The Theological Works of Thomas Paine by Paine, Thomas - 1824

London: R. Carlile, 1824. Leather_bound. near fine. Dark brown three-quarter leather over marbled-paper covered boards, raised spine hubs, spine lined and lettered in gilt. Engraved first title page and with frontispiece engraved portrait of Paine. xxvii+400 pp. Introduction by the editor with comments on Paine's theological views by a number of prominent individuals (soem living at the time, other not) such as Benjamin Franklin, Jefferson, Bonaparte, William Pitt, etc. Contains "The Age of Reason" complete in three parts (a slightly earlier printing of which resulted in publisher Richard Carlile's being assessed a three year prison sentence and a 1500 pounds sterling fine), "A Letter to the Hon. T. Erskine on the Prosecution of Thomas Williams for Publishing The Age of Reason", "A Discourse Delivered to the Society of Theophilanthropists at Paris", "A Letter to Camille Jordan", "An Examination of the Passages of the New Testament...", "The Origin of Free Masonry', "Letter to Samuel Adams" and other pieces. A tight, handsome example, some foxing to the portrait and engraved title page, scattered foxing elsewhere and with a few scattered pages with narrow chips at the margins not affecting the text. 19th century bookplate front pastedown. Early editions of Paine's theological works are exceedingly scarce as they were, for all intent, surpressed. They would not appear in the United States until the late 1830s.