Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations
On this day in 1776 the first edition of Adam Smith‘s most famous work, The Wealth of Nations, was published. I couldn’t find a first edition copy of The Wealth of Nations to photograph and use as the image for this entry, but I did find a statue of Adam Smith. The statue sits in the Main Building of the University, just below Randolph Hall in the southern part of the building. More on Adam Smith, arguably Glasgow University’s most famous son, here.
One of the book’s main themes is the concept of an invisible hand that “naturally guides a society through self-interest”. Tell me then, why does the index finger on the statue appear to be translucent?
More “On This Day” entries can be found on Glasgow University Story website at universitystory.gla.ac.uk, maintained by the Archive Services. Information also from University Story site.
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Photos from Glasgow University 
Apparently there is nothing mysterious about the translucent fingers on the statue. They have been broken and repaired twice, in October 1978 and May 1995.
July 1, 2010 at 4:46 am