The Political Anatomy of Ireland…To Which is Added Verbum Sapienti.
PETTY, Sir William.
The Political Anatomy of Ireland…To Which is Added Verbum Sapienti.
First Edition of Sir William Petty's The Political Anatomy of Ireland; A Landmark in Economic History
London: Printed for D. Brown and W. Rogers, 1691.
$7,200.00
In Stock
Item Number: 151139
First edition of this seminal, early statistical survey that analyzes 17th-century Irish land, people, and government to propose improvements for efficiency, taxation, and union with England. Duodecimo, bound in full speckled calf with gilt titles to the spine in six compartments within double ruled gilt bands, morocco spine label, and gilt turn-ins. In very good condition. Ownership initials to the top of the title page of “RW.” Rare.
The Political Anatomy of Ireland (written c. 1672; published 1691) by Sir William Petty is a foundational work of early modern political economy in which quantitative analysis is applied to questions of governance, taxation, and national wealth. Drawing on his experience conducting the Cromwellian “Down Survey,” Petty employs what he termed “political arithmetick,” using calculations of land distribution, population, trade, and revenue to assess Ireland’s economic capacity and administrative structure. The treatise evaluates military, ecclesiastical, and legal institutions while advocating closer political and fiscal integration between Ireland and England as a means of increasing efficiency and prosperity. Often associated with the companion piece Verbum Sapienti, which estimates the wealth and taxable resources of England, the work exemplifies Petty’s broader project of grounding statecraft in “number, weight, and measure,” anticipating later developments in statistical economics and imperial policy analysis.
