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Millar, John (1735-1801) Observations Concerning the Distinction of Ranks in Society.
London: Printed by W. & J. Richardson for John Murray, 1771.
First edition, large quarto, half-title present, bound in full contemporary tan English calf, gilt-tooled original red morocco label to spine, other spine compartments with small gilt sheep in each; joints cracked, corners rubbed, endcaps and endbands intact, boards attached; ex libris Scottish politician George Baillie (1664-1738), with his 1724 engraved armorial bookplate by Johnston (made while he was serving as Lord of the Treasury) pasted inside the front board and his signature on the title page, 10 x 8 in.
Millar was a Scottish philosopher and law professor at the University of Glasgow. In this work, he writes about the way that economic systems bear great influence over the individuals in a society, even determining gender roles. The first chapter is dedicated to the rank and condition of women, followed by observations on the authority of a father over his children, that of a chief over members of a tribe, the rise of a sovereign over society, and finally the condition of servants in different parts of the world, which includes descriptions of the lives of enslaved people in different cultures. "Considering the many advantages which a country derives from the freedom of the labouring people, it is a matter of regret that any species of slavery should still remain in the dominions of Great Britain, in which liberty is generally so well understood, and so highly valued."
