Reflections on the Revolution in France,: and on the Proceedings in Certain Societies in London relative to that event. In a Letter intended to have been sent to a gentleman in Paris.
by BURKE, Edmund
- Used
- first
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
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London, United Kingdom
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About This Item
London: Printed for J. Dodsley,, 1790. The conservative manifesto First edition of a foundational text of conservatism, a reaction to the French Revolution that was influential not just in shaping conservative movements and ideals for the subsequent two centuries, but also in spurring responses of great importance in the history of political and social thought. In the escalating iconoclasm of the French Revolution, Burke perceives an arrogant and dangerous conceit that humans could develop effective social and political systems from scratch. He asserts that "any revolution that did not bring real liberty, which comes from the administration of justice under a settled constitution without bias from the mob, was no liberty... In the eternal debate between the ideal and the practical, the latter never had a more powerful or moving advocate, nor one whose ideals were higher" (PMM). Burke's polemic prompted a spate of responses, themselves often snowballing into new intellectual paths. These included Mary Wollstonecraft's Rights of Man, which laid the groundwork for her Vindication of the Rights of Women, alongside Thomas Paine's Rights of Man, in turn prompting William Godwin's Political Justice, which inspired Thomas Malthus to write his Essay on the Principle of Population. The popularity of Burke's Reflections is attested to by the rapidity new editions were published - several editions were printed in the last two months of 1790 alone, each with a substantial print-run. The first edition is superficially similar to two reprints before the stated "second edition", but the true first can be readily identified by the presence of cancelled leaves. Bound at the front are two leaves of early transcript (watermarked 1804) from Richard Cumberland's Memoirs, including an approbation by Cumberland on the tract, and a letter from Burke to Cumberland sent 13 November 1790 (transcribed from Memoirs, volume one, 1806, pp. 339-40). Octavo (212 x 129 mm). Recent half calf to style, twin black morocco labels, marbled sides. With requisite cancels; title in duplicate setting B (no priority), terminal gatherings with flower pointing up, press figure * (four possible combinations, no priority). Light foxing. A very good copy. Printing and the Mind of Man 239; Todd 53a.
Synopsis
Reprint. Originally published: 1999. Includes bibliographical references (p. [xxi]-xxii) and index.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Peter Harrington (GB)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 172735
- Title
- Reflections on the Revolution in France,
- Author
- BURKE, Edmund
- Book Condition
- Used
- Place of Publication
- London: Printed for J. Dodsley,
- Date Published
- 1790
Terms of Sale
Peter Harrington
All major credit cards are accepted. Both UK pounds and US dollars (exchange rate to be agreed) accepted. Books may be returned within 14 days of receipt for any reason, please notify first of returned goods.
About the Seller
Peter Harrington
Biblio member since 2006
London
About Peter Harrington
Since its establishment, Peter Harrington has specialised in sourcing, selling and buying the finest quality original first editions, signed, rare and antiquarian books, fine bindings and library sets. Peter Harrington first began selling rare books from the Chelsea Antiques Market on London's King's Road. For the past twenty years the business has been run by Pom Harrington, Peter's son.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Morocco
- Morocco is a style of leather book binding that is usually made with goatskin, as it is durable and easy to dye. (see also...
- Gatherings
- A term used in bookbinding, where a gathering of sheets is folded at the middle, then bound into the binding together. The...
- Calf
- Calf or calf hide is a common form of leather binding. Calf binding is naturally a light brown but there are ways to treat the...
- New
- A new book is a book previously not circulated to a buyer. Although a new book is typically free of any faults or defects, "new"...
- Octavo
- Another of the terms referring to page or book size, octavo refers to a standard printer's sheet folded four times, producing...
- Leaves
- Very generally, "leaves" refers to the pages of a book, as in the common phrase, "loose-leaf pages." A leaf is a single sheet...