SINCLAIR, Sir John.

£2,750 · Offered by Peter Harrington · No longer available

The Statistical Account of Scotland. First editions, the complete set of this major survey of Scotland's geography, economy, and population, "the most frequently quoted of all Scottish historical sources" (ODNB); uncommon complete with all volumes, and in a uniform contemporary binding."In 1790, as an elder in the general assembly of the Church of Scotland, he launched the idea of a survey of the state of the country, which was to become the twenty-one volumes of the Statistical Account of Scotland. It is a detailed account of the geography, history, economy, and society of every parish. He had gathered the word 'statistical' from Germany on his northern tour. He used it to mean information which was desirable for legislative purposes, though not necessarily numerical in form. 'Statistics', he said, 'should reveal the quantum of happiness in a population', as well as 'the means of further improvement'. He saw the proper function of government as intervention or legislative action to promote welfare and economic growth, and recognized that detailed information was necessary for such intervention to be effective.The important features of Sinclair's survey were its comprehensive range of topics and the fact that it was fully carried through. All 936 parishes were reported on in the following nine years, and the book as a whole is the most frequently quoted of all Scottish historical sources. There have been two subsequent 'statistical accounts' of Scotland, compiled in the ninet

Found via Rare Books Intel, a search across rare-book dealers, auction houses and marketplaces worldwide.