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SMITH, Adam.
An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
In Two Volumes.
First edition of "the first and greatest classic of modern economic thought" (PMM). In his Wealth of Nations, Smith "begins with the thought that labour is the source from which a nation derives what is necessary to it. The improvement of the division of labour is the measure of productivity and in it lies the human propensity to barter and exchange … The Wealth of Nations ends with a history of economic development, a definitive onslaught on the mercantile system, and some prophetic speculations on the limits of economic control" (PMM). "The Wealth of Nations had no rival in scope or depth when published and is still one of the few works in its field to have achieved classic status, meaning simply that it has sustained yet survived repeated reading, critical and adulatory, long after the circumstances which prompted it have become the object of historical enquiry" (ODNB).
2 volumes, quarto (272 × 220 mm). Contemporary quarter calf, rebacked to style, marbled boards, vellum tips. Custom leather-entry slipcase. Half-title only in vol. II, as called for. Booklabel of H. Harvey Frost to front pastedowns. A little scattered spotting, a few red pencil underlines in vol. II, old engraved table of historical currency values tipped in between E4 and F1, vol. I, with offsetting to adjacent pages, a very good, well-margined copy.
