Economics.- Petty (Sir William) Another Essay in Political Arithmetick, Concerning the Growth of …

Economics.- Petty (Sir William) Another Essay in Political Arithmetick, Concerning the Growth of the City of London, first edition, light soiling (dust) to title, A2 with short marginal tear, C1 with paper defect to bottom corner just touching text, worming to bottom edge not affecting text, unbound, [Wing P1915], small 8vo, by H.H. for Mark Pardoe, 1683. ⁂ Sir William Petty (1623-82) was the first person to carry out a statistical survey on a large scale when he made the Down Survey in Ireland on behalf of the Commonwealth. The implication of the title is that a previous work on political arithmetic had already been published. In fact, this essay was the first to be printed: Keynes points out that the 1686 reprint explains that 'an extract of a Letter' was incorrectly thought to have been another essay. This is thus Petty's first work on political arithmetic and his calculations and ingenious deductions set the tone for his later statistical analysis. Another Essay is a landmark in the history of statistical analysis, leading towards Babbage's Analytical Engine.