Available Copies from Independent Booksellers
Price: US$1900.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: 8vo. pp. xii, 227. complete with half-title. modern sheep (title bit soiled). First Edition of the French Translation by François Soulés, state with erratum corrected on p. 62. Paine's counter-blast to Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790) and exposition of the principles of government underlying the American and French Revolutions "has remained the textbook of all radical thought and the clearest exposition of the elementary principles of democracy." (PMM) It was the most widely read in England and France of any political work ever published. Prosecuted by the English government for the 'libels' contained in the second part of the book, Paine withdrew in 1793 to France, where he had already been elected a member of the National Convention and where he soon became active in framing the constitution of 1793. Stephans p. 102. Howes P-31. Martin & Walter 26315. Querard VI 646. cfPrinting and the Mind of Man 241. This edition not in the Thetford Collection.
Seller: D & E LAKE LTD. (ABAC/ILAB), Toronto, ON, Canada
Price: US$2500.00 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: First French edition, translated from the first and suppressed English edition issued two months earlier. xii, 227 pp. Hardcover, bound in contemporary mottled calf, all edges red. The binding edge-worn, fore-corners exposed. Bookplate. Minor blemishes.
Seller: Moroccobound Fine Books, IOBA, Lewis Center, OH, U.S.A.
Price: US$2500.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: 2 volumes bound in one in contemporary mottled calf; worn, leather chipped at the head of the spine, scattered mild foxing, small stain to first title. Complete with the half titles, reuniting the two parts of Paine's treatise on democracy and revolution that were published a year apart. There are two editions dated May 1791 on the title page with no clear priority between them. The first part was translated from the original English edition that was almost immediately edited and softened. Paine was a star in France, an enlightenment philosopher of the first order, and a frequent guest along with the likes of Franklin, Jefferson and Adam Smith at the salon at the Hôtel de la Monnaie. "The government tried to suppress it, but it circulated more briskly.Rights of Man can be seen for what it is: the textbook of radical thought and the clearest of all expositions of the basic principles of democracy." (Printing and the Mind of Man) xii, 227pp; iv, 16, 224pp. Howe P-31 and 32 (The English ed.), PMM 241 (the English ed.). Size: Octavo (8vo). Previous owner's book-plate inside front cover. Quantity Available: 1. Shipped Weight: Under 1 kilo. Category: Philosophy; History. Inventory No: 045038.
Seller: Pazzo Books, Boston, MA, U.S.A.
Price: US$3000.00 + shipping
Description: First French edition of Thomas Paine's classic statement of faith in democracy and egalitarianism. Octavo, bound in contemporary one quarter calf over marbled boards. In very good condition. From the library of Virginia bibliophile and historian Christopher Clark Geest with his bookplate to the pastedown. Rare and desirable. "One of the most remarkable political writers of the modern world Thomas Paine wrote both parts of Rights of Man with the United States in mind Celebrating America and the extension of the struggle for liberty, equality and democracy to France Rights of Man became a phenomenal success in America" (Kaye, 4, 97-9). Paine finished the first part of Rights of Man on his 54th birthday, January 29, 1791, and the following day handed the manuscript to Johnson, a London publisher "who set about printing it in time for the opening of Parliament and Washington s birthday on February 22." Fearing governmental reprisals, Johnson halted its release compelling Paine to find another London publisher J.S. Jordan. Paine entrusted friends to supervise the publication and "packed his trunk for Paris, where he planned to arrange a French translation." The London edition of Rights of Man finally saw publication on March 13, 1791 and "made Paine the most controversial public figure of the day" (Keane, 304-6). Paine, then in France, had "brought with him from London a copy of the [original sheets] for translation into French" (Woodward, 199). With the publication of a new French edition of Common Sense and, in May 1791, the appearance Droits de l Homme [Rights of Man], French newspapers declared Paine "the most determined champion of republican principles." Paine's objective in Part I of Rights of Man "was to defend the cause of individual rights and liberty" (Fruchtman, 250-1). Rights of Man stands as "the earliest complete statement of republican principles. It set forth the fundamental ideas on which the American republic was founded" (Woodward, 211). Shortly after publication of Part I of Rights of Man, Paine began work on Part II, which appeared in February 1792.
Seller: Raptis Rare Books, Palm Beach, FL, U.S.A.
Price: US$3920.00 + shipping
Description: 8vo, pp. 227. Bound with the half-title on later quarter-calf. Some foxed, a very good copy. Howes P-31; Martin & Walter 26330 (variant); Printing and the Mind of Man 241 (English edition 1791). This follows the first English edition by about six weeks and reprints the original text as it appeared in the suppressed first English edition. Paine also wrote a preface expressly for this edition. The first English edition was supressed by the intimidated English publisher. Only a few copies escaped being destroyed. The next English editions were some toned down.This edition, then, has the original inflammatory language which so enraged the British critics. Bound with: Opinion de Thomas Payne . concernant le judgement de Louis XVI, Precedee de sa lettre d'envoi au President de la Convention . [1792]. First edition. 8vo, pp. 4. Two volumes in one. Dedicated to George Washington President of the United States of America . a small treatise in defence of the Principles of Freedom . Paine (1737-1809) was born at Thetford, Norfolk, the son of a Quaker staymaker. His meeting with Benjamin Franklin in London changed his life and he sailed for America in 1774. His Common Sense presented arguments for independence and a republic. The present work, defending the French Revolution and the natural rights of men had a tremendous circulation before the government took alarm and suppressed it. He was indicted for treason but escaped to France before he could be tried. He died in New York. The second title offers Paine's opinion that Louis XVI must be put to trial. PMM:"Paine's `answer to Mr. Burke's attack' took argument to a higher level. With a force and clarity unequalled even by Burke, Paine laid down those principles of fundamental human rights which must stand, no matter what excesses are committed to obtain them . Rights of Man can be seen for what it is: the textbook of radical thought and the clearest of all expositions of the basic principles of democracy."
Seller: Second Life Books, Inc., Lanesborough, MA, U.S.A.
Price: US$6500.00 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: Reunissant les Principes et la Pratique. 2 volumes. 8vo, modern 3/4 blue cloth with marbled boards and red morocco spine labels, cloth lightly soiled on both volumes, corners lightly bumped on volume II, scattered light foxing in both volumes, mostly to margins, pp. 179-224 of volume II with thin dampstaining to upper right margins, contemporary ownership signature on margin of title-page of volume I. Paris: Chez F. Buisson, 1791, 1792. First Editions in French. Volume one of this set was printed in May, 1791, three months after the first edition was printed in London. That first edition was immediately suppressed and most of the copies were destroyed. Later London editions were edited and controversial parts of the original text were omitted. This French translation has the complete original text of the suppressed first edition and was not edited. Volume one contains a new preface by Thomas Paine, specifically for this French edition. "Government exists, Paine said, to quarantee to the individual that portion of his natural rights of which unaided he could not ensure himself. These rights, with respect to which all men are equal, are liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression.Part II contains.numerous proposals for social legislation which show that Paine was not unaware of the class struggle. . (The Rights of Man) was suppressed by Pitt's government, and its author, safe for the moment in France, was tried for treason and outlawed in December, 1792." Dictionary of American Biography XIV, pages 161-162. Complete pagination in both volumes including half-title pages. Howes P-31. Printing and the Mind of Man 241.
Seller: Argosy Book Store, ABAA, ILAB, New York, NY, U.S.A.