52
52
52 EDMONDS, Thomas Rowe. Practical Moral and Political Economy. London: Effingham Wilson, 1828 ;[bound after:] MILL, James. Elements of Political Economy. London: For Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy, 1821 two important economics books of the 1820s First editions of two important economics books together in a contemporary binding, Edmonds’s first work, and “Mill’s masterpiece” (Palgrave). Edmonds’s Practical Moral and Political Economy “offers a critique of early industrial capitalism characteristic of Ricardian socialism. Some scholars have found in it anticipations of Karl Marx’s theory of surplus value and the conception of capitalism as a historical stage to be succeeded by a more communal stage, which Edmonds called the ‘social system’” ( ODNB ). Relatively little is known about Edmonds; having studied at Trinity College, Cambridge, he was actuary to the Legal and General Life Assurance Company from 1832 until his retirement in 1866, after which date he more or less disappeared from notice. Yet as Anton Menger notes in his The Right to the Whole Produce of Labour , that among various practical proposals for the reform of the evils of the then social system, Edmonds “formulated the opposition between earned and unearned income more clearly than any of his predecessors” (p. 60).
Edmonds’s work is rare; WorldCat lists only 3 UK copies: Glasgow, BL, and Cambridge. In his preface Mill describes the Elements of Political Economy as “a school-book in political economy” – it was in fact based on the lessons he gave to his then barely teenaged son John Stuart Mill. Mill disavows any claim to originality, and his thinking was strongly influenced by his close friendship with David Ricardo on economics and by Jeremy Bentham on public policy. The book is nonetheless valuable as a summary of contemporary received theories, and proved popular as a textbook in economics, reaching a fourth edition by the end of the decade. 2 works in 1 volume, octavo (211 × 132 mm). Contemporary black half calf, spine elaborately decorated in gilt with red label, purple pebbled cloth sides, sprinkled edges. Ownership signature of J. P. Thomas dated 1823 to first title. Australian book seller’s stamp to front pastedown, with later pencil ownership dated 1962 to front free endpaper. Joints and head of spine lightly rubbed, inner hinges cracked but firm. Second work bound without the half-title. Occasional foxing, more severe in places; very good copies in an attractive contemporary binding. ¶ Edmonds: Goldsmiths’ 25445; Kress C.2057. Mill: Einaudi 3892; Goldsmiths’ 23118; Kress C.739; McCulloch, p. 17. Anton Menger, The Right to the Whole Produce of Labour , Palala Press, 2018. £3,500 [124761]
29
Peter Harrington
Made with FlippingBook Online newsletter maker