Some of the Causes of Communism by AVERAGE CITIZEN" [pseud. Francis B. Thurber?] - 1879

New York, 1879. First Edition. Paperback. Definition of communism as simply the "well grounded [sic] dissatisfaction of the 'Average Citizen,'" issued seven years after "The Communist Manifesto" first appeared in the United States, serialized in "Woodhull and Claflin's Weekly," though still several years before the Manifesto would appear in a separate American edition (1883). Pamphlet attributed to one Francis B. Thurber, an oil wholesaler, and the majority of his text is a virulent critique of Standard Oil. (For more information see Roger M. and Diana Davids Olien, "Oil and Ideology" (2000), p. 65.) OCLC locates four physical copies as of January, 2019, at New York Historical, Syracuse, LC, and Indiana U. 16mo (14cm.); self-wrappers backed in later white linen; 26pp. Ex-Astor Library with their contemporary rubberstamps to upper cover; wrappers soiled, a few small losses throughout text expertly repaired though with some loss of meaning. Good only.