BENTHAM, Jeremy.

The Rationale of Reward.

London: John & H. L. Hunt, 1825. FIRST ENGLISH EDITION TP + [iii]-viii + [ix] = Errata + [i]-ii = Preliminary Observations + [3]-352, Octavo. PRESENTATION COPY. A presentation copy signed in ink in the upper right corner of the title page: "To the City of London Justi (or Instr) / From the Author". A bit below that, in what looks like a different hand, is the number "4303". The initial "Advertisement by the Editor" in the front of this book claims that "the history of the present work is somewhat curious." "Forty or fifty years" before this book was published, Bentham had written two manuscripts - one in English and one in French. The French manuscript was called Essai sur les Récompenses and had originally been prepared with the intention of sending it to Catherine the Great. Both manuscripts were subsequently given to a M. Dumont who, with a bit of his own editing and additions, conflated them and published them in two volumes in French under the title Théorie des Peines et de Recompenses in Paris in 1811. The Rationale of Reward is the second of these volumes. This English translation was made by Richard Smith, who prepared many of Bentham's manuscripts for publication, and contains an original preface by Benham. In the book, "Bentham proposed, amongst other measures, the creation of prizes for the encouragement of discoveries and research, and the institution of a Registser of Trade Marks. He advocated, also, the free grant of Patents - then carged with exorbitant fees - or, at least, that no fees should be paid until the inventor had reaped some benefit from the Patent." (Atkinson, Jeremy Bentham: His Life and Works, p. 172) Contemporary drab boards (a bit worn and dinged) with green cloth spine - in all likelihood, the publisher's original binding. With the remains of a small paper label at the top of the spine with the handwritten number: "1000". The title page has been abraded just below the publisher's name and the date - slightly erasing the roman numerals in the date. Overall, this is really a fabulously preserved contemporary book - the TP abrasion being the only negative regarding condition. PHOTOS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST.

• USD 3,500.00 > other currencies
• ordernr.: 174

• bookseller: Athena Rare Books (USA)