Kant’s Prize Essay of 1764 emphasizes the importance for mathematical cognition of manipulating signs according to rules, which has led some recent commentators to ask whether Kant’s position there is a species of mathematical formalism. While most have hesitated to find formalism in the Prize Essay, this hesitation derives from misconceptions about what formalists actually believe. I therefore examine some nineteenth century formalists who were in dialogue with Kant, using their views as a model against which to compare the Prize (...) Essay. I argue that Kant’s view in the Prize Essay is continuous with their formalism, since the Prize Essay shares the essential aspects of their views about the sign-signified relation in mathematics and the role of signs in mathematical reasoning. (shrink)