BAUMAN RARE BOOKS 66 94TOCQUEVILLE, Alexis de. Democracy in America. Translated by Henry Reeve. London, 1835, 1840. Four volumes. Octavo, contemporary marbled boards rebacked, custom box. $52,000 First editions in English of both parts of Tocqueville’s important and influential analysis of American democracy, one of the most outstanding intellectual achievements of the 19th century, uniformly bound in contemporary marbled boards. “The first systematic and empirical study of the effects of political power on modern society” (Nisbet). “One of the most important texts in political literature” (PMM 358). Democracy in America is the result of Tocqueville’s 1831-32 tour of the United States to examine the American penal system. The first part brilliantly examines contemporary American social and political institutions and practices, and the second proves that democracy could be the basis of a stable political system. Tocqueville’s insights into American democracy deeply influenced European intellectual life and shaped the development of free institutions in the West. The first part of the work was published in French in 1835 and the second part in 1840; the present English editions were issued in the same years and precede the American editions of each part. Bound without rear subscription leaf (III), rear advertisement leaf (IV). Howes T278, 279. Occasional marginal pencil annotations in first two volumes. Interiors generally fresh and fine, contemporary marbled boards with light rubbing, beautifully rebacked to period style. “This Is By Far The Best Book Ever Written About America”
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