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

London; Printed for A. Strahan and T. Cadell, 1789., 1789. Hard Cover. Fifth Edition. Octavo, pp., [i-iii] iv-x, 499; [i-iii] iv- vi, 518, [6] Appendix; [i-iii] iv-v [1],465, [1], [50] Index etc. Contemporary speckled tan calf with gilt titles to maroon labels to spine, gilt cornucopia motifs to compartments and gilt fillet to boards; all edges sprinkled brown, marbled endpapers & gilt fillet dentelles. Corners rubbed with minor wear; sympathetic and almost imperceptible repair to joint of upper board of vol. I, with minor loss to spine head and tail; volume II bumped to lower corner of upper board, with minor loss to edge of label; volume III partial loss to number label. Internally a very clean copy with just some minor spotting confined principally to prelims. A handsome early edition in a contemporary binding of the magnum opus of the economist, moral philosopher and key figure of the Scottish Enlightenment Adam Smith (1723-1790). Although not published until 1776, Smith developed and lectured on many of the leading themes in Wealth of Nations whilst teaching at Glasgow, with the work going on to lay the foundations of both classical free market economic theory and the modern academic discipline of economics. "Where the political analysis of human rights had taken two centuries to explore, Smith's achievement was to bring the study of economic aspects to the same point in a single work... The first and greatest classic of modern economic thought". Kress: Library of Business and Economics Catalogue 1777-1817 p. 85; PMM 221; ESTC: T96680.