Unto This Last: Four Essays on the First Principles of Political Economy by Ruskin, John - 1862

London: Smith, Elder, and Co., 1862 First edition. Green cloth stamped in blind with gilt lettered spine. . Small octavo. Cloth slightly worn with some minor staining. Gentle lean to spine. Binding extremities rubbed with some light fraying and minor chipping to crown and tail of spine. Small tear to front end pastedown. One gathering lightly sprung. Light foxing. Late twentieth century ink inscription on half-title page. First few pages have some pencil and one ink marginal notation Unto This Last was originally published as four articles in the monthly journal Cornhill Magazine. According to Ruskin, these articles were "violently criticized," forcing the publisher to cease publication after four months. To counter this attack, Ruskin published his work in book format in May of 1862. His work looks at social and economic implications and is very critical of the capitalist economists of the 18th and 19th centuries. In this sense, Ruskin is a precursory advocate of social economy. Because the essay also attacks the destructive effects of industrialism upon the natural world, some historians have seen it as anticipating the Green Movement.