In 1786, Playfair published The Commercial and Political Atlas. Exact month of publication unknown; if you have information about the correct date, please email felluga@purdue.edu with this information. The full title of Playfair’s first major publication from 1786 makes its objectives plain: The Commercial and Political Atlas, Representing by Means of Stained Copper-Plate Charts, the Progress of the Commerce, Revenues, Expenditure, and Debts of England, During the Whole of the Eighteenth Century. Image: William Playfair, Inquiry into the Permanent Causes of the Decline and Fall of Wealthy and Powerful Nations (1805), figure 2, detail. This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired.

Articles

Jonathan Sachs, "1786/1801: William Playfair, Statistical Graphics, and the Meaning of an Event"