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Adam Smith

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Autographs Start Price:NA Estimated At:60,000.00 - 70,000.00 USD
Adam Smith

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Auction Date:2016 May 11 @ 18:00 (UTC-05:00 : EST/CDT)
Location:236 Commercial St., Suite 100, Boston, Massachusetts, 02109, United States
ALS - Autograph Letter Signed
ANS - Autograph Note Signed
AQS - Autograph Quotation Signed
AMQS - Autograph Musical Quotation Signed
DS - Document Signed
FDC - First Day Cover
Inscribed - “Personalized”
ISP - Inscribed Signed Photograph
LS - Letter Signed
SP - Signed Photograph
TLS - Typed Letter Signed
Scottish moral professor and a respected pioneer of political economy (1723–1790) whose magnum opus, The Wealth of Nations, is considered the first modern work of economics. Exceedingly rare ALS, one page both sides, 7.25 x 9, no date but docketed March 17, 1760. Letter to the 1st Earl of Shelburne regarding the health of his son Thomas, then Smith's student and lodger, in full: “I expected that Mr. Fitzmaurice would have been able to have acquainted your Lordship by this Post of the entire reestablishment of his health. An accident, however, has prevented this from taking place as soon as I expected. I never saw any body appear to recover faster than he did on Friday & Saturday last. On Saturday, particularly, he was surprisingly well & went to bed about 8 o’clock, in appearance, in as good health as it is possible for anybody to have, who had so lately recovered of a fever. On Sunday morning he was seized with a purging which continued all that day, raised his pulse & seemed to threaten a return of his fever. The Doctor assured me that this would in all proba[bility] prove a final crisis, that his former bleeding at the nose had not been so plentiful as he could have wished & that he had always suspected that something of the kind might happen: And I remember, indeed, that after the bleeding of his nose had stopped the Dr. told him that it would probably bleed again that night, which, however, did not happen & is the only prediction of his in this disease that has not in some degree been fulfilled. Mr. Fitzmaurice continued very feverish all Sunday: about 8 o’clock at night he fell fast asleep & slept very sound, without once waking, till this morning (Monday) at 10 o’clock. He appeared then to be perfectly refreshed & free from all symptoms of fever. The inclination to stool, too, was much abated & seems now to be entirely gone. I write this at 8 o’clock at night. Tho’ much exhausted by the Disorder of yesterday, he is quite cool & easy & free from every symptom of fever. This slight fit, I hope, tho it has retarded, will ensure his future recovery.” Addressed on the reverse of the second integral page in Smith’s hand, “To The Earl of Shelburne.” In fine condition.

During his tenure as a professor of logic and moral philosophy at Glasgow University, Smith graciously offered to share his residence with students who sought both housing and scholastic supervision, a tender he would uphold over the course of thirteen years. Beginning in 1759, Thomas Petty-Fitzmaurice, the youngest son of the 1st Earl of Shelburne, lodged and studied with Smith for two years before eventually moving on and becoming a Member of Parliament in 1761. Published in April of 1759, The Theory of Moral Sentiments, Smith’s landmark book of ethical philosophy, embodied many of his Glasgow lectures, which in turn enhanced the standing of both the institution and Smith, whose noted genius and influential teachings attracted a generation of young minds to transfer to Glasgow. Representative of the unique concern Smith relayed to his students, this is an exceptionally rare and considerate letter penned less than a year after the publication of his classic work of sentiment and sympathy.