# Is "De la démocratie en Amérique (Democracy in America)" by Alexis de Tocqueville a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of De la démocratie en Amérique (Democracy in America) by Alexis de Tocqueville (Charles Gosselin, Paris, 1835) is identified by: The two halves are identified by opposite rules, and this is where most sets go wrong. The Paris French text is the true first — the census claim is correct.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- 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
- Publisher imprint reads Charles Gosselin, Paris

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Alexis de Tocqueville |
| Publisher | Charles Gosselin, Paris |
| Year | 1835 |
| True first | American edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The two halves are identified by opposite rules, and this is where most sets go wrong |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## 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; Sabin 96060; Clark III:111.

## 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.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *De la démocratie en Amérique (Democracy in America)* by Alexis de Tocqueville a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/de-la-d-mocratie-en-am-rique-democracy-in-america
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.