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Primary sourceArtifact1691-1693 (built); Smith resided 1778-1790

Panmure House

1691-1693 (built); Smith resided 1778-1790

The Edinburgh townhouse where Adam Smith lived from 1778 until his death in 1790, now a centre for economic research.

Smith's own home for the last twelve years of his life, where he revised his major works and hosted Enlightenment thinkers.

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Evening photo of Panmure House, a stone building with lit windows and a glass-fronted entrance at street level, with a sign reading Adam Smith's Panmure House. Dusk sky, paved street in foreground.
Panmure House, Edinburgh, Adam Smith's residence 1778-1790. Photograph, October 2020.

About this source

What it is

Panmure House is a 17th-century townhouse in Edinburgh's Canongate. It is the only surviving home of Adam Smith, who lived there from 1778 until he died in 1790. It is now managed by Heriot-Watt University as a research centre.

Why it matters

While living at Panmure House, Smith produced several new editions of The Wealth of Nations and was still working on his final edition of The Theory of Moral Sentiments when he died there. The house was a meeting place for leading figures of the Scottish Enlightenment, including James Hutton, Joseph Black and Dugald Stewart, showing how Smith's ideas developed through conversation with other thinkers of his time, not in isolation.

Look closer

  • What does it suggest about Smith's life that his house hosted scientists, architects and historians as well as economists?
  • How has the building changed since Smith's time, and why do you think it was restored?
  • What might studying the rooms and layout of a historical house tell us that a book cannot?

This artifact is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Adam Smith on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Title page of An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, by Adam Smith, LL.D. and F.R.S., formerly Professor of Moral Philosophy in the University of Glasgow. In two volumes, Vol. I. London, printed for W. Strahan and T. Cadell, in the Strand, MDCCLXXVI.Book

Primary source

The Wealth of Nations

Adam Smith · 1776

Scan of the title page of the 1759 first edition of The Theory of Moral Sentiments by Adam Smith, Professor of Moral Philosophy in the University of Glasgow. Centered ornament below. Imprint reads London: Printed for A. Millar, in the Strand, and A. Kincaid and J. Bell, in Edinburgh, MDCCLIX.Book

Primary source

The Theory of Moral Sentiments

Adam Smith · 1759

Black and white engraving of a standing man in profile wearing a tricorn hat, powdered wig, and long buttoned coat, holding a cane, beside a round table with books and an inkstand. Bookshelves and a checkered floor are behind him. Caption below reads 'The Author of the Wealth of Nations'. Signed 'RAY' and dated 1790 at lower left.Painting

Primary source

Adam Smith, 1790

John Kay · 1790

Oil painting of a man in a powdered white wig and dark high-collared coat with blue-tinged shading, turned to the left, against a dark brown background. He has a slight closed-mouth expression.Painting

Secondary source

The Muir Portrait of Adam Smith

Unknown · c. 1790

Oil portrait of an older man with white powdered hair in curled rolls over the ears, wearing a dark coat with a high collar and a white cravat. He looks off to the side against a dark brown background, lit from the left.Painting

Secondary source

Adam Smith, Political Economist, Portrait of 1800

Unknown (Scottish) · c. 1800

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