Title Page and Publication History
The title page of Tuft's 1791 copy of Thomas Paine's Rights of Man. In addition to the title itself, the title page specified that this is the 7th edition of Paine's book. This is followed by Paine's accomplishments, including his prominent role in the American Revolution and other works of his. Next, the publishing city, publisher and publishing address are listed. Finally, the publication year is listed in Roman numerals, which was common. There is some slight browning of the title page.
J.S. Jordan was the first publisher of Paine’s Rights of Man, but not the main publisher, making the copy in Tisch an infamous Jordan published copy. Jordan’s copies are infamous because originally Paine’s book was to be printed by the famous British publisher Joseph Johnson; however, Johnson backed out of publishing Paine’s Rights of Man because the book contained topics considered controversial and threatening by the British royalty at that time. The work was then published by the lesser known Jeremiah Samuel Jordan who ignored the potential punishment and was subsequently arrested for publishing the book After Jordan’s arrest, Johnson published many copies. It was unlikely Johnson would be arrested since the book had gained notoriety and the British royalty had changed their stance on the book by the time to appease the public.