COMMON SENSE; ADDRESSED TO THE INHABITANTS OF AMERICA, ON THE FOLLOWING INTERESTING SUBJECTS....
Paine, Thomas:
Philadelphia, Printed; Newbury Port, Reprinted, By John Mycall, and to be Sold at the Printing Office, [1776]. 61,[1]pp. Gathered signatures, stitched, as issued. Untrimmed. Some soiling and contemporary ink markings to half title and titlepage. In a red morocco slip case. A wonderful contemporary American edition of Thomas Paine's famous COMMON SENSE, one of the dozen such editions produced in America in 1776 after the initial Philadelphia editions issued by Bell and Bradford. All American editions from 1776 are quite rare, and many provincial editions such as this are possibly rarer than the first ones. COMMON SENSE was first issued by the Philadelphia printer Bell on January 9, 1776. By Feb. 14, Bell had issued a third edition, but Paine had deserted his original publisher for W. and T. Bradford, who had gone along with his wishes in adding considerable material to the text, increasing it "upwards of one Third." It is this Bradford text, with several appendices and "An Address to the People Called Quakers" which was reprinted in the present Newburyport edition. It is impossible to fix the point of issue of the Newburyport edition, but it appears in two forms, one with the imprint of Samuel Phillips of Andover, and one with the imprint as here, for John Mycall, a resident of Newburyport and the actual printer. It was probably issued in the early spring however, since Paine had invited other printers to republish it, and it was almost instantly famous. It is almost unnecessary to comment on the importance of COMMON SENSE. The political rhetoric of Paine inflamed the desire for independence, calling for it in clear language which swept the country like wildfire. The editors of the GROLIER 100 remark: "It is not too much to say that the Declaration of Independence...was due more to Paine's COMMON SENSE than to any other single piece of writing." GROLIER AMERICAN 100, 14. GIMBEL CS-42. HOWES P17. EVANS 14961. AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE 222o. DAB XIII, pp.398-99.
(Item ID: WRCAM46031) $35,000.00