First edition of Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations expected to fetch up to £75,000

Smith, a leading figure of the Scottish Enlightenment, wrote much of the book at his mother’s home in Kirkcaldy and published it in London in 1776.

Priced originally at £1 and 16 shillings, the book is expected to fetch between £55,000 and £75,000 when it goes under the hammer at Hindman Auctions in Chicago on 5 November.

It is among the 85 rare books from “the library of a Midwestern collector” and numbers alongside first editions from Darwin, Newton and Joyce.

Gretchen Hause, head of Hindman book department, said: “This is a rare opportunity to own one of the original copies of the first and greatest classic of modern economic thought, whose influence can still be seen today.

“This copy, which remains in good condition, has been kept in a private collection in America for many years. It will undoubtedly appeal to collectors around the world.”