8vo (191 x 108 mm). (Light marginal soiling and spotting to title.) Contemporary (original?) wrappers (upper cover detached, extremes chipped).

Early edition. First printed in London by Joseph Johnson in March 1791, the publication was quickly taken over by J.S. Jordan, who published his own revised edition later that same year. Part two was published a year later, in February 1792. Paine's defense of the French Revolution and republicanism in general was very controversial, and led to the text's censorship by the Pitt government, as well as Paine's indictment for treason. Tried in absentia, he was found guilty of seditious libel and was forced to flee to France. Despite the British government's permanent suppression of the text, Paine's work still reached a wide audience, going through numerous editions and translations.