Hamish Riley-Smith

SIMSON,Robert. Opera Quaedam Reliqua. Glasgow, Robert and Andrew Foulis 1776

Quarto, contemporary red goatskin, the covers with a gilt border of a chain roll and a repeated rococo floral tool, smooth spine panelled in gilt, lettered on a green goatskin label, elaborately gilt tooled, marbled endleaves, leaf edges gilt, (4) leaves + xpp + 594pp + (1)leaf + 32pp + (1)leaf + 33pp + (1)leaf + 23pp, bookplate of John Crerar Library on front paste down, small discreet perforated cypher on title and stamp on verso of title, a very good copy in a most attractive contemporary binding possibly from the Foulis bindery.

First edition of this posthumous edition of the unpublished works of Robert Simson (1687-1768), Professor of Mathematics at Glasgow University. Professor James Clow, the successor of Adam Smith in the Chair of Logic at Glasgow, writes the forward to this book; he was a man of great ability, having been chosen, quite possibly on the recommendation of Adam Smith, to edit these highly important works of Simson. The book was printed at the cost of Philip Stanhope, 2nd Earl Stanhope (1714-1786) of Chevening, Kent, the mathematician, who was a friend of both Simson and Adam Smith, and was in correspondence with Adam Smith at the time the editor was being chosen. Adam Smith had a copy of this book in his Library.
Gaskell, The Foulis Press, no.600. Bonar, Catalogue of the Library of Adam Smith, p.167.

£2000

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