Histoire du Communisme ou Réfutation Historique des Utopies Socialistes
Paris: Victor Lecou, 1849. Later printing.
12mo (7 1/8 x 4 1/2 inches; 182 x 115 mm), [4], iv, 500 pages, in original morocco spine, titles in gilt, over marbled boards.
A vigorous defense of private property and opposition to "communism," appearing in the immediate aftermath of the 1848 revolutions in Europe. The first edition appeared in 1848; our copy was published the following year.
This is the first history of socialism (or communism) in any language, according to George Watson's "The Lost Literature of Socialism."
Alfred Sudre (1820-1902) maintained that private property -- far from oppressing the poor -- was the best defense the poor had against oppression. Text in French.
CONDITION: Some rubbing to boards and foxing to page edges. Very Good or better. Item #588
Price: $200.00