William Gordon

General Counting-House

2nd ed Edinburgh 1770

GORDON, William. The General Counting-House and Man of Business. Edinburgh, A.Donaldson 1770

Octavo, contemporary calf, rubbed, contemporary red morocco label, hinges split but holding, (1) + vipp + 489pp, heavy foxing to lower margins of sixty leaves, ownership in ink on the first blank leaf ‘James Hutchins 1792’ and final blank.
£800

Very rare second edition. William Gordon (died 1793) was one of the earliest teachers of book-keeping in Glasgow. Together with James Scruton, he carried on the Mercantile Academy in Glasgow from 1763 until at least 1778. The Academy was originally in the Trongate. Gordon carried on after 1778 on his own account teaching figures and accountancy, as well as classics. The purpose of The General Counting-House was “to promote facility and accuracy in accounts of business relative to the merchant, banker, underwriter, broker, factor, employer, drawer, remitter, partner, trustee, manufacturer…” Gordon was also the author of The Universal Accountant 1763
ESTC: 4 copies only, Nat Library of Scotland, Bodleian, Columbia, Univerity of California. Murray, Chapters in the History of Bookkeeping, pp.33-37.