a pioneer scholar hewing out new paths despite the “scoffs and scorns and contumelious taunts” of his contemporaries. They frequently illuminate obscure passages of his published works; and, incidentally, they discover to us traits of character and developments of thought of his correspondents.

The original unpublished documents to which I refer are located mainly in the University of Lausanne, which serves as a depositary for them. Some few of these papers and letters have found their way to the University of Lyons, but these belong to the earlier and less interesting years of Walras' life. After Walras' death the bulk of this scientific correspondence was painstakingly copied by his daughter, Mile Aline Walras, from almost illegible rough drafts; and these copies were handed over to Professor Etienne Antonelli for eventual publication.

Among the papers I have seen and copied is Léon Walras' complete autobiography, only part of which was published in 1908.