[Early American Edition of Wealth of Nations] An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations

Early American Edition of Adam Smith's Landmark Treatise on the Wealth of Nations Adam Smith's masterwork provided the intellectual groundwork for the economic architecture of the early United States. First published in. 12mo. 3 volumes. Contemporary full calf, leather spine label. Front cover detached on vol. 2. Front Joint/hinges tender, with leather cracking. Wear to spine ends. Leather chipped at top of spine of vol. 3. Leaves tanned. Early ownership signature on front pastedown of vol. 3: "G.E. Drumgoole." Later private bookplates to volumes 1 & 2. 412;430;387,[55] pages. Leaves tanned. Scattered foxing in vol. 3. Overall good. Early American Edition of Adam Smith's Landmark Treatise on the Wealth of NationsAdam Smith's masterwork provided the intellectual groundwork for the economic architecture of the early United States. First published in London in 1776, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations introduced foundational concepts of free-market capitalism, the division of labor, and the mechanism of the "invisible hand." As the newly independent nation framed its financial systems and trade policies during the Federalist era, Philadelphia printer Thomas Dobson undertook the first American printings of Smith's treatise.The present offering is a complete three-volume mixed set in contemporary calf bindings: Dobson's first and second American printings. Volumes I and II carry the 1796 imprint of Dobson's second edition, while Volume III is from the original 1789 first American edition. Because Dobson designed the 1796 printing page-for-page to match the composition and layout of his 1789 original, individual volumes were readily paired by period owners and bookbinders to construct complete working sets when single volumes were damaged or depleted.Thomas Dobson was among the most influential printers in post-Revolutionary Philadelphia, operating from his shop at the Stone House on Second Street. His 1789 edition appeared during the inaugural year of George Washington's presidency and the convening of the First United States Congress, directly informing the fiscal debates between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson. The demand for Smith's economic theory in the burgeoning republic soon exhausted the initial printing, necessitating Dobson's 1796 second edition.Dobson's editions remain central milestones in early American book history and economic literature. His 1789 printing represents the first complete American edition of Smith's masterpiece. …