SMITH, Adam.

£275,000 · Offered by Peter Harrington · No longer available

An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. First edition of this fundamental work of political economy, from the library of the Earls of Dundee at Birkhill Castle in Fife, a family which included a close friend and confidant of Smith.The title pages have the ownership signature of Henry Scrymgeour-Wedderburn (1755-1841), made prior to his elevation as 7th de jure Earl of Dundee in 1811. The family seat at Birkhill is a little under 20 miles from Smith's birthplace of Kirkcaldy, where he wrote the Wealth of Nations.Henry's third cousin, once removed, was Alexander Wedderburn (1733-1805), a future Lord Chancellor of Scotland, lifelong friend of Smith and a pupil at his lectures on rhetoric at the University of Edinburgh in 1748. Smith later contributed articles for Wedderburn's Edinburgh Review, and the two helped found Edinburgh's Select Society in 1754. In 1778, Wedderburn was charged with restoring trade relations with the revolting American colonies. He duly wrote to his old professor for advice, and Smith replied with advice largely derived from the Wealth of Nations. The text remains a fundamental work of political economy, "the first and greatest classic of modern economic thought" (PMM), and a persuasive manifesto for free markets and free trade. It is no exaggeration to say that all major economic works which followed were written to advance, or challenge, Smith's principles. They remain relevant as the question of tariffs and protectionism have re

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