Contemporary Printed Sources for British and Irish Economic History, 1701-1750

Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, first edition, 1963. Cloth, 8vo, 24 cm,. xxiii, 978 pp. Over 6,500 entries. Chronologically arranged by year of publication with subdivisions by subject. Includes foreign material. Annotated. Locations given for 66 libraries. Indexes of authors, subjects and anonymous titles. From the blurb: "Mr Hanson's aim has been to record from the principal libraries of Great Britain and Ireland all new works on economic affairs published in the first half of the eighteenth century. The entries are arranged chronologically by years of publication, and the entries for each year are subdivided under the headings General, Agriculture, Manufactures, Commerce, Colonies, Finance, Transport, and Social Conditions. A single entry comprises author's name, title, place of publication, date, size, and location. The titles are transcribed fairly fully to avoid ambiguity or confusion. First editions only are given full entries; subsequent editions or reissues are recorded in footnotes. Altogether there are a little over 6500 main entries. The comprehensive indexes are an important feature of the book. An index of titles brings the complete material into alphabetical order; and a general index of authors and subjects ensures that the book can be used selectively. Mr Hanson contributes an introduction in which he discusses the history of the project, and his methods of compilation and transcription. He also speculates about the reading public for whom these books and pamphlets were written. Fine in price-clipped and torn dustwrapper.