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

The points of issue

• True first (French): Paris, Charles Gosselin, 1835 — Part One in 2 volumes, octavo, collating [4], xxiv, 367 pp. and [4], 459 pp., with half-titles present in both volumes and, critically, one folding hand-coloured lithographic map; a set lacking the map is defective
• Part Two followed from Gosselin in April 1840 in 2 further volumes (volumes 3 and 4 of the complete work)
• Bibliographic references: Howes T-278/279
• Sabin 96060-61
• Clark III:111
• Clouzot 264

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. 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.
3. Verify this is the American true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
4. 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.
5. 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?

Census claim confirmed. The Gosselin French text is the true first and the original-language edition. Three editions are separately collected: the 1835/1840 Gosselin French original; the Reeve translation from Saunders and Otley, London (1835/1840), which is the first edition in English; and the 1838 New York printing, which is the first American edition and adds Spencer's preface and notes — matter not in either European edition.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The dominant trap is the made-up set rather than a book club. Part One sold so well that Gosselin reissued it repeatedly — it had reached its third edition within the year and its eighth edition by the time Part Two appeared in April 1840. Four-volume sets in uniform contemporary binding that are first edition throughout are consequently rare, and sets are routinely assembled by pairing genuine 1840 Part Two volumes with later-numbered reprints of the 1835 Part One. Check the edition statement on every volume independently, and confirm the folding hand-coloured map is present in the 1835 volume.

Frequently asked questions

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

A first edition of Democracy in America (De la démocratie en Amérique) by Alexis de Tocqueville (Charles Gosselin) is identified by: True first (French): Paris, Charles Gosselin, 1835 — Part One in 2 volumes, octavo, collating [4], xxiv, 367 pp.

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. Census claim confirmed.

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

The dominant trap is the made-up set rather than a book club. Part One sold so well that Gosselin reissued it repeatedly — it had reached its third edition within the year and its eighth edition by the time Part Two appeared in April 1840. Four-volume sets in uniform contemporary binding that are first edition throughout are consequently rare, and sets are routinely assembled by pairing genuine 1840 Part Two volumes with later-numbered reprints of the 1835 Part One. Check the edition statement o

I have a first edition of Democracy in America (De la démocratie en Amérique) — 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.