146. SMITH (Adam). Recherches sur la nature et les causes de - Lot 146

146. SMITH (Adam). Recherches sur la nature et les causes de la richesse des nations, new translation with notes and observations by Germain Garnier. Paris, H. Agasse, 1802. 5 vol. in-8, cxxvii, 368 p., [1] f. (errata) ; 493 p., [1] f. (errata) ; 564 p., [1] f. (errata) ; 556 p., [1] f. (errata) ; 588 p.., [1] f. (errata), grained fawn calf with ornate smooth spine, double gilt fillet on covers, gilt fillet on edges. First edition of the French translation by economist and politician Germain Garnier (1754-1821), illustrated with a frontispiece portrait of Adam Smith by Bonaventure Louis Prévost (1733-1816). Copy complete with all errata, which is not always the case. Originally published in 1776, Adam Smith's work develops economic theories on the division of labor, the market, money and the nature of wealth, and introduces the idea of a "system of natural liberty" resulting from individual interest resolving itself into general interest through the interplay of free enterprise, free competition and free trade. Garnier's translation greatly contributed to the spread of economic liberalism in France, and influenced many thinkers and policy-makers of the time. Provenance: from the library of Jean Debry (1760-1834), attested by his bookplate engraved with the imperial eagle pasted on the back cover. Jean Debry was a deputy at the Convention, where he voted for the death of Louis XVI, and a member of the Comité de salut public (Public Safety Committee), before coming into contact with Bonaparte and being re-elected to the Cinq-Cents. He cooperated in the Floréal coup d'état and was appointed Prefect of Doubs. During the Hundred Days, he accepted the prefecture of Bas-Rhin from the Emperor, but was dismissed during the Second Restoration and exiled to Mons, where he lived out his remaining years. Small snag to one of the headpieces, tiny pinprick to one of the spines, epidermure to one of the boards, light rubbing and other minor defects, a good and elegant copy. (Coquelin & Guillaumin, I, 824a; Quérard, IX, 192).