Paine's Rights of Man, Swedenborgianism and freedom of the press in Sweden: a publishing enigma of 1792

摘要

A copy of the earliest Swedish translation of Thomas Paine's Rights of Man, recentlyacquired by the British Library, illustrates the old tag that 'books have their fates'. Theitem is a slim octavo volume in plain grey board covers entitled Menniskans rattigheterand bearing the imprint Stockholm, tryckte hos Controlleuren C. G. Cronland, den 11 Julii1792. The text is an abridged version of part one of Paine's best-seller, firstpublished in London in February 1791. The translator-adapter was the Finnish-bornSwedenborgian publicist Carl Fredrik Nordenskiold (1756-1828).