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britannica - americana
First edition of the “first and greatest classic of modern economic
thought” (
Printing and the Mind of Man,
no. 221).
Smith’s is the first major expression of the theory of free trade.
Exalted equally as a compassionate conservative and sympathetic
liberal, Smith propounds individual liberty and the accumulation of
wealth, while arguing strongly for moral fairness and a duty to society.
He describes a system of natural liberty and justice which strives
towards improvement in the living standards of the population at
large, equating higher wages with a healthier and more productive
workforce. He expounds the belief that the limits to growth are political,
not economic, and he sets out principles to guide legislators. Smith
also provides a history of economic theory, an historical analysis of
the wealth of nations, including China, and forecasts for the future.
A central figure of the Scottish Enlightenment, Smith gave up his
chair at the University of Glasgow in 1764 to serve as travelling tutor
to the third duke of Buccleuch on the Continent. His observations of
absolute monarchy and the ensuing fiscal problems laid the ground
for his economic thought, as did meetings with intellectuals such as
Voltaire and D’Alembert and economists such as Mirabeau and Turgot.
After two decades of composition,
Wealth of Nations
was published
in 1776 and immediately hailed as ‘excellent’ and ‘profound’; the first
edition was sold out within six months. Four further editions appeared
in Smith’s lifetime.
Goldsmith, 11392; Kress 7621
; Printing and the Mind of Man
, 221.
provenance
1. Cholmondeley Library (England), bookplates on upper pastedowns,
with shelfmarks (Case E, shelf 3, no. 24). – 2. Thomas Moffat MD 1776
(inscribed on title page in brown ink). Interestingly, the date associated
with the name is strictly contemporary of the year of publication,
hence must be the very first owner. Might he be Thomas Moffat MD,
“a learned Scotch physician, emigrated to this country, and settled
in Rhode Island in 1750. He was often consulted, and appealed to in
difficult cases; but he was diven out of the country in 1772, on account
of his political opinions” (
A Discourse on the Lives and Characters
of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams,
Washington, 1826, p. 57).