Is My De la démocratie en Amérique (Democracy in America) a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The two halves are identified by opposite rules, and this is where most sets go wrong
• Volumes I–II (Gosselin, Paris, January 1835, about 500 copies): the first printing carries NO edition statement on the title page
• The book sold out at once and the 1835 reprints do carry one ("Deuxième édition," "Troisième édition"), so any edition statement on an 1835 volume rules the copy out
• Volumes III–IV (Gosselin, 1840) reverse this: the first printing of the 1840 volumes carries a FICTITIOUS "deuxième édition" statement — a publisher's device — and that statement does NOT disqualify them
• The 1835 volumes collate 367 and 459 pages with half-titles, and a folding hand-coloured lithographic map of North America, coloured by Bénard, belongs to the first printing
• Howes T-278

How to confirm the first-printing statement

Publishers stated first printings differently by era. The decisive tells are a printed “First Edition/First Printing” statement, a number line whose lowest number is 1 (Random House ends at 2), or a dated first printing with no later printings listed. Paste your copyright page into the number-line decoder.

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Confirm the first-edition statement — look for “First Edition,” “First Printing,” or the publisher’s equivalent wording.
3. Check for a number line or dated printing — the lowest number present is the printing; a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the tell.
4. Verify this is the American true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. Rule out a book-club edition — a blind-stamp on the rear board or a jacket with no printed price marks a book-club copy.
6. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

The dust jacket

For a collectible first edition the dust jacket matters as much as the book. Confirm the jacket is present and unclipped — the printed price should still be at the corner of the flap (a clipped corner or a price-less flap can indicate a book-club issue). First-state jackets can differ from later ones in the cover art, blurbs, or review quotations; where a specific first-state jacket point is known for this title it is noted above.

Binding & format

Where multiple bindings exist, the hardcover trade issue is usually (but not always) the precedence copy — confirm against the points above. Later printings often show cheaper cloth, thinner boards, or simplified spine stamping. A simultaneous signed or limited issue, when one exists, is a distinct state from the trade first.

Is this the true first?

The Paris French text is the true first — the census claim is correct. Henry Reeve's English translation followed quickly and is collected in its own right as the first edition in English: London, Saunders and Otley, 1835 (first part) and 1840 (second part). The first American edition is the Reeve translation with an original preface and notes by John C. Spencer, New York: George Dearborn & Co., 1838 (also found under the Adlard and Saunders imprint), with the second part New York: Langley, 1840; it is a distinct Americana collectible and not the first edition of the work.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The dominant trap is the made-up set. Because volumes III–IV did not appear until 1840, by which time volumes I–II were several printings along, genuine four-volume sets pairing 1835 first-printing volumes I–II with 1840 volumes III–IV are scarce, and many sets sold as "first edition" marry later 1835–1839 printings of I–II to 1840 III–IV. Check every title page individually. Gosselin reprinted three times in 1835, twice in 1836, a sixth edition in 1838 and a seventh in 1839; complete second, third and fourth four-volume editions followed in 1840, 1841 and 1842.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of De la démocratie en Amérique (Democracy in America) a first edition?

A first edition of De la démocratie en Amérique (Democracy in America) by Alexis de Tocqueville (Charles Gosselin, Paris) is identified by: The two halves are identified by opposite rules, and this is where most sets go wrong.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A stated first edition, a number line ending in 1, or a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the key. The Paris French text is the true first — the census claim is correct.

Is the book-club edition the same as the first?

The dominant trap is the made-up set. Because volumes III–IV did not appear until 1840, by which time volumes I–II were several printings along, genuine four-volume sets pairing 1835 first-printing volumes I–II with 1840 volumes III–IV are scarce, and many sets sold as "first edition" marry later 1835–1839 printings of I–II to 1840 III–IV. Check every title page individually. Gosselin reprinted three times in 1835, twice in 1836, a sixth edition in 1838 and a seventh in 1839; complete second, th

I have a first edition of De la démocratie en Amérique (Democracy in America) — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap — an unclipped, priced jacket matters. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and use the free First Edition Checker to decode the printing. To sell, the author’s collecting guide covers the market. And if you are clearing books in the Albuquerque area, the New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies are identified rather than discarded.

Glossary

First edition

Every copy printed from the first setting of type. Collectors usually want the first edition, first printing (the true first).

First printing / impression

A single press run from that setting. The first printing is the earliest and most desirable; later printings are still the first edition but not the true first.

Number line (printer's key)

A row of numbers on the copyright page (e.g. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). The lowest number present is the printing — a line including 1 marks a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2).

Points of issue

Specific physical details — a stated edition, a number line, a typo, a jacket state — that identify the true first printing.

Book-club edition (BCE)

A reprint made for a book club. Tells include a blind-stamped dot or square on the rear board and a dust jacket with no printed price. Not the true first.

First thus

The first appearance of a particular version (first paperback, first illustrated, first U.S. printing) — a first of that kind, not the first edition of the work.