An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.

Glasgow: R. Chapman,, 1805. The foundation of modern economics An attractive example of the first Scottish edition of Smith's great work, "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). This edition is also the first to carry a portrait of the author. 4 vols, octavo (175 x 103 mm). Portrait frontispiece to first vol.. Contemporary marbled sheep, rebacked, black morocco labels, spines numbered in gilt. Contemporary bookseller's ticket to front pastedown. A few marks to spines, slight wear to tips, light stain at foot of frontispiece, contents toned and foxed. A very good copy. Tribe 86; Vanderblue, p. 13.