The first English edition of Common Sense - photo 1

The first English edition of Common Sense

Lot 106
17.01.2024 11:00UTC -05:00
Classic
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$ 5 040
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUSA, New York
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ID 1119223
Lot 106 | The first English edition of Common Sense
Estimate value
$ 4 000 – 6 000
The first English edition of Common Sense

Thomas Paine, 1776

[PAINE, Thomas (1737-1809).] Common Sense; addressed to the Inhabitants of America. [With:] Plain Truth: Addressed to the Inhabitants of America. Containing remarks on a late Pamphlet intitled Common Sense. London: J. Almon, 1776.



The First London edition. John Almon, the publisher of this copy and of all of the London 1776 printings of Common Sense, was no stranger to controversy and even prosecution. A passionate Whig himself, his Piccadilly bookshop was known as a critical center for the brokering and exchange of radical ideas. However, Paine’s bestseller must have felt a bridge too far. To avoid legal responsibility, Almon decided to remove the most provocative phrases and sentences from his edition of Common Sense. They appear instead as simple gaps in the print, or hiatuses. These gaps appear on a dozen different pages in all 1776 editions, with the earliest editions omitting an additional five words. In any case, Common Sense was a runaway best-seller and hugely influential in England. Among other tidbits, it famously inspired John Laurens to quit law school and return home to join the Revolution. He became George Washington’s aide-de-camp and one of the most vocal abolitionists of the War. The half-title denominates this the "Second Edition," though all 1776 printings had only minor variations. The publisher divided them into four stated editions, of which Gimbel has identified 16 issues (four issues per edition, often with mixed gatherings). The present is the fifth issue, or Gimbel's first issue of the second edition. Gimbel CS-28.



Octavo (195 x 125mm). (Margins trimmed, especially at top right where the cut is rounded, affecting some page numbers, toned at extremities, half and full title pages detached). Disbound.

Artist:Thomas Paine (1737 - 1809)
Place of origin:Northern Europe, Europe, United Kingdom
Auction house category:Books
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