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

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

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

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Alexis de Tocqueville |
| Publisher | Charles Gosselin |
| Year | 1835 |
| True first | American edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | True first (French): Paris, Charles Gosselin, 1835 — Part One in 2 volumes, octavo, collating [4], xxiv, 367 pp. and [4], 459 pp., with… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## 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; En Français dans le texte 253. First English: Henry Reeve's translation, London, Saunders and Otley — Part One 1835, Part Two 1840. First American: New York, 1838, Reeve's translation with an original preface and notes by John C. Spencer, appearing under the Adlard and Saunders imprint and also with the George Dearborn & Co. imprint, and styled 'First American Edition'. Note: consulted sources conflict on the exact title-page edition wording of the 1840 French volumes, so no claim about that wording is made here.

## 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.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Democracy in America (De la démocratie en Amérique)* by Alexis de Tocqueville a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/democracy-in-america-de-la-d-mocratie-en-am-rique
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.