Lot n° 253
Estimation :
500 - 600
EUR
BEAUMONT (Gustave de) and Alexis TOCQUEVILLE. Du système pén - Lot 253
BEAUMONT (Gustave de) and Alexis TOCQUEVILLE. Du système pénitentiaire aux Etats-Unis, et de son application en France. Paris, H. Fournier, 1833. In-8, marbled calf, fillet, spine decorated in gold and cold (English binding of the period).
First edition of Tocqueville's first book, written in close collaboration with his best friend Gustave de Beaumont. It contains the account of their meticulous investigation in the United States, on behalf of the Ministry of the Interior, to shed light on the ever pressing question of introducing the penitentiary system in France.
It provided considerable inspiration for the development of the cell system, which became the obligatory model for the new French prisons, even if their prohibitive cost led more to the construction of communal cells than to the recommended isolation, which completely distorted their system.
5 hors-texte plates, lithographed by Delaunois, representing plans of prisons in New York, Philadelphia and elsewhere.
Spine rebound in imitation. Some foxing.
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