Financial History1

The considerable renewal of interest in all aspects of financial history over recent years provided one motivation for this new venture. Yet, the foundations for our specialism, which draws from both History and the Social Sciences, especially economics, have been laid by many. Some would point to continuity in our interest from the publication in the 1930s of jubilee banking history volumes, such as those written for British institutions by Gregory, and by Crick and Wadsworth. Further scholarly momentum came from the studies in comparative banking history undertaken by researchers inspired and brought together by Rondo Cameron from the mid-1960s. Upon these footings and others, financial history has since ‘taken off’ to address an increasingly wider range of issues. This considerable broadening of the specialism, ironically, almost coincided with the decline and then the eventual demise in 1987 of the Revue Internationale d'Histoire de la Banque, founded in 1968. This is not the place to draw up a balance sheet of that journal, which has played a decisive role. Its demise, however, left a gap. Financial History Review aims not only to take up its cause, but also to widen the scope of publishing in the field – from banking to financial history – in order to offer the fullest possible support for continuing research.