Essays on Philosophical Subjects by Smith, Adam - 1795: to Which is Prefixed, an Account of Author by Stewart

SMITH, ADAM. Essays on Philosophical Subjects...To Which Is Prefixed, an Account of the Life and Writings of the Author by Dugald Stewart. London: for T. Cadell Jun and W. Davies; and W. Creech, Edinburgh. 1795 First Edition. Large Quarto (270 x 215mm ), Contemporary half Russia, skillfully rebacked with original spine. Burgundy patterned boards, new end papers . Slight scuffing to the spine . x-xcv, 244 pp. Two greensilk page-markers. Some offsetting to the title page. Faint lightening of a small oval area on title page (see photo). Similar evidence of removal of oval marking on base of the spine. Text otherwise is clean, crisp, tight, and bright with no markings or inscriptions except for the aforementioned light spotting on the title page. Also page 40 upper left corner has old paper repair (no loss of text), and page lxxiii has a small chip missing at the top of the page in the margin (no loss of text.

Contains an essay by Dugald Stewart on life and writings of Adam Smith followed by Smith's own essays, Astronomy, Physics, Music, English and Italian Verses, and the Five External Senses. Most of these essays were written before 1759 but never published until Smith's literary executors were instructed to do so by Smith, shortly before his death. One thousand copies were printed of this edition with a later Dublin reprint. An attractive copy of a scarce and important piece of history.