41. [Chitty, Edward]. Jones, William Frank and Henry Edward Hirst. Chitty’s Index to All the Reported Cases Decided in the Several Courts of Equity in England.... Boston: Soule and Bugbee and London: Stevens et al., 1883-1889. Nine volumes. Cloth. Ex-library. Spines darkened, some browning, several leaves detached. $300.
* Fourth edition. HLC I:378.

42. Cobb, Thomas R.R. An Inquiry into the Law of Negro Slavery in the United States of America. To Which is Prefixed, An Historical Sketch of Slavery. Vol. I [no more published]. Philadelphia: T. & J. W. Johnson & Co. and Savannah: W. Thorne Williams, 1858. ccxxviii, 358; Publisher’s Catalogue 18 pp. Contemporary law calf with red gilt stamped lettering piece. Rubbed and scuffed, front joint cracked but secure. Bookplate on front pastedown. A very nice copy of an important uncommon book. $850.
* First edition. In the introduction of scholarly reprint [University of Georgia Press, 1999], Paul Finkelman describes this work as “the most comprehensive antebellum statement of the law of slavery and the only treatise on slavery written by a southerner.” The author was the brother of Howell Cobb. Upon Lincoln’s election he became a secessionist. Includes a table of cases on slavery and discusses legal issues concerning the domicile of slaves, fugitive status of slaves, effects of manumission, and slave crimes. Contains a significant summary of pro-slavery theory which argues that slavery is an entitlement based on natural law. Howes C 513. Sabin 13860, 13861. Cohen. Bibliography of Early American Law 9826.

43. [Codex Juris Bavarici...]. Codex Juris Bavarici Criminalis de anno M.DCC.L.I. [Mchn., Votter, 7. Okt. 1751.] 4 leaves, 139 pp. [together with] Ammerckungen Uber den Codicem juris Bavarici criminalis...Von einem Unbenannten Authore. Mchn, Votter. 1752. Two volumes. 165 pp., 8 leaves. Folio. Contemp. vellum, chips to exterior. Loose section to spine of second volume. Tipped in notes in fine hand at back. Decorative head and tail pieces. $1,000.
* Stintzing, Geschichte der deutschen Rechtswissenschaft/L. III, 223 u. 225; Stobbe II, 444. Bavarian Criminal Code of 1751-52.

44. Coke, Edward. The First Part of the Institutes of the Laws of England. Or, A Commentary Upon Littleton... London: Printed by William Rawlins and Samuel Roycroft for Charles Harper and J. Walthoe, 1703. Folio. [10], 88pp, 395 fol., [62]pp. Modern quarter calf over marbled boards, raised bands, leather labels. Some foxing, wormhole (not affecting text). A very good, sound copy in an attractive new binding. $800.
* Tenth edition. Containing Coke’s Copyholder, and references by an eminent lawyer that were added to this edition. Marvin 204.

45. Coke, Sir Edward [1552-1634]. The First Part of the Institutes of the Laws of England or, A Commentary upon Littleton. With the Addition of Notes and References by Francis Hargrave. With the Preface and Index to the Notes by Charles Butler... London: Printed by T. Wright for E. Brooke, 1788. Folio. Folding chart. [22], xx pp. 395 fol., [66] pp. Modern tan buckram, red and black labels. Ex-library. Foxing, some dampstaining. Binding soiled. A solid copy. $650.
* Thirteenth edition, first critical edition with numerous corrections and additions begun by Francis Hargrave and completed by Charles Butler. “If Bracton first began the codification of the common law, it was Coke who completed it.... In the Institutes,... the tradition of the common law from Bracton to Littleton, whose name Coke’s commentary made famous, firmly established itself as the basis of the constitution of the Realm.” Printing and the Mind of Man 126. Cokes Institutes are considered the first textbooks on the modern common law. This first institute, known as Coke on Littleton, contains Littleton’s Tenures with an elaborate commentary. It is virtually a legal encyclopedia. S&M I:450(7). Marvin 204. HLC I:411-412.

First Edition of Coke’s Fourth Part of the Institutes - Jurisdiction of the Courts

46. Coke, Edward. The Fourth Part of the Institutes of the Lawes of England; Concerning the Jurisdiction of Courts. London: M. Flesher for W.Lee and D. Parkman, 1644. Folio. [12], 364, [2]pp. Elaborate decorative woodcut title page, engraved portrait, early calf, attractively rebacked. $1,750.
* Rare first edition. Provides authority and jurisdictions of the Court of Star-Chamber, Kings Court, Chancery, Common Pleas, Ecclesiastical Courts, Courts of Exchequer, Augmentations, Admiralty, the Justices Assise, Courts of the Forests, Courts in Universities of Cambridge and Oxford, Court of the Commissioners upon the Statute of Bankrupts among others. HLC I:414. S & M 1:258. Wing C4929.

47. [Coke, Edward, Sir]. A Perfect Abridgement of the Eleaven Bookes of the Reports of the Reverend and Learned Kt. Sr. Edw. Cook (sic), Sometimes Chiefe Justice of the Upper Bench...Originally written in French by Sir John Davis...Whereunto is annexed two perfect tables. London: Printed by I.G. for W. Lee, D. Pakeman, and G. Bedell, 1651. 12mo. (3 x 5.5 in.) [16], 292, [11] pp. Contemporary full vellum, worn and soiled. Joints cracked. Title page with ornamental border, cropped at outer edge with no loss of text. $500.
* “These are not reports in the modern sense. Frequently they are collections of precedents grouped round a case so as to form a complete compendium of the authorities on the point for decision. Coke was not the earliest reporter, but by far the best of his day, so much that while he was issuing his Reports others ceased to publish. Such was the reputation of these Reports that they were cited as The Reports; there was no need to add the author’s name, as in the case of all other series.” Birkenhead 45-47.

48. Coke, Sir Edward [1552-1634]. Quinta Pars Relationum...The Fifth Part of the Reports.... London: [A. Islip] for the Company of Stationers, 1624. Quarto. Woodcut heading on title, numerous woodcut ornaments and initials throughout. [8], 41, 127 fol. Later calf. Some rubbing, leather loose at outer margin of front cover, some dampstaining. Numerous marginal annotations. A nice copy. $500.
* Fifth edition. STC 5508. S&M I:295(31). Wallace 165-196. Marvin 209-211.

49. Coke, Sir Edward. The Second Part of the Institutes of the Laws of England; Containing the Exposition of Many Ancient and Other Statutes. London: Printed for W. Clarke and Sons, 1817. Two volumes. Star-paged. [18], 388; [4], 389-746, [49] pp. Early red quarter-morocco, raised bands, gilt. Marbled edges and endpapers. Ex-library bookplates on first endpapers, rubber stamps on title pages. Spines quite rubbed, some wear to extremities, but a nice set. $500.
* Later edition. “[Coke’s] Commentary upon the Magna Charta, and particularly on the celebrated 29th Chapter, is deeply interesting to the lawyers of the present age, as well from the value and dignity of the text, as the spirit of justice and of civil liberty which pervades and animates the work.” Marvin 208. S&M I:546(4). HLC I:414.

50. Colquhoun, P[atrick] [1745-1820]. A Treatise on the Commerce and Police of the River Thames: Containing an Historical View of the Trade of the Port of London; And Suggesting Means for Preventing the Depredations Thereon, by a Legislative System of River Police...and a General View of the Penal and Remedial Statutes Connected with the Subject. London: Printed for Joseph Mawman, 1800. Octavo. Folding map of the Thames River, two folding tables. [4], xxxiv, 593, 609-676, [20] pp. Later quarter-calf over marbled boards. Rubbed, extremities worn. Light foxing. A sound copy. $750.
* First edition. Colquhoun was a metropolitan police magistrate whose “theories of the origins of crime, published in 1795, as A Treatise on the Police of the Metropolis soon became the basis for reform within the English police force, making it a forerunner of the centralized police system that exists today.” (Encycl. of World Crime I:759). It was this work which led to his being asked to frame a plan for the prevention of depredation of the property of certain West India merchants. He undertook this task with the cooperation of the government, for the loss of revenue to waterfront hoodlums rendered this a matter of some importance to the Crown. As a result of this study he wrote his Treatise on the Commerce and Police of the River Thames. HLC I:428. Marvin 215. Kress B.4102.

51. Colquhoun, P[atrick]. A Treatise on the Police of the Metropolis; Containing a Detail of the Various Crimes and Misdemeanors by Which Public and Private Property and Security Are, at Present, Injured and Endangered: and Suggesting Remedies for Their Prevention. London: Printed by H. Fry, Finsbury-Place, for C. Dilly, Poultry, 1797. 8vo. xxix, [6], 444, xxviii pp. Original tree calf, raised bands, gilt and blind-stamped borders and decorations. Marbled endpapers. Bookplate. Head and tail of spine chipped, extremities worn. Joints partly cracked but secure. Still an attractive copy. $500.
* Fifth edition, revised and enlarged. Originally published in 1796. Colquhoun’s work has been credited as “the first to point out the necessity and practicability of a system of preventive police upon an uniform and consistent plan.” Marke 710.

52. Comyn, Samuel. The Law of Contracts and Promises upon Various Subjects and with Various Persons As Settled in the Action of Assumpsit. In Three Parts. New-York: Collins and Hannay, 1826. 8vo. xvi, [17]-596 pp. Contemporary sheep, spine label missing. Rubbed, head of spine chipped. Embrowned, otherwise a good copy. $350.
* First American, from the second London edition, with considerable alterations and additions, and with references to American decisions. Long considered the best English treatise on contracts. Marvin 217. HLC I:439 (citing different ed.).

53. [Conductor Generalis]. Conductor Generalis, or The Office, Duty and Authority of Justices of the Peace, High Sheriffs, Under-Sheriffs, Goalers, Coroners, Constables, Jury Men, Over-seers of the Poor, and also The Office of Clerks of Assiza And of the Peace &c. Collected out of all the Books hitherto written on those Subjects, whether of Common or Statute Law. To which is added, A Collection out of Sir Matthew Hales concerning The Descent of Lands. The Whole Alphabetically Digested Under the Several Titles, With a Table Directing to the Ready finding out Proper Matter under those Titles. Philadelphia: Printed and Sold by Andrew Bradford, 1722. Square octavo. [8], xii, 299pp. There is a second title-page at p. 233: The Office, Duty and Authority of Sheriffs.... Philadelphia: Andrew Bradford, MDCCXXI. Contemporary calf. Binding worn, rubbed. Some dampstaining, title-page chipped at edges, renewed front flyleaf. Preserved in attractive clamshell box. $2,500.
* Second edition. The office of justice of the peace was an English institution transplanted to the American colonies. Soon after the arrival of the institution, it became apparent that some sort of vade mecum or manual outlining the essentials of the job would be useful to those officials who needed the help these quick reference manuals could provide. First published in 1711, the Conductor Generalis was the first of these manuals not imported from England. It was not, however, until 1736 (in Webb’s The Office and Authority of a Justice of the Peace) that any of the justice of the peace manuals included local colonial laws along with English laws. Present copy includes A Guide to Coroners, The Course of Descents of Lands or Estates, and Of Tryals by a Jury. Sabin 15215. Evans 2327. James. A List of Treatises Printed in The British Colonies... before 1801, 7. Parrish 129.

54. [Connecticut]. Acts and Laws of His Majesty’s English Colony of Connecticut in New England in America. New-London: Timothy Green, 1750. [bound with] Acts and Laws Passed by the General Court, or Assembly of His Majesty’s English Colony of Connecticut in New England in America: Begun, and Held at Hartford, on the Second Thursday of May, in the Twenty Sixth Year of the Reign of Our Sovereign Lord George the Second, of Great Britain, &c. King. Annoque Domini 1753. New-London: Timothy Green, 1753. Folio. [2], 3-8,[2], 271 pp. Title page tear approx. 1/2" by 6-1/4" with loss to outer margin and edge of border, no loss to text. Early owner’s sig. on title page upper margin. First six leaves detached, dog-eared, stained, some repaired, lacking following t.p. to Acts. Original contemporary calf, raised bands. Covers worn. Early owner’s signature “Orchard Guy, I, [sic] Going to Study Law March 3, 1774 Notes by my Hand” on rear flyleaf. Spotting throughout, foxing on a few pages, but many quite crisp. $1,200.
* First edition. Collection of Connecticut colonial acts and laws on many subjects, including the well-ordering of and governing of Indians, highways and roads, Indian, Molatto and Negro servants and slaves, justices of the peace, schools, adultery, divorce, maritime affairs, formation and regulation of the militia, taxes, land division, wills, estates, etc. Many are fascinating and entertaining, such as “An Act for Restraining, Correcting, Suppressing, and Punishing Rogues, Vagabonds, Common Beggars and other Lewd, Idle, dissolute, Profane, and Disorderly Persons, and for setting them to Work.” HLC I: 443. Benedict 14. Tower 60-64. Sabin 15634.

55. [Connecticut]. Acts and Laws of the State of Connecticut, in America. Hartford: Printed by Hudson and Goodwin, 1796. Contemporary calf with red leather spine label. Binding rubbed and faded. Hinges cracked but secure. Taped binding repair to pp. 441-end. Foxed. $500.
* Alphabetical arrangement bound with seven session acts. Contains The Charter of the Antient Colony of Connecticut, The Declaration of Independence, The Constitution of the United States as adopted by the twelve states.

56. Convention Nationale. Recueil des Pieces Justificatives de l’Acte Enonciatif des Crimes de Louis Capet, Reunies par la Commission des Vingt-un. [Paris?]: Imprime par ordre de la Convention Nationale, [1792?]. 171 pp. Early quarter-vellum over decorated boards. Marbled endpapers. Some rubbing, otherwise very good. $500.
* Scarce. A collection of fifty-one documents relating to the Committee of Twenty-One’s indictment against Louis XVI. The king was unamimously found guilty at his trial and beheaded on January 21, 1793. Only six copies were located in OCLC.

57. Cooley, Thomas M. The General Principles of Constitutional Law in the United States of America. Third edition. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1898. li, 423, 12 pp. Full contemporary calf, hinges expertly repaired. Spine quite chipped.Leather lettering piece chipped with minor loss, gilt. Covers a bit rubbed and chipped. Text crisp and clean. Portrait of Cooley pasted on front paste-down endpaper. $200.
* Third edition of the leading textbook of its time on the subject of constitutional law. In this work Cooley “presents briefly yet comprehensively the general principles of constitutional law as developed under the American system both national and state.” Marke 396. HLC I:459.

58. Cooley, Thomas M. A Treatise on the Constitutional Limitations Which Rest Upon the Legislative Power of the States of the American Union. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1874. lxii, 827 pp. Original full tan calf with gilt stamped black and red lettering pieces. Rubbed and scuffed. An extremely well preserved copy. $450.
* Third edition. Rogers pronounces “...the real source of his [Cooley’s] fame. This book originated from the need of introducing a course on Constitutional Law in the school... The text was developed as a basis for lectures... His discussion attained immediate fame and his views and suggestions practically dominated American Constitutional Law... Like Blackstone, Pomeroy and many other legal works, the influence of Constitutional Limitations rests partly upon literary qualities, upon clarity and grace of unaffected statement.” Rogers, James G., American Bar Leaders 70. Referring also to Cooley’s General Principles of Constitutional Law in the United States (1880), Walker declares that these, “...are classics, and he ranks with Story among the foremost commentators on the Constitution.” Walker 288. Marke 396.

59. [Corn Laws]. George Hope, Arthur Morse, and W.R. Greg. The Three Prize Essays on Agriculture and the Corn Law. [Each entitled: Agriculture and the Corn Law. Showing the Injurious Effects of the Corn Law upon Tenant Farmers and Farm Laborers]. Manchester: J. Gadsby, 1842. 16, 16, 18 pp. [Bound with] W. Noel. Corn Laws. Selections from A Plea for the Poor. Manchester: Robert Wood, [n.d.]. 8 pp. [Bound with] An Address to Farmers, on the Way in Which Their Families Are To Be Provided for. Manchester: J. Gadsby, [n.d.] 4 pp. [Bound with] Facts for Farmers. Manchester: W. Irwin, [n.d.]. 4 pp. [Bound with] Authorities against the Corn Laws. Manchester: Advertiser Officer, [n.d.]. 4 pp. [Bound with] Corn Laws. Selections from Mrs. Loudon’s Philanthropic Economy. Manchester: Simpson & Gillett, [n.d.]. 4 pp. [Bound with] Corn Laws. Extracts from the Works of Col. T. Perronet Thompson, Author of the “Catechism on the Corn Laws.” Manchester: J. Gadsby, [n.d.]. 16 pp. [Bound with] Dialogue on the Corn Laws, between a Gentleman and a Farmer. Manchester: J. Gadsby, [n.d.]. [Bound with] Corn Laws. the Evidence of James Deacon Hume, Esq. Late Secretary to the Board of Trade, upon the Corn Law, before the Committee on the House of Commons on the Import Duties in 1839. Manchester: A. Burgess, [n.d.]. [Bound with] John Gladstone. Plain Facts Connected with the Intended Repeal of the Corn Laws, Its Probable Effects on the Public Revenue and the Prosperity of This Country. Addressed to All Classes in the United Kingdom and Her Colonies. London: John Murray, 1846. 31 pp. [Bound with] [Robert Peel and James Graham]. Opinions of Sir Robert Peel and Sir James Graham on the Corn-Laws in 1839. Brighton: Creasy and Baker, [n.d.]. [Bound with] [J. Emerson Tennent. Ruin to Ireland. The Speech of J. Emerson Tennent, Esq. on the Corn Laws. March 14, 1839. London: John Ollivier, 1841. 16 pp. 8vo. Modern quarter-calf over cloth. Some foxing, edges of first several leaves slightly chipped. $650.
* All except the last three pamphlets were issued by the National Anti-Corn-Law League. These tracts concern the repeal of the Corn Laws, which generally forbade export when prices were high and provided a bounty when prices were low. Sir Robert Peel, who was convinced by the arguments of Cobden and the Anti-Corn-Law League, and galvanized by the failure of the potato crop in Ireland, effectively ended the Corn Laws in 1846. Duties on corn and wheat were reduced to nominal amounts, and abolished altogether in 1869. The earliest law to regulate the corn supply was a statute by Henry VI in 1436.

60. Cowell, John [1554-1611]. A Law Dictionary: or the Interpreter of Words and Terms, Used Either in the Common or Statute Laws of Great Britain, and In Tenures and Jocular Customs...this Edition very much Augmented and Improved, by the Addition of many Thousand Words, found in our Histories, Antiquities, Cartularies, Rolls, Registers, and other Manuscript Records. With An Appendix, Containing Two Tables; one of the antient [sic][ Names of Places ib Great Britain, and the other of the antient Surnames... [London] In the Savoy: Printed by E. and R.Nutt and R.Gosling for I. Waithoe, B. Lintot [and others], 1727. Quarto. 244 fol. Modern quarter calf in antique style over cloth boards. Raised bands. Gilt-stamped leather lettering-piece second compartment, blind-stamped embellishments in remaining compartments. A very attractive copy. $850.
* Eighth and final edition. Cowell’s dictionary was first published in 1607. The first edition was suppressed because of the monarchical character of some of its definitions. “‘The lot of the dictionary maker,’ said Dr.Johnson, ‘is to be exposed to censure without hope of praise.’ He might have referred to the experience of John Cowell instead of his own for support of this dictum, for Cowell came near to wrecking an otherwise unblemished career when he entered the field of lexicography...” Hicks, Men and Books Famous in the Law, p. 28. This edition was believed to be edited by White Kennett (according to Hicks). Kennett “made himself the champion for Cowell and his book, writing an extensive preface in which their detractors are pictured in no favorable light. It is the work of a propagandist as well as an editor.” Hicks, p. 54. Later law lexicographers found Cowell’s work essential. S&M I:7. Holdsworth V:22. Marvin 233. Cowley 216.