Hamish Riley-Smith

SMITH, Adam An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. In Three Volumes. The Fourth Edition. London, A.Strahan and T.Cadell 1786

3 volumes, octavo, very fine contemporary tree calf, spines richly gilt in six compartments with red morocco title labels lettered in gilt and with green ovals within red morocco labels with volume numbers in gilt, board edges all tooled in gilt, viiipp + 499pp + (1p) errata; vipp + 518pp + (5pp) appendix + (1p) errata; vpp + (1p) errata + 465pp + (1p) blank + (25) index, in vol.II leaves Ll4/5 unopened, in vol.III leaves X5 and X8 in uncancelled state and cut through in the lower margin by the printer and the two cancelled leaves bound in at the end in the index, engraved bookplate of a woodland thicket in vol.I drawn by G.Watt 1794 and the shelf mark inscribed in ink C 1. Watt, together with loosely inserted an autograph letter to James Watt, a very fine copy.

JAMES WATT'S COPY OF THE WEALTH OF NATIONS FROM HIS LIBRARY AT DOLDOWLOD HOUSE, RADNORSHIRE - A MAGNIFICENT COPY, THE FINE CONTEMPORARY BINDING IN PERFECT CONDITION. The bookplate engraved by his second son, Gregory, who died in 1804. James Watt (1736-1819), the great Scottish instrument maker, engineer and inventor whose steam-engine contributed substantially to the Industrial Revolution, was appointed mathematical instrument-maker to Glasgow University in 1757, working under Alexander Wilson the type-founder of the Foulis Press, had a room in College and was doing research on steam power (and there in 1764 improved Newcomen's steam engine with a separate condenser - his first and greatest invention). It was at this time he became known to Adam Smith. Amongst Watt's other friends at Glasgow were Joseph Black, the discoverer of latent heat; and John Robison, professor of natural philosophy. In 1768 he met Matthew Boulton of the Soho Works, Birmingham. In 1769 Watt's invention was patented and in 1774 he left Glasgow and went into partnership with Boulton in Birmingham. In 1785 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, bought an estate at Doldowlod, Radnorshire and from 1795 gradually withdrew from business. He died at his Birmingham home, Heathfield Hall, in 1819. The Papers and Letters of James Watt and his family formerly at Doldowlod House, Radnorshire are now at Birmingham Central Library.
One of his most remarkable inventions, patented in 1780, was the letter-copying press, for copying manuscripts by using glutinous ink and pressing the written page against a moistened sheet of thin paper. It remained the most important method of copying letters until the advent of the typewriter in the late 19th century. Adam Smith wrote to his publisher William Strahan in October 1780 "I am a subscriber for Watts copying machine. The price is six Guineas for the machine and five shillings for the packing box; I should be glad if he would send me a ream of the copying Paper, together with all the other specimens of Ink etc which commonly accompany the machine..."
The loosely inserted autograph letter of 2 pages with integral address leaf is addressed to James Watt Esq, Heathfield Hall, Birmingham dated Aug: night 1816 with postmark of 30 Aug and is signed on the address as being from E (S)hipps. The letter contains two pages of calculations, in ink, of alternative routes in miles between Birmingham and various towns in Wales, with pencil corrections.
PMM 221 (1st edition). Goldsmith 13148. Kress B1129. Vanderblue, p.3. DNB. XX, pp.962-973. Ross, The Life of Adam Smith, pp.146-147. Mossner, Correspondence of Adam Smith, letter no.207.

£7950

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