by Adam Smith
First American edition of the groundbreaking work on economic philosophy
Philadelphia: Thomas Dobson, 1789. First American edition of the author's magnum opus. [6, blank], 412; [4, blank], 430, [2, blank]; [2, blank], 387, [1, blank], [53, index], [3, blank] pp. Bound in full contemporary sheep, rebacked to style. Spine stamped in gilt. Red morocco spine labels, lettered in gilt. Complete in three volumes, 12mo.
Near Fine with tanning to end sheets with contemporary ownership "Joseph Hall 1793 at each title; a separate former contemporary owner of W. Hamilton each volume, on top margin of advertisement in volume I, on title-page of volume II and on Contents page of volume III. Light notations. Contents lightly toned with sporadic foxing.
A handsome set of the first American edition of Smith's unequivocal groundbreaking work on economic philosophy. Published thirteen years after the first edition and based on emendations and revisions made for the fourth edition, this first American edition of The Wealth of Nations significantly appeared in a momentous year in the history of the United States, which saw the convention of the first United States Congress as well as the inauguration of the country's first president. Prior to the 1789 publication, only a select and limited audience in America would have had access to copies of previous editions of The Wealth of Nations; it is therefore almost a certainty that, in the new United States, this was the first book to disseminate in a serious way Smith's important economic theories.
Printed by Colonial Philadelphia printer Thomas Dobson who was most famous for the earliest printed Encyclopaedia Britannica and the first published complete Hebrew Bible in the United States.