FIRST TURKISH TRANSLATION OF 'WEALTH OF NATIONS'

SMITH, ADAM.

Milletlerin Zenginligi. [i.e. "Wealth of Nations"] 4 vols.

Istanbul, Milli Egitim Basimevi, 1948 [Vol. 1 & 2] & 1955 [Vol. 3 & 4].

8vo. 4 volumes in the original printed wrapper. Spines (especially on vol. 1 and 4) with wear and a bit of miscolouring, otherwise a fine and clean set. IV, 393, (8); (6), 340; 386; 415, (2) pp.

Rare first Turkish translation of Adam Smith's landmark work "Wealth of Nations". Despite his indirect impact in the Ottoman intellectual sphere [the present work] was not translated into to Turkish until 1948. "The reason for not translating The Wealth of Nations in full was purely pragmatic and was simply caused by market conditions. Above all, the market for books was small due to very low literacy rate." (Kilinço?lu, Economics and Capitalism in the Ottoman Empire)

"A 1881 Turkish translation of Wealth of Nations by Sakisli Ohanes is recorded by Vanderblue in 1936 as having been published in Constantinople, printed in 'old Turkish characters' , the modified Arabic-Persian script in use until about 1928. There is indeed a work by Sakizli Ohannes Pasha published in 1881 whose title translates as 'the science of the wealth of nations', but it is not a translation of Wealth of Nations. The book is a discussion of political economy in five parts - production, exchange, distribution, consumption and a conclusion; it is therefore recognizable as a work written more under the influence of Jean-Baptiste Say than Adam Smith, but given a title reminiscent of Smith all the same" (Mizuta, A Critical Bibliography of Adam Smith)

Cheng-chung Lai, Table A18.

Order-nr.: 58582