SUPPLEMENT FOR THE YEAR 1791 for Gentleman's Magazine, England. Within this supplement issue, which was published at the end of the year, is a notable document titled: "The French Constitution, Established Aug. 4, 1791" which takes up nearly ten pages.
This was the first written constitution of France created after the collapse of the monarchy. One of the basic precepts of the revolution was establishing popular sovereignty. It would be effective for only one year.
Present are two full page plates as seen in the photos.
Complete in 72 pages, a banner heading at the top of the first page with the title, 5 by 8 1/4 inches, very nice condition.

Background: The publication of the French Constitution of 1791 within the British Gentleman’s Magazine captures a pivotal, fleeting moment when the Atlantic world watched France attempt a bloodless transition from absolute tyranny to an enlightened constitutional monarchy. By codifying popular sovereignty and stripping the Bourbon monarchy of its divine right, this document fundamentally redefined the relationship between citizen and state, legally abolishing the centuries-old feudal system and establishing a representative legislative assembly. However, its historical significance is equally defined by its tragic frailty; by the time British readers were analyzing its text at the end of 1791, the structural compromises of the constitution—namely retaining Louis XVI as a neutered executive after his treasonous flight to Varennes—were already fracturing. The document survived only a single year before collapsing under the weight of foreign war and radical internal radicalization, paving the way for the overthrow of the monarchy, the Reign of Terror, and a global ideological conflict. Consequently, this specific printing serves as a contemporary monument to the Revolution's idealistic moderate phase, freezing in time the exact moment European intellectuals genuinely believed absolute autocracy could be dismantled through the peaceful rule of law.