Human Sciences

Contact Jonathan Harrison, Alfred Pasternack or Barbara Scalvini

Human Sciences at Quaritch embraces a wide range of books and manuscripts documenting the history of ideas from the earliest times up to about 1960. Our strengths are in the history of economic thought and in philosophy, but we also deal in law; finance and banking (including speculation, actuarial science and insurance); politics and political theory; sociology; psychology; agriculture; education; logic; and the theory of language.

Some notable items which have recently passed through our hands include the only known copy of the Communist Manifesto inscribed by Karl Marx, Rudolf Carnap’s annotated copy of Wittgenstein’s Tractatus (Logisch-philosophische Abhandlung), Joseph Penso de la Vega’s Confusion de Confusiones (1688, the first book to describe the practice of a stock-exchange) and a copy of Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations (4th edition, 1786), inscribed in Smith's own hand to Bonnie Prince Charlie's private secretary.

As well as dealing in individual books and manuscripts, we also offer collections. In recent years we have sold author collections of Friedrich Nietzsche, Bertrand Russell, Thorstein Veblen, Emile Durkheim and Jeremy Bentham. Among subject collections we have offered are the Herwood Library of accounting literature (including Pacioli's Summa de Arithmetica, 1494, the first printed exposition of double-entry book-keeping); the philosophy of language; texts pertaining to the theory and study of language in the West, and the history of probability - the calculus of probabilities, statistics and their applications.

  1. SAY, Léon.

    [cover title: ] La Société coopérative...

    Lille, L. Danel, [1866?].

    First edition. Léon Say (1826–1896),...

    £75

  2. SCHUMACHER, E.F.

    Small is beautiful. A Study of Economics...

    London, Blond & Briggs, 1973.

    First edition of this collection of essays...

    £280

  3. SCHUMACHER, H., Professor.

    Autograph letter signed (‘H. Schumacher’)...

    Bonn, den Coblenzerstrasse 83, 10 February...

    Schumacher’s spirited response to a colleague...

    £150

  4. SISMONDI, J. C. L. Simonde de.

    Nouveaux principes d’économie politique,...

    Paris, Delaunay, Treuttel & Wurtz, 1819.

    First edition. ‘A number of concepts...

    £850

  5. SMITH, William.

    The Speeches of Mr. Smith, of South Carolina,...

    Philadelphia printed, London reprinted...

    First London edition, a rebuff to the punitive...

    £175

  6. SSYL’NYM I ZAKLIUCHENNYM.

    St. Petersburg, [Vol’naia Tipografiia...

    Rare first edition of this anthology of...

    £350

  7. STATUTA COLLEGII DD.

    Almae Urbis Medicorum ex antiquis Romanorum...

    Rome, Printer of the Apostolic Chamber,...

    The very rare enlarged and updated issue...

    £550

  8. STAUNFORD [Stanford], William, Sir.

    Les Plees del Coron, Divisees in Plusors...

    [London], Richard Tottell, 1583.

    The definitive edition, and that owned...

    £2500

  9. STEPNIAK, Sergey. 

    דאָס אינטערערדישע רוסלאַנד...

    New York, Maks N. Maisel, 1921. 

    Scarce first American edition in Yiddish...

    £150

  10. STEPNIAK, Sergius [pseudonym for: Sergius Mikhailovich Kravchinskii].

    Podziemna Rosja. Obrazki z przeszłości...

    Lviv, [ printers of the Dziennika Polskiego]...

    Extremely rare first edition in Polish,...

    £100

  11. [STRASBOURG.]

    Souscription patriotique de la part du...

    [S.l., s.n., 1789?.]

    Rare first edition of this entertaining...

    £165

  12. STUART, Gilbert.

    Observations concerning the public law,...

    Edinburgh, printed for William Creech...

    First edition. At the time of the publication...

    £150

  13. [SWEDIAUER, Franz Xavier].

    The Philosophical dictionary: or the opinions...

    London, for G.G.J. and J Robinson, 1786.

    First edition of this philosophical dictionary,...

    £200

  14. ŚWIATŁO.

    Czasopismo popularno-naukowe. Organ Polskiej...

    London, Printers of the Federation of...

    The first two complete years (eight consecutive...

    £200

  15. [THORNTON, Robert John].

    The Politician’s Creed. Being the Great...

    London, printed for T. Cox, and sold by...

    First editions of The Politician’s Creed,...

    £200

  16. TOMPSON, John, editor.

    English Miscellanies consisting of various...

    Gottingen by Abram. Vandenhoeck, Printer...

    Second edition, revised, of John Tompson’s...

    £300

  17. [TOYNBEE, Arnold.]

    “Progress and poverty,” a criticism...

    London, Kegan Paul, Trench & Co., 1883.

    First edition of the transcript of two...

    £50

  18. [TREATIES.]

    Volume of tracts on European treaties of...

    Vienna and Amsterdam, 1725-1731.

    A collection of scarce texts relating to...

    £1750

  19. TUGAN-BARANOSKIĬ, M. I.

    Sovremennyĭ sotsializm v svoem istoricheskom...

    St. Petersburg, Buduschnost’, 1906.

    First edition of Tugan-Baranoskiĭ’s...

    £350

  20. TUGAN-BARANOVSKII, Mikhail Ivanovich.

    Russkaia fabrika v proshlom’ i nastoiashchem’...

    St Petersburg, L. F. Pantelev, 1898.

    First edition thus, originally issued as...

    £850