"ONE OF THE MOST GENUINELY ORIGINAL ECONOMISTS WHO EVER LIVED" (SCHUMPETER)

JEVONS, William Stanley. Methods of Social Reform and Other Papers. London: Macmillan, 1883. Octavo, original reddish-brown cloth gilt. $750.

First edition of this posthumously-printed collection of Jevons’ papers on social issues.

Jevons has been described by Stigler as the “forerunner of neo-classical economics,” by Marshall as “among the very greatest of economists” and by Schumpeter as “one of the most genuinely original economists who ever lived” (Einaudi 3070). During the latter part of his life, Jevons, one of the foremost 19th-century English economists, "was turning with increasing interest to social problems. For many years he had with unwearied diligence collected the most diverse statistical materials. The arrangement of his study in Hampstead showed him to be an inquirer to whom nothing came amiss in the way of facts, and from whom nothing went astray" (DNB). After his unexpected death by drowning in 1882, Jevons' widow published his articles on social reform, etc., many of which had previously appeared in periodicals, in this volume. Owner stamp.

Inner hinges expertly reinforced, tiny closed tear to title page, otherwise fine.