PAINE, THOMAS. 1737-1809.
Common Sense; Addressed To The Inhabitants of America, on the Following Interesting Subjects. I. Of the Origin and Design of Government in general, with concise Remarks on the English Constitution. II. Of Monarchy and Hereditary Succession. III. Thoughts on the present State of American Affairs. IV. Of the present Ability of America, with some miscellaneous Reflections. Philadelphia: sold by W. and T. Bradford, [1776]. [6], 50 pp. 8vo (192 x 130 mm). Disbound, uncut. Half-title toned, small chip from outer margin of title, faint ownership signature of M____(?) Boudinot and authorial identification to title-page, some occasional spots, but generally clean.
"New Edition" printed one month after the first edition of January 1776. Paine, unhappy with the results from the original printer Robert Bell, immediately commissioned the Bradford brothers to produce a separate edition, and expanded the text by a third. This is the second issue without the one-line errata at the end of the introduction. Gimbel CS-11; Howes P17.
Provenance: From the collection of M.B. Goldstone.
See illustration.
