First edition. 8vo. viii, 208 pp. Original red cloth, spine lettered and ruled in gilt, ruling continued to front cover in blind (bookplate of F.H. Mansell and the same name inscribed on half-title, spotting to outer leaves and edges of text-block, ink underlining on 4 pages, short notes on a further 7 and a longer annotation on p. 19; cloth slightly faded with gentle bumping to corners, just about a very good copy overall). London, George Allen & Unwin Ltd, 1919.
Based on a set of public lectures Russell delivered in autumn 1917 which were to serve as a popular introduction to the system of mathematical logic of Principia Mathematica. He wrote the book while serving a six-month prison sentence for an article he wrote alleging that American troops would be employed in Britain as strike-breakers.
Blackwell & Ruja A30.1a.
