Le Capital [...] Traduction de M. J. Roy, entièrement revisée par l'auteur

Folio (mm. 276x192). Pp. 351, [1] comprising: the half-title page adorned with an allegorical vignette and the indication “1re Livraison, Prix de la Livraison: dix centimes”; the title page featuring a vignette depicting the Pantheon on the recto and the mark of Typographie Lahurf on the verso; a full-page portrait of Marx with his signature beneath; a facsimile of a letter sent by Marx to the publisher Maurice Lachâtre (with a reply on the verso: “Au citoyen Karl Marx”); the Préface de la première édition dated 25 July 1875 (p. [9]); the Avis au lecteur dated London, 28 April 1875 (p. 348); the Extraits de la postface de la seconde édition allemande (pp. 348-351); the errata (p. 351); and finally the index of subjects on the last page. The work is embellished with engraved headpieces and tailpieces. The text is printed in two columns starting from p. [13]. Modern half morocco binding with the title in gilt on the spine, while the boards are crafted from transparent plexiglass panels, allowing the original publisher's wrappers to remain visible. There is some minor foxing, yet it remains an excellent copy.

This is the first edition, first issue, of the inaugural French translation of the first volume of Das Kapital. The translation by M.J. Roy is based on the manuscript of the second German edition. Marx had revised the original text and dispatched a copy of the revised manuscript to the Parisian socialist publisher Maurice Lachâtre, a friend of Proudhon, even prior to the publication of the Hamburg edition in June 1872. Marx regarded this French translation as an original work, “which possesses an independent scientific value from the original and should be consulted even by readers familiar with the German language” (see the Avis au lecteur, p. 348).

As with the Russian edition, Marx was directly involved in the printing operations and commended the publisher's decision to distribute the book initially in parts. The edition was indeed released in fascicles between August 1872 and May 1875. The work was subsequently reprinted between 1878 and 1880 by Librairie du Progrès with the preliminary pages recomposed.

From Marx's correspondence, it is evident that the French government was apprehensive about the book's publication and sought to prevent it. Despite this, the publication proceeded, though its sale was temporarily prohibited, and Lachâtre initially hesitated to offer the copies for sale. In the second issue, which appeared under the name of Librairie du Progrès, the preliminary pages, including Lachâtre's dedication to Marx, were altered or omitted.