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[Linton, William J]; Rickman, Thomas Clio & Paine, Thomas.
The Life of Paine [with] The Life of Thomas Paine [and] The Working Man's Political Companion Volume I [comprising The Rights of Man, Common Sense, Dissertation on First Principles of Government, Agrarian Justice and Decline and Fall of the English System of Finance] [and] Volume II [comprising The American Crisis, Letter to the Abbe Raynal on the American Revolution, Letters to the Citizens of the United States of America and Public Good] [and] The Theological Works [comprising The Age of Reason in four parts and also The Age of Reason containing a Letter to the Honourable Thomas Erskine, A Discourse Delivered to the Society of Theophilanthropists at Paris, Letter to Camille Jordan, A Essay on the Origin of Freemasonry and Extract of a Letter to the Bishop of Llandaff.
Publisher: J, Watson & D. Cousins, Finsbury & London;
Date of Publication: 1841
Stock Code: 9669
The collected works: the first two being biographies of Paine and the others the principle works by Paine himself, with the numerous parts separately paginated. All but Clio Rickman’s “Life” were published by J Watson. Small octavo, pp. Linton 54; Rickman 82; Paine [2], 76; [2], 160, 48, 16, 16, 22; [2], 145, [1], 54, 35, [1], 28; [4], 44, [2], 80, 52, 58. Portrait roundel to title page of “Life” with facsimile signature beneath and engraved portrait frontispiece to Clio Rickman, both after Romney’s portrait of Paine. Later quarter calf with gilt titles and ruling to spine and maroon cloth-covered boards with marbled endpapers. All edges sprinkled red. Joints cracked, lower hinge cracked with board attached by cords only; spine worn at tips; additional leaf tidily tipped-in to fore with sepia photographic postcard of Paine’s house at Lewes pasted to face title page, and with ownership inscription to recto below a Polish postage stamp with inscription in the same hand: “Polish Republican Stamp including Paine”. Scattered foxing mainly to endpapers; archival tape repair to reverse of frontispiece (4 cm approx). A Good copy. Thomas Paine (1737-1809) wrote two of the most influential pamphlets in circulation at the start of the American Revolution: “Common Sense” and “The American Crisis”, His utopian vision of civic republicanism, liberty and a free market chimed with the politics of his times, with far-reaching visions of a benevolent state. The publisher James Watson (1799-1874) was an important figure in the production of radical literature and the first works he produced himself were those of Paine. He joined a group in Leeds who discussed politics and published Richard Carlile’s “Republican” newspaper, before moving to London to act as Carlile’s shop keeper. Watson became involved with other publishers in the struggle against stamp duty on newspapers and pamphlets, and with the Chartist movement and campaigns for a free press and for trade unions. He endured spells in prison for blasphemy and for printing seditious literature, but eventually set up his own successful publishing business in Finsbury producing works by Byron and Shelley as well as radicals like Paine, and from 1832 “The Working Man’s Friend” newspaper. A comprehensive anthology of Paine’s works. £300.00