Books

First edition of the first published part of Hume's first great work, composed before he was twenty-five years old, during his three years in France. "The book comes up for sale so seldom that one may doubt whether more than one or two hundred can be extant" (Keynes & Sraffa, p. iv). Hume returned to London with the finished manuscript by mid-September 1737, but did not sign articles of agreement with the publisher, John Noon, for another twelve months. The two volumes finally appeared, anonymously, at the end of January 1739, with the publisher's agreement stating a print run "not exceeding one thousand copies thereof" - though, as Keynes and Sraffa pointed out, far fewer have survived. Already fearing that they would not be well received, Hume had meanwhile begun a third volume, Of Morals, in part a restatement of the arguments of these first two books, which was not published until 5 November 1740, by a different publisher, Thomas Longman. Hume treated the third volume as a discrete work in its own right in so far as he later "cast anew" its contents alone as An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals (1751). Hume made changes to the Treatise during the printing process. Leaf P1 in vol. I was cancelled and a new cancel leaf, somewhat revised, introduced, at the foot of page 209, a 15-line note. In the present copy, P1 was cancelled but by some printshop accident, the cancel was not inserted. A copy of the missing cancel has been supplied. Provenance: Volume 2 with the ownership signature of either J. C. or H. Whishaw. A John Whishaw is recorded as a member of Lincoln's Inn in 1794. READ MORE Two vols, octavo (192 x 126 mm), pp. [iv], 475, [1]; [iv], 318, [8]. Recently rebound in contemporary sprinkled calf boards, rebacked, spines ruled and decorated in gilt in compartments, red morocco labels, double gilt fillet frames to boards, yellow edges, new endpapers. Engraved head- and tailpieces, initials. With the rare 8-page catalogue of books printed for John Noon after page 318. With the usual cancels as recorded by Chuo (vol. 1 P1, vol. 2 M4). This set comprising two paired volumes in uniform bindings. Contents of vol. 2 professionally cleaned, but otherwise markedly crisp and fresh, vol. 2 title page with pencil ownership inscription of one "J. C." or "H. Whishaw, Linc Inn." Leaf P1 in vol. 1 one supplied in excellent facsimile on old paper, small slip of paper with contemporary ink note about the text loosely inserted at page 16. A very good set. Chuo 30 (1, 2); Fieser A.1-2; Jessop, p. 13; Todd, p. 190; see Printing and the Mind of Man 194 for all three volumes. John Maynard Keynes & Piero Sraffa, introduction to An Abstract of a Treatise of Human Nature, 1740, Cambridge University Press, 1938.