Adam Smith’s Library: A Catalogue

Adam Smith (1723‐90), baptized in Kirkcaldy near Fife, is one of Scotland’s and Britain’s greatest philosophical thinkers. Hiroshi Mizuta, a Japanese Professor of Philosophy, has reconstructed his library. Following a listing of abbreviations, of libraries consulted and Latin place‐names, the Introduction deals with four areas. These consist of the formation of Smith’s library, its dispersion, its reconstruction, and the present catalogue. Smith’s family inherited his library, part of which was sold in 1878. The books “from this first sale are now scattered in the libraries of the UK, USA, Canada, Italy and Japan.” The other part of the library was...