PLAYFAIR (William). The Commercial and Political Atlas... London, Debrett, Robinson, etc., 1786. In-8° oblong bound in full roan calf, spine ribbed and gilt, gilt roulette framing the boards, gilt roulette at the edges (Binding of the period). VII, 151 pp (noted 153). Illustrated with 40 plates of watercolour graphics. The first ten plates were engraved by John Ainslie in 1785 for a preliminary edition that only circulated in a restricted circle, the rest of the illustrations are by Samuel John Neele. A rare first edition of this revolutionary work, which was the very first publication to offer a graphical representation of statistical data and contains one of the first known histograms. This groundbreaking work by the Scottish engineer and economist William Playfair (1759-1833) made it possible to read and appreciate a vast range of data at a glance, abandoning the tabular presentation used in his day. This fundamentally clarified the interpretation and understanding of the dynamics illustrated. Despite the importance of his contributions to data visualisation, Playfair was not recognised during his lifetime and died in poverty in 1833. His influence on the visual representation of quantitative data is nonetheless major. Rare first edition in very good condition PLAYFAIR (William). The Commercial and Political Atlas... London, Debrett, Robinson, etc., 1786. Oblong 8vo, bound in full contemporary root-grained tan calf, gilt-decorated spine with raised bands, gilt-rolled borders on covers, gilt-rolled edges (Contemporary Binding). VII, 151 pp. (numbered 153). Illustrated with 40 plates of aquatint-enhanced graphs. The first ten plates were engraved by John Ainslie in 1785 for a preliminary edition that circulated only within a restricted circle, the remaining illustrations are signed by Samuel John Neele. Rare first edition of this groundbreaking work, which was the very first publication to present a graphical representation of statistical data and contains one of the earliest known histograms. This innovative work by the Scottish engineer and economist William Playfair (1759-1833) makes a wide range of data easily readable and appreciable at a glance, moving away from the tabular presentations used in his time. The interpretation and understanding of the illustrated dynamics were thus fundamentally clarified. Despite the significance of his contributions to data visualisation, Playfair was not recognised during his lifetime and died in poverty in 1833. His influence on the visual representation of quantitative data, however, remains major. Rare first edition in very good condition Very good condition despite minor defects to binding and some plates Binding : Fragility of the head cover. Minor damage to headpieces Top board partially split Small indentation at one of the edges Corners slightly dulled and sunken Inside pages: Paper oxidized Qlqs freckles more visible on some ff. in the middle of the book Some sepia toning of engravings on facing pages