Economics First Edition - Paul Anthony Samuelson - Bauman Rare Books

Economics

Paul Anthony SAMUELSON

Item#: 86317 We're sorry, this item has been sold

Economics

“NO OTHER BOOK HAS CONTRIBUTED SO MUCH TO THE EMERGENCE OF A UNIVERSAL BODY OF ECONOMIC KNOWLEDGE”: SAMUELSON’S ECONOMICS, FIRST EDITION

SAMUELSON, Paul Anthony. Economics. An Introductory Analysis. New York, Toronto, and London: McGraw-Hill, 1948. Octavo, original green cloth, original dust jacket.

First edition of Nobel Prize-winner Samuelson’s second book, in original dust jacket.

Following the groundbreaking Foundations of Economic Analysis, “Samuelson’s second book was Economics: An Introductory Analysis. First published in 1948, it soon became the most successful textbook ever published in any field… No other book has contributed so much to the emergence of a universal body of economic knowledge that is considered standard wherever teaching and learning are free. There are several reasons for this success. No other comprehensive introduction was written by one of the world’s foremost modern theorists (Hicks’ Social Framework covering only a fraction of the ground). This theorist, furthermore, is a superb expositor who knows how to weave theory, discussion, facts, and history into an exciting tale” (Niehans, 423-24). “More than anyone else he bears responsibility for the mathematical bent of economics in the late 20th century… In all his professional work, Samuelson sought to provide mathematical underpinnings for economic ideas, believing that economic theory without formalizations was unsystematic and unclear” (Pressman, Fifty Major Economists, 162-63).

Book very nearly fine, dust jacket extremely good with slight soiling, light wear to extremities, and a bit of toning to spine. A desirable copy, rarely seen in the dust jacket.

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Aquatint Copperplate process by which the plate is “bitten” by exposure to acid. By changing the areas of the plate that are exposed and the length of time the plate is submerged in the acid bath, the engraver can obtain fine and varying shades of gray that closely resemble watercolor washes. Although the name contains the word “tint”, this is a black-and-white printing process; aquatint plates can often be hand colored, however.
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Broadside Sheet printed on one side, typically for public display, usually larger than folio size (a folio being a broadside-size sheet printed on both sides and folded once, to make four pages).
Calf Binding material made from cowhide—versatile, durable, usually tan or brown in color, of smooth texture with no or little apparent grain. Readily marbled (“tree calf”), mottled, diced, colored, polished, tooled in gilt or blind, even scented (known as “russia”). Reverse calf, with a distinctive suede-like texture, is occasionally used.
Chromolithograph Lithograph printed in colors, typically three or more.
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Duodecimo (12MO) Smaller than an octavo, typically less than six inches tall; smaller formats, such as 24mo and 32mo, are uncommon.
Edition Print-run from a single setting of type without substantial change. Depending on demand, any number of printings can be made from a setting of type For example, a first printing might consist of 1000 copies, followed by a second printing of 2500 copies; in which case the book would have a first edition, first printing of 1000 copies, and a first edition, second printing of 2500 copies.
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Japanese Vellum Expensive handmade paper often used in deluxe editions.
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Wood-Engraving Engraving made with the graver or burin on the cross-section of a piece of boxwood; the harder wood and finer tools allow for more delicate, finely detailed images, while the block can still be set in the page alongside text and printed on the same stock as the text. While much older, wood engravings enjoyed an important renaissance in the late eighteenth century through Thomas Bewick and continued in popularity thorugh the nineteenth century.
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