RARE FIRST PRINTING OF PAINE'S COMMON SENSE. PAINE, THOMAS. 1737-1809. Common Sense; Addressed t...

RARE FIRST PRINTING OF PAINE'S COMMON SENSE. PAINE, THOMAS. 1737-1809. Common Sense; Addressed to the Inhabitants of America... Philadelphia: R. Bell, 1776. 2 volumes in 1. 8vo (200 x 127 mm). Leaves A1/A2 and K1 supplied from another copy. BOUND WITH: Large Additions to Common Sense. Philadelphia: Bell, 1776. Disbound, original stab-holes visible in two sets, stabholes on A1/A2 match the second set, and K1 supplied. Later manuscript note to verso of title page, with earlier annotation adding 'Tom Paine' beneath Introduction, K1 missing 1 inch at bottom edge, no text loss. FIRST EDITION, THE FIRST PRINTING SHEETS, CONFORMING TO ALL OF GIMBEL'S INTERNAL POINTS FOR THE FIRST PRINTING, with title page and prefatory leaf (A1/A2) from the 3rd edition, as well as leaf K1, with inscription to verso. 'It is not too much to say that the Declaration of Independence of July 4, 1776, was due more to Paine's Common Sense than to any one other single piece of writing' (Grolier). Alongside the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and The Federalist, Common Sense stands as one of the foundational documents of the birth of the United States. 'Paine told Americans what they had been waiting to hear. In a few short pages he summarized the case against the institution of monarchy and presented an argument for American independence that was elegantly yet so simply stated that it could be understood by nearly every American. Common Sense was by far the most influential tract of the American Revolution, and it remains one of the most brilliant pamphlets ever written in the English language.' (A Covenanted People, 27). The most recent census of Common Sense locates just seventeen complete first editions. Only two of these remain in private hands, and neither is likely to appear for sale. A Covenanted People 27; Adams 222a; Church 1135; Evans 14954; Gimbel CS-1 (all first issue points); Grolier American 14; Sabin 58211; Streeter American Beginnings 43. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing