F e a t u r e d I t e m s 6 “The Clearest Of All Expositions Of The Basic Principles Of Democracy” (PMM) 3. PAINE, Thomas. Rights of Man: Being an Answer to Mr. Burke’s Attack on the French Revolution. Second Edition. BOUND WITH: Rights of Man. Part the Second. Combining Principle and Practice. London, 1791, 1792. Octavo, modern half brown calf, custom clamshell box. $25,000. Extremely rare 1791-1792 editions of Paine’s revolutionary classic, containing the scarce second edition of Rights of Man (Part I), issued within days of the first edition, together in one volume with the rarely found first edition, first issue of Part the Second. Written “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 was an immediate success… The government tried to suppress it, but it circulated the more briskly. Those who bought it as the work of an inflamed revolutionary were surprised by its dignity and moderation: even Pitt could say that he was quite in the right—‘but what am I to do? As things are, if I were to encourage Tom Paine’s opinions we should have a bloody revolution’… [Rights of Man is] the textbook of radical thought and the clearest of all expositions of the basic principles of democracy” (PMM 241). “Paine’s attack on the monarchy went farther than he had attempted on Common Sense or the Crisis series… Rights of Man was one of the most ardent and clear defenses of human rights, liberty and equality in any language… Rights of free speech, opinion, conscience, association (in America those rights became embodied in the first amendment to the Constitution in the same year the first part of the Rights of Man appeared) were all part of the natural rights which a properly constituted government must protect” (Fruchtman, 225). The first edition, first issue, of Part I (with Johnson’s title page imprint) is historically so rare that it has been considered virtually unacquirable. The first edition, second issue, with Johnson’s text sheets and Jordan’s title page and preface, is exceptionally rare. This stated second edition, issued by Jordan only three days later, is one of the earliest obtainable. First issue, variant a with press figures: 38(none), 39(1), 42(1), 71(1), 74(4), 84(1), 114(1), 126(none), 133(4), 138(1), 146(4), 159(none), 165(none) (Gimbel-Paine, 88). Containing Paine’s “Preface to the English Edition”; dedication to George Washington. First edition of Part the Second, with the following variant points, no priority determined: uncorrected catchword “Anothe” (vii); “CHAP. IV” corrected (instead of “CAAP. IV”); press figure 105-5. Both parts bound without half titles; Part II bound without two rear leaves of publisher’s advertisements. Scattered light foxing, title page of Part I restored along inner margin. A very good copy.
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