An Essay on the Principle of Population;: or, a View of its Past and Present Effects on Human Happiness; with an Inquiry into our Prospects Respecting the Future Removal or Mitigation of the Evils which it Occasions. A New Edition, very much Enlarged.
by MALTHUS, Thomas Robert
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- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
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- Seller
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London, United Kingdom
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About This Item
London: printed for J. Johnson, by T. Bensley,, 1803. A classic of economic thought, significantly expanded The Great Quarto edition, notionally the second edition of the Essay on Population published in 1798, but so substantially enlarged, rewritten, and re-titled as to be a new book. "In 1803 Malthus published a greatly expanded second edition of the Essay, incorporating details of the population checks that had been in operation in many different countries and periods. Although nominally a second edition, it was regarded by Malthus as a substantially new work. He did not claim originality for the idea that population tends to outrun the food supply. In the preface to the second edition he stated that in writing the first edition he had deduced the principle of population from the writings of David Hume, Robert Wallace, Adam Smith, and Richard Price, but that in the intervening period he had become aware that much more had been published on the subject. He nevertheless believed that even more remained to be done, especially in describing the means by which populations are checked and in drawing out the practical implications of the principle of population. In the second edition, he made clear what was only implicit in the first, that prudential restraint should, if humanly possible, be 'moral restraint' - that is, delayed marriage accompanied by strictly moral pre-marital behaviour, although he admitted that moral restraint would not be easy and that there would be occasional failures. Whereas in the first edition he had said that all the checks to population would involve either misery or vice, in the second edition he attempted to lighten this 'melancholy hue' (Essay on the Principle of Population, 1st edition, 1798, p. iv) and 'to soften some of the harshest conclusions of the first essay' (2nd edition, 1803, p. vii) by arguing that moral restraint, if supported by an education emphasizing the immorality of bringing children into the world without the means of supporting them, would tend to increase rather than diminish individual happiness" (ODNB). Quarto. Uncut in the original boards, manuscript lettering to spine. Housed in a custom solander box with red label. Neat 20th-century ownership label to front pastedown. Joints and corners worn, some expert reconsolidation to binding, horizontal tear to head of title neatly repaired without loss and short vertical tear to lower margin of the same; a very good copy. Einaudi 3668; Goldsmiths' 18640; Kress B.4701.
Synopsis
The book An Essay on the Principle of Population was first published anonymously in 1798 through J. Johnson (London).
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Details
- Bookseller
- Peter Harrington (GB)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 156812
- Title
- An Essay on the Principle of Population;
- Author
- MALTHUS, Thomas Robert
- Book Condition
- Used
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Place of Publication
- London: printed for J. Johnson, by T. Bensley,
- Date Published
- 1803
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About the Seller
Peter Harrington
Biblio member since 2006
London
About Peter Harrington
Since its establishment, Peter Harrington has specialised in sourcing, selling and buying the finest quality original first editions, signed, rare and antiquarian books, fine bindings and library sets. Peter Harrington first began selling rare books from the Chelsea Antiques Market on London's King's Road. For the past twenty years the business has been run by Pom Harrington, Peter's son.
Glossary
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- Quarto
- The term quarto is used to describe a page or book size. A printed sheet is made with four pages of text on each side, and the...
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- New
- A new book is a book previously not circulated to a buyer. Although a new book is typically free of any faults or defects, "new"...